Children’s participation in research in their second language creates opportunities to communicate and collaborate while they work, being able to share their conclusions in a language other than their mother tongue.
Storytelling, in its broadest sense, is used as a common thread that motivates and engages children to approach a topic, connecting one research with another as children inquire about different aspects included in a story or focus on a specific topic. Thus, their participation in research, which may or may not be carried out, in their second language creates opportunities in which children can communicate and collaborate while working, and share their findings with others in a language other than their mother tongue.
The last result developed in the SeLFiE project is ScienceL2, a set of organized didactical proposals that has a story as the main axisfor interdisciplinary teaching on topics related to natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics and arts ,as , sustainability, living beings, human beings and health or matter and energy.
Each booklet includes brief comments on the methodologies used and the complete teaching plan (including resources, rubrics, assessment guidelines, further reading, etc.), as well as key language content to foster students’ L2 communication skills. Special emphasis is placed on aspects such as:
- Gender focus
- Innovative methods for teaching and learning STEAM
- Pedagogies and theoretical approaches to second language learning (L2 learning)
- Innovation in the processes of learning and teaching second languages
- Inclusive teaching environments
- Interdisciplinary approach
- The role of bilingual education in social inclusion and CLIL methods for the underserved.
This series of booklets are already being implemented in several schools in different European countries, with the aim of avoiding a rigid and inflexible curricular structure and improving the commitment of teachers using unstructured learning, in an interdisciplinary way.
On our website you can consult and download the booklets in different languages (English, Spanish and French):
