Hi, everyone.
Today, I’d like to share ideas of WebQuest
and its application to our classroom.
What is a WebQuest?
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. These can be created using various programs, including a simple word processing document that includes links to websites. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)What’s the difference between ‘Googling’ and WebQuest?
There are also a good number of websites
that label their activities 'WebQuests' when they are in fact 'Cybersearches'.
Googling 'WebQuest' will not necessarily take you to 'inquiry-oriented
activities' based on sound pedagogy! Try asking these questions: Do the
students have an exciting, engaging task to do? Are they expected to transform
information into something they themselves have created? Are they working
collaboratively with others? Are they asked to evaluate as well as describe? If
not, is it really a WebQuest??
(From Tilly Harrison’s page http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=&l=16243-110202033926&a=&p=credits&pt=teacher)What’s the benefit from it on EFL classrooms?
It’s perfect for task-base
language teaching where more authentic language use is promoted by having
students do meaningful tasks with their target language. It is one of the
effective teaching methods of real target language use and also I believe the
application of a WebQuest allows the EFL classroom to escape from
teacher-centred paradigms, to encourage learner autonomy and student
interactions through problem solving. Also, learners’ metacognitive learning
ability can be taken place.
What's the process of WebQuests?
You can create your own WebQuests normally following the six
staged of it: introduction, task, process, resources,
evaluation, and conclusion. Thankfully, there are now thousands of
ready-made WebQuests that we can bring into our classroom.
Questgarden is one of the best
sites for WebQuest lessons.
Go to the website :
http://questgarden.com
If you sign up for a free trial, you can access to ready-made
lesson plans by teachers all over the world! It's very easy to search up WebQuest lesson plans for your target teaching skills. For example, if you put the keyword "reading" into the "research for example" you will see about 40 lesson plans shared for free and you can immediately check if it's related to your student's level and topics.
Among them, Oh the Possiblirites by Kerry Ann McKevitt is one of my favourites which I’d like to apply into my classroom. I think it's more related practical life knowledge such as making a plan to convince others your ideas and searching for cheap but nice accommodations and restaurants. Students will actually learn English very naturally while doing these kinds of realistic activities and in particular, academically highly motivated students (who have a dream of studying abroad) will find it most useful and interesting as a way of learning more practical and authentic English.
The task given to the students is below:
You
and your classmates have to plan a trip for three weeks. You will have to
include a detailed plan of activities and a budget. Once you have made your
plans, you and your classmates will present your proposal to the class. In this
WebQuest, you will have to search for information about language courses in the
city chosen as well as information related to the trip (flights, accomodation,
food, free time, etc.).
This activity will have a positive effect on
- improving their reading skills by helping them become more familiar with materials in English
- developing both oral and wiring skills by giving both the written proposal and a presentation.
- Learning cooperative learning through collaborative activities with a group project.
- Extending higher-order thinking such as analysis, creativity, or criticism
My suggested WebQuest activity for listening and writing skills
A group of students is given a price comparison website
and they are supposed to give a present for mother’s day. They have to choose
one best item among at least 5 different kinds of it within £50. They should
write the comparison in different aspects and provide good rationale for the
final choice.
Hope you enjoy my post. Many Thanks! :)
Yuna
Hi, Yuna! It is me again! Thank you for helping me with the Korean translation. I am again impressed by how elaborate your blog is. It gave us a really good picture of what a webquest is. It was quite confusing to me at first too. about your suggested webquest, I really like it as I am a shopaholic. But there is one point I don't really get. "They have to choose one best item among at least 5 different kinds of it within £50. " does it mean students are given 5 items to choose from?
ReplyDeleteHi, Cindy thank you for coming. :) I was kind of in a hurry when I posted it, so probably it was not so clear. I meant if they are going to present a dress for their mom, should choose at least 5 similar items first and compare like we always do when we go shopping. They are not given specific items but a list of shopping website. :)
DeleteHi Yuna!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Webquest is a good way to use the task-based learning method in ESL/EFL classrooms and to elicit autonomous learning behaviour!
I am wondering why you think Quest Garden is the best? Also, can you give some reasons to why "On the Possibilities" is your favorite WebQuest task? :)
Hi Wanda :) Thank you for your comment and it really helped me find what I've missed here. I checked and added some more explanations. Hope it is more clear for you now. Thank you ^.^
DeleteHey Yuna - your post is really well structured, and you've found some useful pictures to accompany your writing. Your justification as to the advantages of WQ's is clear and detailed. The youtube video you posted at the beginning is informative...but those 2 girls don't sound very enthusiastic about WQ's!
ReplyDeleteHaha.. Thank you for visiting Gary! :) I know that it sounds "unemotional" but actually they speak quite slow so that's why I chose. Sorry it was the choice more for myself. Ha!
DeleteHi Yuna,
ReplyDeleteYour example situations for possible Webquest tasks are concrete models of what we can have our students do. Thanks for including them in your post! I also like how you've summed up in bullet points the pros of webquests in English classrooms.
hi Yuna, here I am again~~ how are you? haven't seen your new post about the collaboration tool. guess you must have been busy! see you in class tomorrow.
ReplyDelete