Project work, cross-curricular or interdisciplinary teaching and learning - storyline as an approach to effective foreign language teaching

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,0, University of Education Freiburg im Breisgau, language: English, abstract: Project work, cross-curricular or interdisciplinary teaching and learning, openplanned lessons, experiential learning - these are only a few of the whole range of existing terms expressing a trend of educational methodology postulated by theorists throughout many past decades. Related to each other by the similar notion of 'learning by doing' they intended to reform the antiquated style of traditional teaching and replace it by a methodology characterised by learner orientation and learner autonomy. Due to the rapidly changing world and its demands the fact-based education system had to move to a skilled-based conception characterised by process- rather than content-orientation. The lack of practical translation of constructivist ideas in (foreign language) teaching, decisive findings in cognitive psychology, constructivist philosophies as well as many students and teachers experiences have proved the positive impact of project work and openplanned teaching on effective and successful (language) learning. One of them, the Storyline concept, is the central subject of this work - a more general theoretical reflection - which is followed by a concrete design of a Storyline unit for the primary English classroom.