Fundamentals of Project-based Language learning is an introductory online institute for world language instructors and world language curriculum and professional development specialist. Participants who complete the institute gain basic familiarity with theoretical and practical aspects of designing projects for the context of world language teaching and learning. The Online Institute progresses through five modules.

Participants who received a badge completed a Project Blueprint that specifies basic aspects of project design and interacted with colleagues in activities or discussions on this topic. Participation in the institute and completion of the Project Blueprint provide evidence that the badge recipient:

1. Learned about fundamental aspects of Project-based Language Learning (PBLL) and some of the commonalities and differences between PBL and PBLL;
2. Developed a world language project for a specific context and described it in a Project Blueprint document;
3. Designed sample standards-based tasks that target specific areas of language learning and 21st Century Skills;
4. Described an articulated sequence of project tasks and corresponding assessment;
5. Participated in a collegial discussion on topics related to language learning project planning, design and implementation either by posting responses to prompts related to PBLL in the majority of the “Get Involved” sections or by soliciting and receiving feedback from colleagues on their Project Blueprint based on an adaptation of the Critical Friends Protocol.

 

Modules
1	From PBL to PBLL Lesson 1 What is PBL? What are the constituent parts of a PBL unit/lesson plan? What is rigorous PBL? Lesson 2 From PBL to PBLL: What do language teachers need to know about adapting PBL to the language education context? Lesson 3 Developing a project idea. Crafting an effective Driving Question.
2	Beginning Your Project Planning Lesson 4 Starting with the end in mind: Defining outcomes. Addressing standards and 21st Century Skills. Lesson 5 Working with Open Educational Resources (OERs). Locating and using OERs. Lesson 6 Infusing culture. Assessing cultural knowledge. Project Showcase: Focus on culture.
3	Language, Content & Technology Lesson 7 Using language to learn, learning to use language: Intersections with content-based instruction (CBI) and CLIL (content and language integrated instruction). Task designs for CBI. Lesson 8 Scaffolding for language proficiency levels. Using technology to scaffold language learning. Lesson 9 Scaffolding technology. Scaffolding content knowledge.
4	Designing Rich Learning Experiences Lesson 10 Task designs for authentic language use. Task designs for collaboration. Assessing collaboration. Lesson 11 Task designs for creativity Lesson 12 Connecting learners with communities. Task designs for intercultural collaborations
5	Designing Tasks and Assessment Lesson 13 Planning interaction. Assessing interaction. Project Showcase: Focus on interaction and collaboration.   Lesson 14 Assessing projects. Deconstructing products: language, need, authenticity, real audience Assessing products. Project Showcase: Focus on products.   Lesson 15 Finalizing your project blueprint. Critical Friends Protocol.

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Project Blueprint

The following are the main components of the template provided to participants to design their projects:

Project Title

Project Idea (100-200 word description)

Driving Question (50 words max!)

The Context (about 200 words)

What is your institutional context (what is your school like? what is your classroom like?)

What are the opportunities and constraints for PBLL in your context?

learners (what are your students like? what is their native language?)

What is the time frame for this project?

With regard to this project, how would you describe and assess your students’ baseline in terms of language knowledge?

 

Project Overview (minimum 3 rows)

Content Knowledge Students will learn about…	Language Knowledge Students will be able to…	Performance Assessment Students will do X to demonstrate they know/can do Y.
Example: …past and current experiences of people in the community celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead.	Example: … ask questions about a past event, ask for rephrasing or repetition, ask for clarification	Example: … write a set of interview questions on the Day of the Dead using target vocabulary and grammatical form. … conduct and record the interview with a native speaker.

The Content

What content will students need to learn?  
What open educational resources will be used in this project?   
What content resources will be used (readings, media, invited speakers, etc.)  
How will the project be scaffolded in terms of…?

• project process
• content  
• language
• final product   

What opportunities does the project create to connect with other disciplines?

The Language

What standards will this project address?  
How will this project improve the learners’ interpersonal, interpretive and presentational communicative ability?
What opportunities does the project create to further develop the learners’ understanding of the culture?
What opportunities does the project create for learners to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language or the concept of culture through comparisons of the target culture and their own?
What opportunities does the project create for learners to use the language beyond the classroom?
How does the project foster interaction with communities beyond the classroom?

Technology

What technologies will be used to support language learning?
What technologies will be used to support the project (e.g., communication, construction of final product, dissemination of final product)?
How will knowledge of technology be scaffolded?

Project Implementation

Preparing for the project

What task/s will be used in preparation for the project?  

Launching the project

What will be the entry event?

Task sequence

Briefly describe essential signpost tasks needed for project completion

Describe at least one supporting task

Project Evaluation

What are the expected project outcomes?  
How will content be assessed?
How will language be assessed?
How will 21st Century skills be assessed?  
How will knowledge of the culture be assessed?
How will the final product be assessed?

 

Rubrics

Instructional Materials

Please include a list of handouts and worksheets. If available in text format, you may paste those materials here or provide links if they are available online.

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