Active Learning through Materials Development: A Project for the Advanced L2 Classroom

• Main Author: Katrina Daly Thompson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages 2008-01-01
• Series: Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages
• Subjects: Active Learning; Materials Development; L2 Classroom; Swahili; computer-mediated; autonomy; L2 courses
• Online Access: http://www.ncolctl.org/files/Active-Learning-through-Materials-Development.pdf

Building on the notion of active learning, the assumption that students learn more when given opportunities to practice using their skills and to receive feedback on their performance, this article de-scribes a project undertaken in an Advanced (third-year) Swahili course in which students were given the opportunity to develop L2 materials for computer-mediated peer instruction. The article exam-ines the goals, design and results of the project in light of the litera-ture on active learning and learner autonomy, and suggests how the project might be improved in order to serve as a model for other Ad-vanced L2 courses.