Innovation in Language Learning

Project-based learning (Stoller, 1997), incorporating situated practice and critical inquiry, will meet learners’ needs when they are supposed to master the complex English literacy and communication skills required by the emerging informational economy and society. It is a new pedagogical approach composed of a series of tasks, requiring students to use various languages and other skills to accomplish respectively. It is to provide students with opportunities to learn the language in a simulated authentic communicative situation when they are using the language. A project-based learning package was designed for PhD candidates at HIT, in consideration of learners’ background, present knowledge, particularly their needs of learning English for the purpose of academic exchange. In this package, named as “simulating an international conference”, students will get involved in the whole process of organizing an international conference: from planning the conference, to calling for papers, submitting abstracts, evaluating abstracts, hosting the conference, presenting papers, seminar discussion and finally the publishing of a collection of papers. It is found that in the whole process, besides the traditional language literacies of reading, writing, speaking and listening, other literacies of editing, presenting, and using the technologies for communication, particularly in the context of academic conference, are practiced too. Meanwhile, students are able to practice other skills， such as using information technologies, word editing and publishing. More importantly, students need to collaborate and cooperate with each other. The abilities to use English as a communicative tool for international communication, to use information technologies and to be able to cooperate with others are the aims of education in the 21st century.