H5P and Moodle Lesson Resource to teach teens English as a Foreign Language
Using Moodle for Blended Learning can help raise the level of proficiency in English among Junior High and High School pupils.
H5P and Moodle Lesson Resource make it possible to engage pupils with activities that are relevant and authentic and provide useful lexical items to learn, use and recycle, both inside and outside the classroom. They enable Branching Scenarios, which in given circumstances may provide very good learning results.
“Branching scenario is an interactive form of learning. It challenges the learner, requires them to make a decision, and then presents the consequences. Each consequence produces new challenges and more choices.” (SOURCE). When teaching English as a Foreign Language using Moodle for Blended Learning, teachers can pre-teach given lexical items, present content that introduces relevant and authentic situations, and engage pupils so that they participate actively. When all is said and done, as teachers of teenagers, this is what we mostly try to do, and Moodle can help us here.
On this post, I will share but two examples out of many. Take the topic of cheating in exams. The subject can be introduced in the classroom in many different ways: a Pre-teaching activity that focuses on selected vocabulary can be followed by written text, a video, a recording of a story, etc. Pupils can then learn, practice and reuse this vocabulary. An H5P Branching Scenario activity can then be provided for pupils to work on either in class or at home (Flipping the Classroom). This Branching Scenarios activity may be assigned to pupils to work on their own or in groups. Lesson time can then be used as a follow-up activity focused on what pupils have done. All this will result in raising the level of proficiency in English, as pupils will be able to read, listen, write and speak in English.
I have created this H5P activity ( “Moral Dilemma: Cheating in exams” https://h5p.org/node/593434 ) to share an example of how H5P Branching Scenarios as I have explained can help teachers teach English using an authentic and relevant topic. While the Moodle Platform I used allows for directly adding H5P, I created the activity on my H5P account so that I could share it with teachers in my school and elsewhere. I uploaded it on the platform using the Moodle URL Resource.
Everywhere one looks, anywhere in the world where people live, one can find instances of discrimination. “Discrimination can be based on many different characteristics—age, gender, weight, ethnicity, religion, or even politics. For example, prejudice and discrimination based on race is called racism. ” (Source) Who hasn’t witnessed discrimination, has been discriminated or has discriminated? This is, no doubt, a topic that is authentic and relevant to pupils, and one that lends itself to teaching a lot of English.
In Israel, one of the many literary pieces we teach at school is “As I Grew Older” by Langston Hughes (LINK). Its central theme is that regardless of the obstacles one finds to fulfill one’s dreams, a person can always find his/her dream and fight for it. Racism is the major obstacle faced by the speaker in the poem. As a follow-up to the teaching and learning of the poem, I have created a Moodle Lesson (link to the YouTube video that shows this lesson). This Moodle lesson uses useful content and worksheets from an Equality and Human Rights Commission site. (LINK) Either individually or, better yet, in groups, pupils can be assigned to choose one of the paths offered on this Moodle lesson. They will then present their findings to the whole class. No less important, pupils can then be offered the possibility of doing project work based on choosing other examples of discrimination, prejudice, etc. doing research, presenting findings, etc.
In short, introducing these two activities when using Moodle for Blended Learning, teachers can help raise the level of proficiency in English among Junior High and High School pupils in Israel. Moodle provides that added value technology has to teach English.
Married to Susy, with two daughters: Gabriela and Maia, and three granddaughters (Sol, Dor, and Eliana), Eduardo is teaching English at school.
Having completed with HRDNZ both MoodleBites for Teachers and the six MEC courses, Eduardo is a Moodle Certified Educator.
He is a Certified Israel Ministry of Education Teachers’ teacher.
He has developed and facilitated several Israel Ministry of Education’s Spanish and English as a Foreign Language online workshops.
- Giving access to high-quality educational experiences with Moodle – 28th January 2023
- Enhance K-12 English Foreign Language Skills with Moodle – 28th September 2022
- Dig into Digital: Focus on H5P – 28th August 2022
What a fascinating post!
Thanks for sharing the examples and other links – I love the H5P branching scenario – which as you say is similar conceptually to the Moodle Lesson.