The Application of Project-based learning to Business English Writing in Secondary Vocational School

【Abstract】Business English Writing is an important course in secondary vocational school. Project-based learning is a typical student-centered teaching method. For this reason, it becomes urgent to discuss the application of Project-based learning to business English writing in secondary vocational school.

【Key words】Business English Writing; Project-based learning; application

Project-based learning is a systematic teaching method that encourages students to take part in the practical projects through using knowledge and experience to solve a series of complicated problems, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.

1. Features of Project-based Learning

1)Project-based learning is a student-center teaching method.

As the student-centered teaching method, it makes all the related knowledge into a variety of colorful projects. Teachers will offer different interests, experiences, capacities and proficiency levels to all the individual students. Students take part in the whole learning process and accomplish the purpose of acquiring knowledge.

2)Project-based learning is a practical teaching method.

Projects offered for students are from real working experiences. According to real studying requirement, students study and develop project learning, discuss real practical problems and analyze active problems.

2.The application of Project-based learning to Business English Writing

In business English Writing, teachers should conduct students to learn projects and finish certain tasks. The detail progress should be as follows:

1)Confirm and create learning situation.

Teachers should confirm and create learning situation and build up learning principle to improve students business English writing ability. For detail projects, teachers should use practical leadership. By confirming and creating learning situation, teachers make the projects detailed and join some relevant theoretical knowledge as teaching contents.

2)Choose perfect Business English Writing projects.

Teachers help different students to choose different projects according to their interests and group work ability. It will improve all the students learning ability, cultivate relevant information and practical ability.

3)Plan and implement the project.

Teachers divide all the students into several groups. Each group plans and makes its item in order to find out and solve relevant problems. And also, each group should have its plan. In the plan, they will write all the business English writing projects details such as tools, methods, needing time, practical methods and difficult problems.

4)Extensive collection of information and group work.

To help solve the problems, the group members carry out to collect useful information.Information collection can be got from books, newspapers, television and radios programs, the Internet and so on. Group members summarize all the data for discussing and communicating. For business English writing projects, it is an important part in the whole progress.

5)Results presented.

The results can be presented by word document, excel, flash, powerpoint or webpage. Eventually, all the results can be published in many forms. There are many places to present the results such as the relevant website, school's bulletin boards, English learning corner, and other places. Group members choose various contents by free forms as much as possible.

6)Evaluation.

During the process of Project-based learning, we will use a variety of subjective evaluation method such as teacher evaluation, mutual evaluation, self evaluation and social response. Every group member has the right to take part in the evaluation because it is not only a fair evaluation process, but also a fair evaluation opportunity. For this, business English writing projects will be grasped and understood by all the students.

3.Conclusion

Project-based learning improves business English writings development. Experience has proved that this is a proper method to maintain teaching and learning. The progress of Project-based learning is a progress of “Learning by dong”.

References:

[1]Markham,T.,Larmer,J.,& Ravitz,Project-based Learning handbook:A guide tostandards-focused project based learning(2nd Ed).Novato,California:Buck Institute for Education,2003.

[2]段同南.项目教学法在高职商务英语写作教学中的运用[D].山东师范大学,2014.

[3]冯云菊.项目教学法在大学英语教学中的应用研究[J].海外英语,2015(06):21-22.

作者简介：吴敏玲(1983-)，女，汉族，辽源人，讲师，研究生，研究方向：英语教学法，英美文学。