Planning projects for your Learning Circle

Many Learning Circles meet once per week to discuss what they have heard on the radio and to share new vocabulary. Others invite English speakers to give a talk or a lecture. But there are many other things which you can do to make sure that all the members of the Learning Circle feel that they have made progress in using English. Here, we give you some ideas for English Projects for your Learning Circle.

WHAT IS A PROJECT?

A Project is a large task which involves everyone and which results in a product – something
which everyone can see, use or participate in. Some projects can be completed in a few days. Others may take a few months.To keep interest levels high in your Learning Circle, try to mix long-term and short-term projects so that all the Learning Circle members can see the results of their hard work!

Projects work very well if you have an audience. By sharing your work with other people in your community, your Learning Circle can feel happy with their work and the members of your
community can improve their English too!

Here are 3 ideas for Learning Circle projects.

PROJECT IDEA 1: LEARNING CIRCLE LIBRARY

This project – to create a listening library – can help all of your members, and people in your
community, improve their listening skills.

In your Learning Circle, find out which members have a favourite BBC programme – and which members have a radio cassette player. Decide together on which programmes you would like to record. (Remember to think about recording at times when reception is good.)

For the next stage, members of the Learning Circle can work together in pairs or small groups. Each pair or group should take responsibility for making a question sheet about the programme they have recorded.The questions shouldn’t be too difficult – try to write questions which listeners can answer quite easily.

When the questions have been prepared, give them and the recording to a different group. Can they answer the questions? Do they think they are useful? When you are happy with the listening exercise you have written, write it out again as a ‘good copy’. If you can, stick the exercise onto a piece of card. In this way, it can stay in good condition.Write the answers to the questions on the back of the card or exercise.Write the name and date of the programme on the card and on the cassette.

In your Learning Circle, decide how you are going to use your Listening Library. Can members borrow cassettes to take home for a few days? How often are you going to add new programmes to the library?

*  You could lend your cassettes to the English teacher in your local school. That way, the school pupils will improve their listening skills and your Learning Circle can help your community.

PROJECT IDEA 2: LEARNING CIRCLE WALL MAGAZINE

The product of this project is a magazine or large poster which you can display on the wall of your meeting place.

For the first ‘draft’ of the magazine, each member brings a copy of what she or he has written. Members work with a partner, reading each other’s written work and making suggestions for how to improve it. Each writer then writes a second or final draft.

Working as a team, the Learning Circle then decides how to display the work. Does it need pictures or illustrations? Which magazine articles can be grouped together? When the magazine is ready, display it on the wall.

*If you study in a school or if there is a school in your town or village, why not offer to display your magazine there? That way, many people will be able to read it!

*If you have a large number of members in your Learning Circle, why not organise teams of magazine writers? Each team can then take a turn to produce a new magazine.

PROJECT IDEA 3 : LEARNING CIRCLE LECTURES

Many listeners have told us that they invite speakers to give lectures to their Learning Circle members.This project, however, encourages Learning Circle members to go out and speak in English to other people in the community.

In your Learning Circle, find out which members would be happy to give a short talk in English to a group of people.This might be to students in your local school or college, for example. Other members of the Learning Circle might be happy to help by making visual aids to illustrate the talk (e.g. pictures, drawings or diagrams).

Start by contacting your local school or college, or anywhere where people are studying English.Tell them about your Learning Circle and explain your project. Ask if they would like you to give a talk to their students.

Together, make a short list of topics which you could talk about. For example, you could talk about your hobby or about a journey you have made.You could even talk about BBC World Service programmes and what you have learnt from them!

Work in pairs or small groups to plan the talk. Remember that the talk doesn’t have to be given by one person only.You could prepare a talk for two people to give.

When you feel confident with your talk, practise with your Learning Circle. Set aside a Learning Circle meeting for the talk, allowing time for questions at the end. After the talk has finished, ask the Learning Circle members to say what they liked about the talk, and to give some suggestions for improving it.You could also record the talk on a cassette recorder so the speakers can hear themselves later.

When you feel the talk is well prepared, contact the school or college where you are going to give the talk to make final arrangements.Try to make sure that some members of the Learning Circle can join you to provide the speakers with help and support. 

* When they have given the talk, the speakers could write about it for the Learning Circle magazine.