Theoretical Basis of the Project

Rationale of the project

1. summary of findings/principles / Cross-curricular learning and teaching
Eisner (1992) points out that “as early as the 1920s the progressive movement in education advocated curricular integration through themes because proponents believed the disciplines prevented students from seeing the relationships between subjects and therefore decreased the content’s relevance.”
Drake (1993) mentions that “integration connects subject areas in ways that reflect the real world. When we set curriculum in the context of human experience, it begins to assume a new relevance. Higher-order thinking skills become a necessity as students begin to grapple with real issues and problems that transcend the boundaries of disciplines. Some educators who have developed integrated curriculum for learners of all types claimed that the at-risk students benefited most from the integrated approach because the increased relevance meant increased motivation.
Another important consideration is how people learn. Brain research indicates that the brain searches for patterns and interconnections as its way of making meaning (Caine and Caine 1991). If humans do learn by connection-making, it only makes sense to teach through connections.”

English learning and teaching

Scott & Ytreberg (1998) suggest that organizing English language learning on a subject, a topic or a theme is “a useful, helpful, practical and exciting way” to teach young children. It allows teachers to design learning tasks which “fit in with what is happening in the school at the time of teaching, especially when the school works on cross-curricular topics or projects. The content of the lessons automatically becomes more important than the language itself and it is easier to relate the lessons to the experiences and interests of the pupils. The children can associate the target vocabulary items, functions and structures with a particular topic. Association helps memory, and learning language in context clearly helps both understanding and learning”.
Holderness (1984) points out that “the advantages of topic-centred learning are that it provides a clear context which makes learning more meaningful and creates a genuine purpose for learning and for using language in the classroom”.
Halliwell (1992) argues that “both conscious direct learning and subconscious indirect learning help someone internalise a new language. However at primary school level the children’s capacity for conscious learning of forms and grammatical patterns is still relatively undeveloped. In contrast, all children bring with them an enormous instinct for indirect learning. For this reason, it is a good idea to set up real tasks in the language classroom if we can. Real tasks provide children with an occasion for real language use, and let their subconscious mind work on the processing of language while their conscious mind is focused on the task”.
Nunan (1999) defines a task as “a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilising their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form. Tasks allow learners to practise identifying the key grammar and vocabulary in real-world texts and to develop the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening in an integrated way, just as in authentic communicative situations. Tasks also give learners practice in cooperating with other learners and with their teachers, making creative use of the language they have learned”.
Willis & Willis (2001) point out that “SLA research suggests overwhelmingly that language learning is a developmental process, which cannot be consciously controlled or predicted by teachers or learners. It seems that language learning – in the sense of acquiring the ability to use the language spontaneously – is powerfully driven by natural processes. But it also seems that these processes can be sharpened and rendered more efficient by an appropriate focus on form. Task-based learning represents an attempt to harness natural processes and to provide language focus activities based on consciousness raising which will support these processes. The crucial challenges for task-based learning, therefore, are to do with the design and sequencing of tasks, and the determination of how best to encourage learners to focus on language form in a way which prompts language development while, at the same time, recognising that there is no direct relationship between language instruction and language learning”.
Ellis (1985) argues that “motivation is a powerful factor in second language acquisition. Its effects are to be seen on the rate and success of SLA, rather than on the route of acquisition. Ellis cited from MacNamara (1973) that the really important part of motivation lies in the act of communication itself rather than in any general orientation as implied by the integrative/instrumental distinction. It is the need to get meanings across and the pleasure experienced when this is achieved that motivates SLA”. The implication to language teachers is that “motivation can be developed by careful selection of learning tasks both to achieve the right level of complexity to create opportunities for success and to foster intrinsic interest”.
2. list of seminal references /

Cross-curricular learning and teaching

Aikin, W. M. (1942). The Story of the Eight-Year Study. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Beane, J. A. (1997). Curriculum Integration: Designing the Core of Democratic Education. New York: Teacher College Press.
Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (1991). Making Connections: Teaching theHuman Brain. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (1997). Education on the Edge of Possibility. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Drake, S. M. (1993). Planning Integrated Curriculum: The Call toAdventure. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Drake, S. M. (2000). Integrated Curriculum. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Eisner, E.W. (1992). Curriculum Ideologies. In P. Jackson (Ed.),Handbookof Research on Curriculum. New York:Macmillan Pub. Co.
Guthrie, J.T., Van Meter, P., Hancock, G. R., Alao, S., Anderson, E., & McCann, A. (1998). Does Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction Increase Strategy Use and Conceptual Learning from Text? Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 261-278.
Hargreaves, A., & Moore, S. (2000). Curriculum Integration and Classroom Relevance: A Study of Teachers’ Practice. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 15(2), 89-112.
Marsh, C. J. (1995). How Achievable is Curriculum Integration? Practices and Issues. Curriculum Forum, 4(1), 27-43.
Vars, G. F. (1991). Integrated Curriculum in Historical Perspective. Educational Leadership, 49(2), 14-15.

English language learning and teaching

Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Halliwell, S. (1992). Teaching English in the Primary Classroom. London: Longman.
Holderness J. (1984). Activity-based Teaching: Approaches to Topic-centred Work. In C.Brumfit, J.Moon, & R. Tongue (Eds.), Teaching English to Young Children. London: Nelson.
Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching & Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Scott, W. A. & Ytreberg, L. H. (1998). Teaching English to Young Children. New York: Longman.
Willis, D. & Willis, J. (2001) Task-based Language Learning in R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

3. others (please specify)