PBLL: High Quality, Project-based Language Learning

I have been teaching English to international students for 15 years. In all of that time, I have met very few people from South Korea, Japan, or almost any other country that needed more vocabulary or grammar study to improve their English skills. What they have all needed was a chance to use the vocabulary and grammar that they have already studied. My high school in Kyoto is now becoming well-known because of how well our students are able to use English.

When people travel abroad to study a new language, it seems strange that they would want to have the same kind of English classes and system that they had in their home country. Therefore, if you enter a school where you spend all day studying in a classroom and then spend the evenings doing homework, this will work the same as the school in your country.

When students come to our school, Real English Victoria, we find out what students are interested in and what kind of experiences they want and need to have while living in Victoria. Then we make a plan that can include some classes to focus on special skills, but we encourage all students to do a project with others, or on their own to be able to explore more interesting topics and ideas. When students do this, they are learning how to use the English they already have. Students learn quickly that this builds confidence and your ability to use English to communicate improves so quickly.

The framework for our projects and inquiries comes from the amazing people at The Buck Institute of Education and the folks at High Quality PBL. We have to adapt the material to take into account the language needs of the students, but this means we spend most of our time as teachers interacting or observing interaction, making recommendations and remediating whatever is needed, at a time it is practical for the learner.

#PBLL