January Workshop Program
Speaker: Dr. Heebon Park-Finch
Topic: Promoting Confidence and Motivation in EFLWriting/Speaking through Projects, Portfolios and Peer-Assessment
Date: Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013
Time: 3:00~5:30
Venue: Daegu, Kyungpook National University, Woodang Building, Room 201
This presentation shows how projects and portfolios, along with peer-assessment, have been used in EFL writing and reading/speaking classes to promote creativity, organization skills, responsibility, sincerity, diligence, problem-solving skills, and time-management, in addition to English composition and presentation skills.
Incorporated in an English Composition course over the semester, portfolios become each student’s story of who they are as readers and writers. Portfolios contain writing assignments, class materials, peer-feedback, and other related materials, and are rich with the evidence of what students are able to do and how they are able to do it. Portfolios also allow teachers to get to know students on an individual basis and encourage reflective peer-feedback through portfolio conferences and peer-reviews. Projects, such as Class Newspapers and Group Presentations, help students to learn about teamwork and collaboration while they are working in groups, and allow students to learn composition and presentation skills through writing and speaking about topics that are relevant to them. In this way, process and product come together in an authentic, meaningful setting. The Mini-Drama/Role-Play Group Project proved to be an enjoyable and memorable learning experience to the students (both English and non-English majors) and the teacher alike.
The presenter has been using portfolios, projects, and peer-assessment in her classes for a number of years, and has observed that these increase confidence and motivation. Likewise, encouraging students with positive comments and offering help whenever asked leads to enjoyment of the entire process of writing and English learning in general. In this presentation, participants will see sample portfolios and class newspapers made by Korean college students, together with video clips of their English presentations and role-play/drama performances on the class stage. The presenter will also share feedback from the students about using portfolios, group projects and peer-assessment in the classes.
About:
Dr. Heebon Park-Finch is Assistant Professor at the College of Liberal Education of Keimyung University. She received a Ph.D. in Drama at the University of Bristol (2012), subsequent to her doctorate in English Literature from Kyungpook National University (2006) and was recently Visiting Scholar at University of California at Berkeley. Professor Park-Finch has given workshops and teacher-training lectures for Korean secondary school English teachers (effective English writing) and EPIK teachers (cross-cultural issues), and is researching effective ways of teaching and sharing the enjoyment of British and American drama with EFL students. She has worked as international coordinator and official interpreter at the Gyeongju World Culture EXPO, Academic Coordinator for the KNU Language Education Center, script-writer at Daegu MBC, simultaneous translator and MC for international events, and Social Secretary to an ambassador in Seoul. Ms. Park-Finch has also co-authored British English and Culture: A First Step (2011) with her husband (Dr. Andrew Finch) and can be contacted at heebonfinch@gmail.com or hbpark@kmu.ac.kr.
