Catering Tandem


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The Catering Tandem is being run during the autumn 2010, but for various practical reasons it will still be going on into spring 2011. The basic idea of the course that native speakers of Spanish and English with similar interests (catering) meet up and use the framework below to teach each other their respective language. The space used for this course is the guest house on Avalonlearning:

SLrurl:  




 

1 Introduction

 

Building socio-professional equality is one of the major goals in today’s small world. Thus, a multicultural perspective and the development of communication in foreign languages become fundamental elements of cultural and linguistic transference. This learning focus and its formative demands encounter a productive medium in information technologies (IT).

Our proposal is based on IT as a versatile, virtual learning environment which enhances the process through direct experience when performing tasks in real-world simulations. 

 

2 Objectives

 

The goal lies in formative education in selected foreign languages and professions to promote language acquisition through interactive applications, hypermedia tools, virtual environments and online collaboration.

The design and creation of specific online language courses aim to:

(1) improve the communicative ability of professionals in the target languages (Spanish and English);

(2) promote multicultural knowledge and the development of individual and social interaction skills, and;

(3) offer the world of work an alternative learning option, bearing in mind possible geographical and schedule limitations experienced when attending conventional courses.

Applications and tasks selected to be available in the Moodle platform will be based on constructivism, interaction, and collaboration and self-learning.

 

This proposal is based on a financed ICT Project of technological transference between The Group GexCALL (a research group from the University of Extremadura, Spain) and an educational multimedia company located in the Extremadura province.

 

 

3 Technology and Methodology 

 

On the one hand, hypermedia, web supported courses (Moodle) in languages for occupational purposes for professional certification and international equivalency recognition in the Tourism sector, are object of this proposal. In this context we propose the design of an ICT English /Spanish Course for Waiters/Waitresses and Bartenders, Level A1, which is based on the European Language Portfolio (http://www.europeestaalportfolio.nl/TaalPortfolio/show.do?ctx=10010,10020&anav=10012) and on the Common European Framework for Languages of the European Union (http://www.coe.int/T/DG4/Linguistic/CADRE_EN.asp ).

 

On the other hand, and due to the geographical limitations the potential students often experience (Waiters/Waitresses and Bartenders), we also propose to develop practical activities in the virtual world of Second Life, as a complement to the ICT courses developed in Moodle. In Second Life people can communicate and culturally interchange by turning themselves into virtual characters, or avatars. Thus, language teaching, practice and acquisition can now be approached from a more lively and pleasant perspective, enabling students to practice language in real contexts, through role-play activities portraying real communicative situations. Role-play and social interaction are not limited to actual lesson time, but rather, can be lengthened over time.

Our purpose is consequently to bring the potential of eLearning and tandem learning to virtual worlds, working to combine SL with traditional simulation for waiter/waitress and bartenders training and creating an immersive learning environment that provides engaging opportunities for authentic practice and accelerating employee learning from knowledge acquisition to application.

 

 

4 Content and Units

 

The Course is divided into three units:

  

Unit 1 Introducing People

 

Unit 2 Everyday Activities 

 

Unit 3 – In the Restaurant

 

Objectives

  

When reaching the end of the course the student will:

 

 

Unit 1 – Introducing People

  

Objectives

  

By the end of this unit the student will:

Objective 1 – know how to introduce him/her and others;

Objective 2 – how to greet others: customers, colleagues, etc;

Objective 3 – know how to ask and give directions;

Objective 4 – understand basic requests (reservations, orders, etc.)

 

Linguistic components and skills practiced through MOODLE 

 

Tools 

 

The course will be developed in the Moodle platform and several tools and applications will be used:

·   Hot Potatoes quizzes;

·   Blogs;

·   Nanogong oral messages;

·   Wikis;

·   Assignments;

·   Glossaries;

·   Webpages;

·   PwP presentations;

·   Videos;

·   Flashcards;

·   Role-plays in Second Life (by using the Sloodle application).

  

Listening:

·   Can understand people’s introductions and greetings.

·   Can understand basic requests.

  

Reading:

Reads and understands short texts related to the subject of the unit.

  

Writing:

Can write short sentences giving personal information.

  

Speaking:

·   Greeting people.

·   Can introduce him/herself and others.

·   Is able to give some personal information.

·   Spelling simple words.

·   Can apologise, thank people and say goodbye.

  

Vocabulary:

·      Greetings

·      Introducing oneself and others

·      The alphabet

·      Addresses

·      Marital status

·      Cardinal numbers

·      Countries and nationalities

·      Jobs/occupations

  

Grammar:

·      Verb To Be

·      Personal pronouns

·      Possessive adjectives

·      Verb To Have

·      Verb To Live

·      Verb To Do

·      Question words

·      Indefinite articles

·      Definite article

 

Tandem Learning in SECOND LIFE

  

By developing role-play activities in Second Life’s virtual world we intend to:

  

Objective 1 – practice linguistic skills regarding the objectives and level of the course (A1 English and Spanish for waiter/waitress and bartenders);

Objective 2 – practice interactional and linguistic skills by exchanging linguistic expertise with tandem partners, native speakers of the target language which is the ultimate goal of the learning process;

Objective 3 – the role-play activities will function as practice before the final exam.

 

Objective:

Students will have to introduce themselves to the teacher and their fellow classmates, and receive linguistic feedback from them; then, they will have to introduce themselves to people they contact with. Students will have to follow a model taught during the whole unit in Moodle. The process will be developed in the two foreign languages that students aim to learn: English and Spanish.

  

Participants

-         Students:  2 native speakers of English; 2 native speakers of Spanish

-         Role of the teacher/Instructor: the teacher will act as a moderator guiding the role-play activity

Time (Recommended): 40 minutes (10 minutes for each student: 20 minutes for Spanish students learning English; 20 minutes for English students learning Spanish)

Linguistic Content: introducing people; verb To Be; verb To Have; personal and possessive pronouns; countries and nationalities; jobs and occupations.

 

Results / Outcome: English students learn how to introduce themselves (name, age, nationality, occupations...) in Spanish, practising linguistic structures, pragmatic features and cultural tips learned during the unit. Spanish students will do the same process by using the English language.

Students will act as teachers and instructors, helping their colleagues achieve linguistic expertise in the foreign language.

 

 

Unit 2 – Everyday Activities

  

Objectives

 

By the end of this unit the student will:

Objective 1 – know how to apply for a job within the tourism sector;

Objective 2 – how to fill out a résumé;

Objective 3 – know several basic formulas to talk on the phone;

Objective 4 – know how to describe his/her daily routine and the daily routine of others;

Objective 5 – know how to express preferences and make suggestions.

 

Linguistic components and skills practiced through MOODLE

  

Tools

 

The course will be developed in the Moodle platform and several tools and applications will be used:

·   Hot Potatoes quizzes;

·   Blogs;

·   Nanogong oral messages;

·   Wikis;

·   Assignments;

·   Glossaries;

·   Webpages;

·   PwP presentations;

·   Videos;

·   Flashcards;

·   Role-plays in Second Life (by using the Sloodle application).

  

Listening:

·   Can understand other people’s daily routine, jobs and occupations;

·  Can understand verbal instructions related to work. Can ask and give directions;

·  Can understand people’s preferences.

 

Reading:

        ·            Reads short texts related to the daily routine, jobs and occupations;

        ·            Reads texts related to the expression of preferences and suggestions.

 

Writing:

·   Writes sentences about his/her daily routine;

·  Writes sentences about his/her preferences and the preferences of others;

·   Takes simple notes.

 

Speaking:

·   Is able to describe his/her daily routine;

·  Can talk about the time, the days of the week and the months of the year;

·  Can ask and give directions;

·  Can express preferences and make suggestions.

  

Vocabulary:

·      Daily routine;

·      Time: hours, minutes, seconds;

·      Days of the week;

·      Months of the year;

·      Dates;

·      Ordinal numbers;

·      Meals;

·      Seasons of the year;

·      Telephone language;

·      Asking and giving directions;

·      False friends;

·      Expressing preferences and making suggestions.

  

Grammar:

·      Present simple and present continuous;

·      Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives;

·      Prepositions of time and place;

·      Sentence order: affirmative; negative; interrogative;

·      Adverbs of frequency;

·      Adverbs of place;

·      Comparative and superlative of adjectives;

·      Future simple;

·      The imperative;

·      Question-tags;

·      Singular and plural nouns;

·      Sentence order.

  

Tandem Learning in SECOND LIFE

  

By developing role-play activities in Second Life’s virtual world we intend to:

  

Objective 1 – practice linguistic skills regarding the objectives and level of the course (A1 English and Spanish for waiter/waitress and bartenders);

Objective 2 – practice interactional and linguistic skills by exchanging linguistic expertise with tandem partners, native speakers of the target language which is the ultimate goal of the learning process;

Objective 3 – the role-play activities will function as practice before the final exam.

  

Objective:

Students will have to describe their daily routine (at home and at work) to their fellow colleagues and to the teacher/tutor. They will also be asked to visit places with different types of restaurants, giving their personal opinion on the place, type of food, etc. they liked most, giving reasons to justify their choice. They will have to debate their preferences, likes and dislikes orally by practising the vocabulary and grammar learned throughout the unit. The process will be developed in the two foreign languages that students aim to learn: English and Spanish.

  

Participants

-         Students:  2 native speakers of English; 2 native speakers of Spanish

-         Role of the teacher/Instructor: the teacher will act as a moderator guiding the role-play activity

Time (Recommended): 60 minutes (15 minutes for each student: 30 minutes for Spanish students learning English; 30 minutes for English students learning Spanish)

Linguistic Content: daily routine and expressing the time and dates; expressing preferences, likes and dislikes, and making suggestions; present simple and present continuous; adverbs of frequency; comparatives and superlatives of adjectives; the imperative; singular and plural nouns.

 

Results / Outcome: English students describe their daily routine (at home and work) in Spanish and also to describe a restaurant stating what they like and dislike about it. The purpose is to practise linguistic and pragmatic features, and cultural tips learned during the unit. Spanish students will do the same process by using the English language.

Students will act as teachers and instructors, helping their colleagues achieve linguistic expertise in the foreign language.

 

 

Unit 3 – In the Restaurant

  

Objectives

  

By the end of this unit the student will:

Objective 1 – know vocabulary related to food and drinks;

Objective 2 – understand and explain a restaurant menu;

Objective 3 – understand basic requests related to food and drinks;

Objective 4 – express suggestions;

Objective 5 – identify different types of restaurant service.

  

Linguistic components and skills practiced through MOODLE

  

Tools

The course will be developed in the Moodle platform and several tools and applications will be used:

·   Hot Potatoes quizzes;

·   Blogs;

·   Nanogong oral messages;

·   Wikis;

·   Assignments;

·   Glossaries;

·   Webpages;

·   PwP presentations;

·   Videos;

·   Flashcards;

·   Role-plays in Second Life (by using the Sloodle application).

 

Listening:

·   Is able to identify food and drinks.

·   Can understand and write a menu.

·   Can talk about work relations.

·   Can describe objects and people.

·   Is able to identify and describe types of food service.

  

Reading:

·   Reads texts related to food and drinks.

·   Can understand and analyse menus.

  

Writing:

·   Can write basic texts describing food and drinks.

·   Is able to write menus.

  

Speaking:

·   Can ask for menu orders.

·   Is able to describe food and drinks.

·   Makes requests and suggestions.

·   Is able to describe objects and people.

  

Vocabulary:

·      Food and drinks

·      Menu vocabulary

·      Making requests

·      Expressing suggestions

·      Work relations

·      The family

·      Describing objects and people

·      Colors

·      Types of service

  

Grammar:

·      Adjectives

·      Past tense

·      Regular and irregular verbs

·      Conditional tense

·      The genitive

·      Countable and uncountable nouns

·      There is/there are

·      Relatives

  

Tandem Learning in SECOND LIFE

  

By developing role-play activities in Second Life’s virtual world we intend to:

  

Objective 1 – practice linguistic skills regarding the objectives and level of the course (A1 English and Spanish for waiter/waitress and bartenders);

Objective 2 – practice interactional and linguistic skills by exchanging linguistic expertise with tandem partners, native speakers of the target language which is the ultimate goal of the learning process;

Objective 3 – the role-play activities will function as practice before the final exam.

  

Objective:

Students will have to act as the waiter working in a given restaurant. The waiter/student will have to describe the menu and deal with the customers’ requests; the colleagues and the teacher will interact with him/her as if they were real customers in the restaurant. The process will be developed in the two foreign languages that students aim to learn: English and Spanish.

  

Participants

-         Students:  2 native speakers of English; 2 native speakers of Spanish

-         Role of the teacher/Instructor: the teacher will act as a moderator guiding the role-play activity

Time (Recommended): 60 minutes (15 minutes for each student: 30 minutes for Spanish students learning English; 30 minutes for English students learning Spanish)

  

Linguistic Content: food and drinks; requests; suggesting; describing objects and people; types of restaurant service; adjectives; the genitive; countable and uncountable nouns; relatives.

 

Results / Outcome: English students describe a restaurant menu and deal with the customers by understanding and responding to their requests, as well as making suggestions and dealing with complaints. The purpose is to practise linguistic and pragmatic features, and cultural tips learned during the unit. Spanish students will do the same process by using the English language.

Students will act as teachers and instructors, helping their colleagues achieve linguistic expertise in the foreign language.