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This
journal has previously reviewed the Soccerlingua resources produced
through European Union Sokrates funding in time for last summer’s World
Cup in Germany. The same team has now completed another project of
language activities for outdoor education. The idea seems a good one;
after all, ‘cultural’ trips to neighbouring countries where all pupils
stay en masse in a centre are extremely popular. The books contain 24
off-the-peg activities and language games for the outdoors to last between
30 minutes and a whole day.
I should stress that the books are not sets of copyable worksheets for
pupils. Instead, they are written in adult French, German etc. and are
intended to be the teacher’s guide; he or she will need to adapt
instructions (written or oral) to the group concerned and produce any
handouts required. The books are accompanied by a CD-ROM that explains the
philosophy being the project and shows pupils actually doing the
activities to give the teacher confidence that they actually work! The
range of activities is extensive, from simple games where pupils follow a
series of instructions to find their ‘treasure’ to physical challenges and
artistic, literary and dramatic productions based on observations of their
surroundings.
Having looked at the resources in some detail, I am impressed at the care
that has been taken in their preparation; sound educational principles
underpin each activity and the variety of language required by the
learners to carry out the activities is fairly minimal to enable them to
focus on the key grammatical structure at the root of the task. Of course,
as with any ‘non-standard’ activity, the success of these outdoor games
relies heavily on the relationship between the class and the teacher /
leader, and particularly on how successful he or she has previously been
in establishing the target language as a means of communication in the
classroom. Nevertheless, Montana Lingua is an extremely attractive
resource that provides excellent ideas either for teachers leading group
excursions or for those creative souls who are keen to get their pupils
out of the classroom and speaking the language around the school grounds.
I could imagine the English-language resources being of use to teachers in
boarding schools with EFL pupils, particularly at an early stage of their
schooling.
For further details, please contact Richard Weaver at richard.weaver@soccerlingua.net. |