Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Spiky]

Hello!

I'm trying to put together a final project assignment for my University Freshman students. I was thinking about either doing one project that they all must do, (perhaps a portfolio or video, etc.) There is no time allotted for oral presentations, so I'm looking for something that they can hand in to me, or else giving them a few choices and letting them select one of two to do from a few different options, (like chatting online in English, writing a report, tape recording an interview they conduct, etc.)

If you have done a final project similar to either of these, I'd appreciate any ideas of project types that you did and especially ones that the students seemed to enjoy doing. Thanks in advance for your help!
Spiky

[tommynomad]

I let them do absolutely anything they want, as long as it shows off their English skills. If you have no time for presentations, let them give you taped stuff. Past winners:

-my heroine, ������
-The 3 Little Pigs
-how to cook kimchichigae
-soju by region
-the UEFA cup
-international sports cars
-second-hand smoke preferences by non-smokers
-a translated Gag Concert sketch
-2 scenes from Hamlet

[desultude]

I have a pretty good collection of Lonely Planet guide books. I have decided this semester to have my students each pick a country for which I have a book, copy the relevant parts of the book, and then make an extensive travel plan- for traveling alone or with a friend, but not in a group or tour.

This will be for oral presentations. They have already proven good at using power point and doing online research, and they can use the books for the details such as rooms, traveling around, etc.

I think this could make for interesting presentations to listen to, and also give them the experience of planning travel on their own. I would love it if even just one of them actually took the trip.

[the_beaver]

[Harpeau]

Wow! desultude, that sounds awesome! That's also in the cards for my students as well. Last year, I got my students to get into teams of 4 or 5 and write a script, hand it in. I then give them feedback. Then they go out and shoot an English movie. It must be 15 -30 min. in length. They really loved doing it. We then watched them as a class near the end of the semester. It was fun, insightful and they learned valuable teamwork. Had some great budding actors and directors. We had a blast!

Harpeau

[desultude]

[ThePoet]

Wow...there are some great ideas here.

I cannot find it, but somewhere in the history of this discussion board (I believe it was last May), there was a posting from someone who was doing a cultural compare/contrast. They were asking for country pairs and I really felt it to be a good exercise in research, writing, and presentation.

At the time I copied the idea into a word document and I am re-posting it here:






The project is to do a comparison-contrast of two countries and will be done in workgroups of four students. The assignment has two parts:

1. An individual 250-400 word essay from each member of the group.
2. A 10 - 15 minute group presentation of the information they have researched.

Research will be expected with referencing/citation and a bibliography consisting of at least four sources from each student.

Themes

Each student will focus on a different aspect (or theme) of the comparison-contrast that they choose from a set list of themes. The two countries are to be compared-contrasted in this manner:

�� History (Modern and/or Ancient)
�� Geography (including Demographics, Climate, etc.)
�� Arts & Culture
�� Language(s) Origins
�� Politics (and Political systems)
�� Economics (possibly including Financial Infrastructure, Resources, etc)
�� Society (Social Beliefs, Customs, Social Systems, etc.)

Countries

Students may use the following pairs for comparison-contrast:

Andorra – Vatican City
Brazil - Colombia
Paraguay - Uruguay
Germany - Sweden
France - Italy
England - Spain
Sweden - Norway
Belgium - The Netherlands
Saudia Arabia - Libya
Jordan - Syria
Israel - Lebanon
Nigeria - Kenya
Monaco - Singapore
South Africa - Zimbabwe
The Philippines - Indonesia
Australia - New Zealand
Thailand - Vietnam
Cambodia - Laos
China – India
Australia – Vanuatu

You may propose alternative countries to your instructor as long as it does not include Korea. If you decide to choose alternate countries, you might want to look at the idea of landlocked vs. coastal, or southern hemisphere vs. northern hemisphere, or some other idea.

Approach

You may choose to cover a theme as a separate discussion, or you can inter-relate some themes. For example, a good discussion of Arts & Culture, Politics, or Society could easily involve some discussion of the history shaping the topic. You might also inter-relate a discussion of Culture from a discussion of Society unless, of course, you talk about culture strictly in terms of high culture.

[Ya-ta Boy]

What about a speech about a personal topic, such as:

--An accident I (or a friend) had

--I am most proud of...

--The most interesting person in my family is...

--A story about an animal

--In 10 years I will be...

--When I was a child...

[desultude]

[Kyrei]

This was my project last year.

[Spiky]

Thanks a lot for your help all! I really appreciate the great ideas posted on here. You guys are great!