Objectives:
- developing skills and habits of oral speech;
- identifying information on the map;
- using maps to locate information;
- widening pupils’ outlook on different topics connecting with Canada.
Stages.
I. Teacher’s words. Our group is large. There are 12 on the list. All members of our group are attractive and hardworking. I think we should create a friendly atmosphere and give a floor to our guests. The motto of our project work is ‘Glimpses of the USA and Canada’. Language and man are inseparable. Language doesn’t exist outside man and man as Homo sapiens does not exist outside language. So, man can not be studied outside language and vice versa. Language reflects the world around us – through man and for man, language likewise reflects the culture created by man, hands it down from generation to generation, from father to son. Language is a cultural tool: it forms man, determines the behavior, way of life, outlook, mentality, national character and ideology.
II. You have been working on your projects for a month (couple of weeks). It’s time to defend your projects. Now it’s your turn to speak. Who will start?
III. Projects. Students speak using their chats, tables and maps.
P1: The English language is used for discovering new facts about Canada and other English-speaking countries.
P2: The history of Canada is a history of multiracial society. The white majority interact with blacks and Native Indians. This is a country of immigrants. The problem of communication between various ethnic groups has always been urgent. Living in one community people influence each other, that’s why the language is being changed as well.
P3: Canadian English is much more similar to American English than to the English spoken in England. The role of the French language and culture in the province of Quebec and in Canada as a whole has been an issue of many conflicts. In the 1970s French was proclaimed the language of government and business. After long debates French and English are official languages.
IV. T: We have learnt interesting facts about Canada. By the way you have got knowledge about the USA. Will you answer my questions? What makes Canada and the USA similar and different at the same time?
- English is spoken
- A lot of immigrants live in both countries
- They are developed countries
- Are washed by ….
- Canada has two official languages
- Forms of Government is different: Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy and the USA is a Federal Republic
- Both countries occupy an are about 10mln sq km
- In Canada Head of State is Queen of Britain
- In the USA Head of State and Government is President
- Great lakes are on the border between these two countries
T: Right you are. Your home-task was to make an advertisement about Great lakes. How many lakes are there in this district? Can you name them? Will you please show your work? We shall show the advertisement to our guests and invite them to visit this picturesque place.
V. T: Let’s play a bit. Show your geography smart. For every right answer you will get this card. To be a winner, try to get as many as you can.
1. Can you name famous Canadians? (Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in Ontario. Pamela Anderson was born in Canada).
2. What are Canada’s official colours? (blue and red, gold and red, white and red).
3. How many states do Canada and the USA border on in the south? (12).
4. What summer festivals in Canada do you know? (The summer music festivals of Stratford (ONTARIO).
5. What are educational and cultural institutions in Vancouver? (The University of British Columbia, Civic Art Gallery).
6. What kind of state is Canada? (Canada is a federal state and a member of the Commonwealth).
7. What language is the main in Montreal? (French).
8. What education does Canada provide? (Free education from elementary through to secondary school).
9. How many time zones are there in Canada? (6).
10. Who wrote the most Canadian book ever written? ( Humorist Stephen Leacock ‘Sketches of a Litle Town.’)
VI. T: This work was new for you. You worked a lot searching information in the Internet and libraries. Could you express your opinions? Say if it was difficult, interesting, boring or thrilling. What is unique about this kind of work?
Students express their opinions (рефлексия).
P1: It’s time when we not only learn grammar rules and words by heart. We realize that the English language is the way of learning new things. P2: I’m glad that the English language helps me to get acquainted with culture, history, every day life of other people. It’s clear enough that English is not only a lesson but life.
P3: At the same time it’s the only lesson where we can discuss different topics: problems of youth and women, ecological problems, etc. We express attitude towards modern music and High Technologies.
P4: Working on this project we had to re-cast amount of information, make resume, different tables, schemes.
P5: If we didn’t know English quite well, we wouldn’t be able to work in the Internet. While preparing this project we used not only the knowledge of the English language but also skills and experience in the fields of sociology and statistics, worked on the computer and in the library.
Ps:….
T: This work has helped us to gain a better understanding of Canada. It stimulates cross-cultural approach to Canadian studies. Let me quote he words by Julia Kurasovskaya, Moscow State University. ‘Sometimes people from different cultures behave differently in similar situations. These are the cases of cultural misunderstanding. Cultural differences occur on different levels. Trying to compare Russians and Americans, we will first glance at cultural differences which are on the surface. These are differences in their communicative styles and in their everyday behavior. English is one language and different cultures’. I fully agree with Kurasovskaya. Thanks a lot for your work. I wish it were not the last project. We’ll try to take part in collaborative projects which invite students from around the world to compare different things.