The structure and content of the discipline “Applying project-based approach to teaching foreign languages and cultures at secondary general education schools”

Abstract

Project-based learning (PBL) is no longer considered as an additional or optional teaching method, and the ability to apply it is now an integral part of the professional methodological competence of a modern Ukrainian teacher. In this regard, the issue of methodological training of preservice foreign language teachers to use PBL in teaching foreign languages and cultures to pupils of secondary general education schools is extremely important. So, the purpose of this article is to describe the structure and content of the academic discipline “Applying project-based approach to teaching foreign languages   and cultures at secondary general education schools”. The aim of this discipline is to familiarize preservice teachers with theoretical basis and applied methodology of using PBL and digital technologies in teaching foreign languages and cultures to pupils, to build necessary professional skills of implementing foreign language and culture PBL effectively at Ukrainian secondary schools. As a result, the university students are supposed to acquire knowledge about the history and theory of project-based approach, the characteristics of PBL, the methodological typology of projects, the stages of pupils’ project activities, the ways of integrating PBL into educational and extracurricular process, the assessment of pupils’ PBL performance outcomes, the ways of using digital tools in foreign language and culture PBL. The academic discipline consists of four thematic modules of lecture and practical lessons, and extracurricular selfstudy work of university students. Some examples of selfstudy, end-of-course, and credit tasks are given in this work. The prospects of further research studies of the issue under consideration are concerned with the syllabus design of a special academic discipline course aimed at methodological training of preservice university teachers of foreign languages to use project-based approach at Ukrainian higher education institutions.