Teachin Computer Science through English

3rd Vocational School of Athens

What about the Internet?

Ioanna Tselinga, Teacher of English Ilias Verginis , Teacher of Informatics

Teaching Computer Science through English Authentic Audiovisual Material A Lesson based on

Interdisciplinary Learning Activities

aiming at enhancing the teaching and the learning process concerning the basic characteristics of the Internet Technology

Language Level: A2-B1 (Mixed Ability class) Content Level: adequately skilled in using Computers and exchanging Information through the Internet

Main Objective

The Comprehension of the Data Exchange process through the Internet

 How does the Internet work?  What happens when you click on a link of a webpage?  How does information travel to its destination?

Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson Ss will be able to:  recognize the different devices and protocols that are used in the data exchange process through the Internet in English  explain how the reliability of the data exchange through the Internet is achieved  describe the characteristics of a Local Area Network (LAN) and the World Wide Web (www)  identify the main functions of specific devices (e.g. Router, Proxy Server) and programs (e.g. Firewall, Web-Server)  describe the data exchange process through the Internet by using Passive Voice

Why use English to teach new concepts in Computer Science?

 to break the traditional teaching routine - get off the beaten track  to motivate Ss to use English in order to acquire knowledge in Computer Science  to encourage Ss to participate actively in the learning process  to experiment with principles of CLIL

Why use English to teach new concepts in Computer Science?

Content and Language Integrated Learning Subject Teacher (CONTENT)

English Teacher (NON-NATIVE LANGUAGE)

“CLIL refers to situations where subjects or parts of subjects are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language” Marsh, D. 2002

Stages 1-2

Stage 1: Warm-up (in Greek). Ss are encouraged to think about and discuss the way information and data are requested and acquired through the Internet.

Stage 2: Pre-test. (in Greek). Ss take a pre-test so that T checks their previous knowledge concerning the exchange of data through the Internet.

Stage 3

Postal service / Internet: Brainstorming – Comparison of the two processes (in Greek/English)  A Powerpoint presentation shown to Ss in Greek to highlight the similarities of the two processes

Stage 3

Stage 3

Stage 3

Stage 3

Stage 4

Vocabulary matching exercise (in English) Ss are asked to match the words they have been exposed to in the previous stage to their definitions.

Stage 5

1st Video viewing (in English).  Ss watch an English video called: “The Warriors of the Net” (more information about the video is available at www.warriorsofthe.net/) Ss fill in a diagram with the appropriate words given .

The diagram concerns a request for a specific web-site through a Web browser.  Ss are asked to do a gap-filling exercise. Τhey have to put the verbs given, in the Present Simple Passive Voice in order to describe the process mentioned in the video.

Stage 5

Stage 6

2nd Video viewing: (with English subtitles created by teachers) ďƒ˜ Ss read some statements and guess whether they are True or False. ďƒ˜ Then they watch the video for the second time The video is paused at specific points so that Ss verify their answers to the questions of the corresponding video segment.

Stage 7

Post-Viewing activity: PROBLEM SOLVING ďƒ˜ Ss get into groups in order to solve the following problem:

John is in the school computer lab and wants to find the address of a local bar. He types www.athensbar.gr in a Web browser. He clicks on the requested link and receives the following message: The access to the requested site is forbidden!!!

What has happened? Describe and design the journey of the IP packets from the moment John made his request. How far have these packets travelled?

What has blocked their access to the requested site?

Stage 8

Post-test: ďƒ˜ Ss take a post-test so that T can assess their progress. Actually, they retake the pre-test in order to measure the acquisition of new Knowledge

Implementation Class: Year 1 Level: A2 Number of Ss: 17 Duration: 4 teaching hours (Only Stages 1-5 were completed) Students’ reactions:  Enthusiasm  Increased motivation  Active involvement / participation in meaningful interaction.  Constant attempt to relate their personal experiences with the introduced concepts.

Implementation Teachers’ challenges :

 Familiarizing with the principles of CLIL and CLIL based material.  Time consuming preparation of educational material  Adapting authentic material to Ss’ needs  Ss skepticism about the new form of classroom practice  Underestimating the duration of implementation  Practical problems like school timetable issues  Availability of computer lab

“You cannot

teach a language, only create the conditions under which it might be learned “ Von Humboldt

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Steve Jobs