I recently had the honor of presenting a workshop called Making Makers at a conference in São Paulo, organized by BrELT, an amazing online global community made by Brazilians. I'll share a few things I've been thinking about since then, related to the Maker Movement and English language learning.
First, it's an exciting thing when people who may not consider themselves "makers," realize that, with the right guidance, resources, and the help of peers, they, too can take part in creating something that didn't exist before and serves a special purpose. After discussing some of the theory behind the Maker Movement, I challenged the group to work in teams to make a "watchtower" for my toy Klingon (who has since been named Klingon Bonzinho--"good little Klingon") to stand on. This turned out to be a more time-consuming challenge than I had hoped, and it didn't leave much time for more discussion afterward, but, some important things happened in that activity.
It was a foreboding challenge--using straws, plastic cups, craft sticks, clothes pins, binder clips, and masking tape--to build a tall enough tower. (I ended up adjusting the height requirement because of time limitations and because way more people came than I was expecting, making some materials scarce!) There was a lot of trial and error, and even some frustration, as the weight of the Klingon's head became a challenge to support.
Eventually, though, almost all the groups found a way to support the Klingon at the required height, and we started reflecting on the challenge using the word, "If."
If we hadn't helped each other...
If we had more time...
If there were more materials...
My aim when doing similar activities in class is to create a meaningful context for language production. After investing themselves in the challenge, students take much more ownership of those conditionals than they would with an exercise on paper, because they experienced them.
Some discussion that arose afterward, which time didn't allow to have its full say, was the question of how to provide students with language for the activity. Sometimes the need for certain language arises in the moment--language for collaboration and problem solving, and students often revert back to L1 (their native language) rather than using L2 (the language being learned). I don't know if that's necessarily a bad thing.
Sometimes when I hear students using expressions in Portuguese during a maker challenge, I might gently step in and give them the words in English. In the excitement of the moment, though, they might not actually remember or think to use these words. In that case, a better option could be to notice and write down necessary language that arises during the activity and teach it afterward, with the activity being a context for new, incidental language. If time allows, perhaps on another day, to do a similar activity again, it will give students practice with that new language. If making is a regular or semi-regular part of classes, then that shouldn't be a problem. Even so, it's always good to remind students of, or even pre-teach useful language for an activity.
A maker activity can be done at any stage in the lesson. I often use mini STEM challenges as a warm-up, which leads in to the context of the lesson. I also use them as freer practice toward the end, where students are given an opportunity to practice the language learned in the lesson, combined with other language that they know, or, even incidental language that they learn in the moment from their peers. But I can see maker activities being used in various stages of a lesson. Why not use it as a specific context for grammar or other target language, as my friend Mariana did with slime and conditionals? Why not use it for a controlled practice activity, drilling a particular structure that needs to be used to complete the challenge, such as "What if...?" Why not try a quick STEM challenge as a brain break between heavy reading activities, maybe using an idea from the challenge to start the next part of the discussion?
There are many options. Sometimes teachers want to do all the steps and follow all the theory before letting students loose to work on a project. The Maker Movement, however, often happens in the opposite direction, with unexpected things happening. Students may not know all the language at the time of making--perhaps only being prepared with the names of the materials, the idea of the challenge, and the suggestion to build a strong foundation. They may also be given a few expressions beforehand to use in the process, such as, "Let's try this." Even so, making is always full of surprises and unexpected problems to solve. Students have to make do with what they have--in the way of both materials and language.
Lots of tinkering happens during making. In STEM fields, that doesn't necessarily take the place of or compete with planning. It doesn't have to pose a threat to language use or a particular lesson plan either. How can we harness the power of unexpected play for learning? As my hero Claire Venables pointed out after my talk, some kinds of play are teacher-initiated, and other kinds are student-initiated. Whatever the age of the person learning a language, tinkering can and should play a role, and a wise teacher will use it to enhance the learning process.
What are your thoughts on play and learning? If you have learned a foreign language, how did you learn some of those incidental pieces of language that are not found in text books? Share your thoughts, and let's start a conversation!
And let me end by sharing some of the Klingon towers that resulted from this workshop. I was so impressed that every one looked different!
Making is rarely a step-by-step process from start to finish. Even with a plan, we have to solve problems that arise. Collaboration and communication help us tackle those problems, and those are essential skills that are practiced in the Maker Movement. Making together does incredible things. Sometimes solving a problem may even require a Klingon warrior stand on his head! To quote Captain Picard, "Things are only impossible until they are not."
First, it's an exciting thing when people who may not consider themselves "makers," realize that, with the right guidance, resources, and the help of peers, they, too can take part in creating something that didn't exist before and serves a special purpose. After discussing some of the theory behind the Maker Movement, I challenged the group to work in teams to make a "watchtower" for my toy Klingon (who has since been named Klingon Bonzinho--"good little Klingon") to stand on. This turned out to be a more time-consuming challenge than I had hoped, and it didn't leave much time for more discussion afterward, but, some important things happened in that activity.
It was a foreboding challenge--using straws, plastic cups, craft sticks, clothes pins, binder clips, and masking tape--to build a tall enough tower. (I ended up adjusting the height requirement because of time limitations and because way more people came than I was expecting, making some materials scarce!) There was a lot of trial and error, and even some frustration, as the weight of the Klingon's head became a challenge to support.
Eventually, though, almost all the groups found a way to support the Klingon at the required height, and we started reflecting on the challenge using the word, "If."
If we hadn't helped each other...
If we had more time...
If there were more materials...
My aim when doing similar activities in class is to create a meaningful context for language production. After investing themselves in the challenge, students take much more ownership of those conditionals than they would with an exercise on paper, because they experienced them.
Some discussion that arose afterward, which time didn't allow to have its full say, was the question of how to provide students with language for the activity. Sometimes the need for certain language arises in the moment--language for collaboration and problem solving, and students often revert back to L1 (their native language) rather than using L2 (the language being learned). I don't know if that's necessarily a bad thing.
Sometimes when I hear students using expressions in Portuguese during a maker challenge, I might gently step in and give them the words in English. In the excitement of the moment, though, they might not actually remember or think to use these words. In that case, a better option could be to notice and write down necessary language that arises during the activity and teach it afterward, with the activity being a context for new, incidental language. If time allows, perhaps on another day, to do a similar activity again, it will give students practice with that new language. If making is a regular or semi-regular part of classes, then that shouldn't be a problem. Even so, it's always good to remind students of, or even pre-teach useful language for an activity.
A maker activity can be done at any stage in the lesson. I often use mini STEM challenges as a warm-up, which leads in to the context of the lesson. I also use them as freer practice toward the end, where students are given an opportunity to practice the language learned in the lesson, combined with other language that they know, or, even incidental language that they learn in the moment from their peers. But I can see maker activities being used in various stages of a lesson. Why not use it as a specific context for grammar or other target language, as my friend Mariana did with slime and conditionals? Why not use it for a controlled practice activity, drilling a particular structure that needs to be used to complete the challenge, such as "What if...?" Why not try a quick STEM challenge as a brain break between heavy reading activities, maybe using an idea from the challenge to start the next part of the discussion?
There are many options. Sometimes teachers want to do all the steps and follow all the theory before letting students loose to work on a project. The Maker Movement, however, often happens in the opposite direction, with unexpected things happening. Students may not know all the language at the time of making--perhaps only being prepared with the names of the materials, the idea of the challenge, and the suggestion to build a strong foundation. They may also be given a few expressions beforehand to use in the process, such as, "Let's try this." Even so, making is always full of surprises and unexpected problems to solve. Students have to make do with what they have--in the way of both materials and language.
Lots of tinkering happens during making. In STEM fields, that doesn't necessarily take the place of or compete with planning. It doesn't have to pose a threat to language use or a particular lesson plan either. How can we harness the power of unexpected play for learning? As my hero Claire Venables pointed out after my talk, some kinds of play are teacher-initiated, and other kinds are student-initiated. Whatever the age of the person learning a language, tinkering can and should play a role, and a wise teacher will use it to enhance the learning process.
What are your thoughts on play and learning? If you have learned a foreign language, how did you learn some of those incidental pieces of language that are not found in text books? Share your thoughts, and let's start a conversation!
And let me end by sharing some of the Klingon towers that resulted from this workshop. I was so impressed that every one looked different!
Making is rarely a step-by-step process from start to finish. Even with a plan, we have to solve problems that arise. Collaboration and communication help us tackle those problems, and those are essential skills that are practiced in the Maker Movement. Making together does incredible things. Sometimes solving a problem may even require a Klingon warrior stand on his head! To quote Captain Picard, "Things are only impossible until they are not."
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