This project (2020-1-PT01-KA226-HE-094809) has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Select language  >  EN ES HU IT LT PT RO
Login
Register

Database of Teaching Sources

  1. Home
  2. Database of Teaching Sources
A database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 18 different European languages.

Back to Teaching Sources

Sylvia Earle: National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence

Date of Publication

2019

Target Group

Lecturers
Students

Domain Area

Sustainability
Tourism

Learning Scenario

Classroom Context

Target Language

English

Language of Instruction

English

CEFR level

A2
B1

Type of Material

Activity/task
Guiding resources (online course/book)

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary
Grammar

Skills

Listening
Critical Thinking
Reading

Description

The National Geographic series provides numerous resources on topics that are tourism related, namely, sustainability, pollution, oceanography, etc. By using the site, teachers have access to resources that allow students to expand their vocabulary and reading skills (extra exercises https://www.ngllife.com/sites/default/files/UpperInt-Advanced_ExtraActivities_1.pdf). It will also allow reading and listening skills to be further developed.

Case study

These resources (which started to be just the one mentioned first but as class developed others were used and have been mentioned in the guidelines below) have been used with a class of 1st-year students of Environmental Education and Nature Tourism (BA)
No of students: 30
The resource was used after the topic of nature tourism and ocean threats had been discussed.
Students in this group, as they were from the 1st year, were still getting acquainted with the vocabulary and the whole thematic of nature, sustainability, environmental awareness, etc. For this specific group the activities were well accepted and gave me the possibility of being more conscious of the students’ limitations on the topic as well as the language.
This has also been used by another English teacher with a very similar outcome.

Guidelines

Students discuss a quote about the ocean (What does the ocean mean to you?) and free write about the importance of the ocean and their daily connection to the ocean. Students map their location in relation to the ocean. Then they watch and discuss a video. ( https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/your-ocean/ )
Discussion - Hero for the Planet (explain the prize by Time magazine), by now students already know Sylvia Earle.
Vocabulary – on the exercises is previously looked at, then students do the listening activity.
Following the listening, students are invited to read the text and self-correct their answers.
After all these activities you can do some follow-up activities with extra material provided in the comments section.

Review

Category
Rate
Comprehensive approach
Capacity to match the needs of lecturers and students

4

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

4

Motivation enhancement
The capacity to motivate students to improve their language skills

4

Innovation
Effectiveness in introducing innovative, creative and previously unknown approaches to LSP learning

4

Transferability
Measurement of the transferable potential and possibility to be a source of further capitalisation/application for other language projects in different countries

4

Skills assessment and validation
Availability of appropriate tools for lecturers to monitor students’ progress and for students to assess own progress and to reflect on learning

4

Adaptability
Flexibility of the contents and possibilities for the LSP lecturers to adapt the contents to their and to students’ need

4

Usability
Assess the technical usability from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Accessibility
Assess the accessibility from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Comments:
The topic has been very well accepted by students who, mostly, did not know who Sylvia Earle was. This has made them more curious about finding out more relevant people for the environment.
If we want to follow the activities with more info on the same topic we can use the article and videos available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/impact/article/sylvia-earle-protecting-exploring-ocean
This page will allow reading and listening skills to be further developed. You can also discuss the Time magazine prize for Hero for the Planet/ Heroes of the Environment.
Sylvia Earle can be used as a “trigger” for many other topics connected to sustainability, human rights, planet threats, etc.
Website of the Teaching Source:
Visit
 
Save to PDF