INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Teaching Notes

Our language learning hacks

How can we help each other to learn English better?
Learners answer this question by sharing their techniques (or ‘hacks’) for learning languages, finding out
about others’ hacks and trying them out. They consider learners of different types by evaluating these ideas
according to how inclusive and accessible they are for people in a variety of situations. Finally, they create
a short video to promote their language learning hacks.

Timing
This project follows the theme of Intermediate Unit 2: ‘Success’ and makes a suitable extension after the
writing lesson in 2E, in which learners write how-to articles. However, it could be carried out at any point, as
this project is always relevant to learners.

Allow two lessons to complete it:

Lesson 1 – introduction to project theme; gathering language learning hacks; evaluating different hacks

Lesson 2 – deciding on the best hacks for language learning; making a video to promote the ideas;
watching each other’s videos; evaluating the success of the project

Learning outcomes
The learner is able to …

• present the advantages and disadvantages of learning hacks, and make recommendations to
others.
• share useful information with other learners in clear, persuasive English.
• motivate others to manage their own learning.
• promote inclusivity in language learning by finding learning opportunities for learners in different
contexts.
• recognize the effectiveness of their language learning hacks and their contribution to the project.

Language and skills practised

GRAMMAR: Present simple and present continuous (1B) I always look at new words every day.
Used to (1C) I used to forget new words until I started writing them on post-its.
Present perfect (2B) Have you ever tried recording yourself in English?

VOCABULARY: Talking about practice (2B) Why don’t you watch films in English?

CRITICAL THINKING: Reflecting on ideas (3A) e.g. exploring language-learning ideas from different angles

WRITING: Planning: deciding what information to include (2E)

SDGs addressed
SDG 4 (Quality Education) Inclusive education, learner empowerment through independent practice

SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) Lifelong learning as a path to better employment

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Teaching Notes

Materials and resources

Learners will need:

• internet access to research language-learning techniques online

• phone cameras or video camcorders for making videos
• props and other materials to demonstrate learning hacks as necessary

Step-by-step instructions
Think of two language-learning techniques that you have used to practise a language: a specific technique,
e.g. write your weekly shopping list in the language you’re studying; and some more general advice, e.g.
find TV shows or films you enjoy watching and watch them in the language.

Make one copy of the project sheet for each learner.

Lesson 1
 Teach the class what a hack is by showing them some online videos (search for ‘best hacks for …’). If it
isn’t possible to show videos, explain a simple hack you know, e.g. open stiff jar lids by running them under
hot water first. Invite learners to share other hacks that they know. Elicit a definition and synonyms for
hack, e.g. solutions, pieces of advice, techniques for making things easier, tricks.

 Hand out the project sheets and direct learners’ attention to the tweet. Share the language learning
techniques that you thought of before the lesson to indicate the range of possible answers to the question
in the tweet. Then put learners in pairs to discuss their answers to the question. Monitor the pairs, taking a
note of interesting answers and prompting with ideas where necessary.

 Conduct whole-class feedback by inviting individuals to share with the class the hack they would
recommend and why. Encourage them to share as many ideas as possible. Ask questions about their
ideas to get them thinking about including different types of learners, e.g. Who would enjoy an activity like
that? How could people who don’t have internet access do something similar?

 Invite learners to read the project question and goals. Then have them read the instructions. Negotiate
with the class whether the video will be shared around the class only, around the school, on a school social
media group or the wider online community. Then reorganize learners into groups of four or five. Give them
time to share the ideas they have and to start a list (Step 1 of the student project sheet).

 Elicit ways that they could discover more language learning hacks, for example by interviewing language
learners they know and searching online. Give them plenty of time to do the research. They add ideas they
find out to their lists.

 Direct students to the groups of learners in Step 2. Explain that some ideas they have already collected
may be suitable for these learners, but they should adapt their ideas to suit them if not or add new ones
especially for these learners and add these to their list.

 Ask groups to evaluate the hacks they have collected by discussing the questions in Step 3. You could
model the activity using your example language-learning techniques, e.g. Writing shopping lists in the
language is a low-tech way to learn vocabulary and is something that you can do quickly without much
effort, but the vocabulary would soon get repetitive and it doesn’t get you using the vocabulary in whole
sentences. You could recommend it to beginner learners with little time who don’t have internet access or
much motivation to do formal study.

 Ask each learner to choose a hack that they haven’t tried before and to try it out before the next lesson.
Groups can organize themselves so that they all try different hacks and can therefore report back to their
groups at the start of the next lesson (Step 4).

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Teaching Notes

Lesson 2
 At the start of the lesson, give groups time to discuss the hacks they tried out outside of class, and to
make a final decision about which hacks they will promote in their videos. Three is the minimum and a
realistic maximum is five (Step 5).

 Groups now plan, write and produce their videos. Discourage them from reading scripts out loud by
suggesting they make notes and rehearse a few times. They may want to incorporate the expressions in
Step 6 that they have recently studied. Encourage a different group member to present each hack so that
there are different voices on the video, but allow them to choose the format they prefer.

 When all teams have filmed their videos (Step 7), they present them to the class. Make sure the viewers
understand they need to choose a hack from those they learn about to try out (Step 8). After all the videos
have been shown, congratulate them for their hard work and great ideas, and invite suggestions about
what to do with the videos next, whether to upload to social media or share with other classes, etc.

 Lead a whole-class discussion about what they have learned from the project. Possible questions include:
What are the most effective hacks you’ve heard about today? Do the same hacks work for everyone? Can
hacks be adapted to suit different learners? Do you feel motivated to try new techniques to learn English?
Which ones? How can we work together to make these techniques part of our language-learning routine?

 Hand out one evaluation sheet for each student. They must work firstly as a group to score their group
performance and then individually to give themselves a score (Step 9). Take in their evaluation sheets.

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 assessment rubric: Our language learning hacks

Score Project output Use of English Application of SDGs Application of SDGs Self-evaluation
(1) (2)
3 • Participates actively and
contributes ideas to the
• Communicates language-
learning hacks clearly and
• Makes the advantages of
self-directed learning
• Promotes inclusive
education by addressing
• Accurately and honestly
self-evaluates their
Great video project. effectively. clear. the needs of learners in a performance.
• Makes a video that • Uses English consistently • Motivates learners to variety of different
answers the project throughout the project. exploit a range of situations.
question, is informative learning opportunities
and gives clear both formal and
recommendations. informal, traditional and
more innovative.
2 • Participates and
contributes some ideas to
• Communicates
adequately for the
• Indicates the advantages
of self-directed learning
• Addresses the needs of
learners in one or two
• Shows limited awareness
of the effectiveness of
Good the video project. purposes of the project. to some extent. learning situations to their performance in the
• Makes a video that • Uses English for the most • Motivates learners to some extent. execution of the project.
somewhat answers the part. exploit one or two
project question, is learning opportunities.
informative to some
extent and gives limited
recommendations.
1 • Does not participate or
contribute adequately.
• Fails to communicate
adequately for the
• Fails to show the • Fails to address the
needs of learners in
• Is unable to self-evaluate
accurately and honestly.
advantages of self-
Needs • Makes a video that fails purposes of the project. directed learning. situations other than
work to answer the project • Makes little effort to use • Doesn’t motivate their own.
question, doesn’t inform English. learners to take
and doesn’t give advantage of learning
recommendations. opportunities.

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Student sheet

Our language learning hacks

How can we help each other to learn English better?

Project goals
By the end of the lesson, you will show that you can …

• present advantages and disadvantages of language-learning hacks, and make

recommendations to others.
• share learning techniques with other learners in clear, persuasive English.
• motivate others to take control of their language learning and use different opportunities to
learn.
• promote inclusivity in language learning by sharing learning opportunities for learners in
different situations.
• recognize the effectiveness of your language-learning hacks and your contribution to the
project.

Pre-task
Look at the social media post. In pairs, discuss your answers to @LanguageUser!’s
question.

Project instructions
You are going to work in a team to create a short video to promote language learning outside of
class. Together, you will choose at least three language learning ‘hacks’ that could be useful and
practical to a large number of language learners. You will then produce a video that shows how
the hacks work, what the advantages are and any other information to encourage learners to try
them out.

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Student sheet

Lesson 1 (and homework)

1 Work in teams. Share the ideas you already have and start a list of all the hacks you can think
of. Find more hacks by searching online (e.g. ‘best language learning hacks’) or interviewing
other language learners you know. Add the new hacks to your list.
2 Look at your list of ideas. What ideas would be useful for learners in the following situations?
How could you adapt your ideas for them? Can you think of more hacks to help each group?
Learners who…

• struggle to find motivation to study because they didn’t enjoy languages at school
• have dyslexia or other learning difficulties
• are children or young teenagers
• prefer to study alone, or prefer it with other people
• are blind, deaf or have other physical disabilities
• don’t have a computer or phone
• have to work long hours or care for people and have little time for study
• have a very low or very high level of English
3 Use these questions to evaluate each hack on your list. Then choose your favourite hacks,
making sure your final list includes hacks to help learners practise in different ways and in
different situations.

• How does the hack help learners? (e.g. learn vocabulary, speak fluently, etc.)
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this hack?
• How likely are you to use this hack to practise English in the future? Why? / Why not?
• Which hack would you recommend to each of the learners described in Step 2?
4 After class, try out one or two hacks that you haven’t used before. Is it an effective way to
learn? Would it work for everyone? Why? / Why not? You will share what you have learned with
your group in the next lesson.

Lesson 2

5 Work in the same groups as before. Discuss the hacks you tried at home. Make a final
decision of between three and five hacks to include in your video. Consider which hacks are the
easiest to explain and are the most useful to language learners in different situations.
6 Plan what you will say in your video and who will say it. Consider these useful expressions:
If you want to … but …, why don't you …?
Do you find it difficult to … when studying? Have you tried …?
I used to … but then I started … and I’m learning vocabulary so much faster!
It’s easy to …
The only problem is …
7 Produce your video. Take turns to present. Edit your video, if needed.
8 Show your video to other groups. Watch other groups’ videos and choose one hack that you
would like to try out yourself.
9 Your teacher will give you an evaluation sheet. Evaluate your group’s performance in part A.
Then evaluate your own performance in part B.

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 INTERMEDIATE Project 1 Self-evaluation sheet

A Give your video a score based on how accurately these statements describe it. (Give
the video 1 if the statement doesn’t describe it, 3 if you think it describes it well.)
Our video …
1 was well organized and recommended useful hacks for many learners. 1…2…3
2 used accurate English to explain the hacks. 1…2…3
3 promoted independent language learning by motivating students to practise. 1…2…3

B Give yourself a score based on how accurately these statements describe you during
the project. (Give yourself 1 if the statement doesn’t describe you, 3 if you think it
describes you very well.)
I have shown that I can …
1 work in a team to produce a practical video for language learners. 1…2…3
2 speak in a clear way to encourage learners to try new techniques. 1…2…3
3 consider people with different learning needs. 1…2…3
4 help others stay motivated to learn in their everyday lives. 1…2…3

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