English day trips

[giana]

I plan to take my students on a day trips to provide them with opportunities to learn more and practice their English.Do you think it is a good idea to take them to a museum or it is sort of dull?What preparations are needed? Is it any good to provide them with a list of useful vocabulary some time in advance? What can make our day trip more fun and enjoyable ?

[AlexCase]

How old are the students and what country are you in?

In general, the (difficult) trick is to give them something to do in the museum that uses the language that is there while improving their enjoyment of the museum (rather than killing their enjoyment, as all the tasks our teachers gave us on trips when I was on school did). Some kind of treasure hunt is probably best.

Some of my own attempts are here:

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets/art/

[giana]

Dear AlexCase
My students are adults and we live in Iran.
We have some options, such as Museum of Ancient Iran full of historical ornaments ,jewelery and bric-a-bracs related to different eras.Another choice could be some palaces which were owned by our previous monarchs and have changed into museums as well.In these palaces you can get familiar with royal lifestyle!An the last one: we can go mountain climbing and enjoy the beautiful nature.Which one do you believe to offer more learning and language -use opportunities???

[samuel]

I believe that day trips are excellent ideas to help students open up to the world that is around them. Going to a museum can be fun if you give your students a mission for example. Maybe giving them questions about things they will see can be interesting. Students will have to search the information throughout the museum and they could form teams and create a challenge to see who will find all the answers first! This is a fun way of learning and students truly will remember their experience. However, such a day trip requires a lot of preparation in advance. Students need to know what to bring (lunch, material, etc.) Students need to be informed of the exact procedures and they need to know the rules that will be followed very strictly. I would definitely consider bringing my students on such a trip because it would be an enjoyable experience .

[MikeV]

Dear giana,

If you want to, you can even make a short survey for your students to complete. As they are all adults, they can give you more input about what they think would help them and interest them. Museums are, in my opinion, interesting places where you can learn a lot on a large variety of topics. I am pretty sure there are museums in which you can have an interactive visit with a guide and on a topic that interests most of your students. Fortunately this can help you. As for anything related to procedures, samuel quite covered it all!

[MikeV]

Dear giana,

As your students are all adults, you could think of making a small survey in class to see what they are the most interested in. Museums are, in my opinion, a great idea of a place to visit for an English day trip. If you look around and get some information on the different museums you have close to your school, you can probably find one which provides an interactive visit between the guide and the students so they can both learn and talk in English. This can test their comprehension and make them entertained as well. I am pretty sure you can find a topic which interests the majority of your students. As for the procedures you should think of, samuel quite covered most of them. I hope this helps you!

[samueltremblay]

I also think that taking your students to a museum is a great idea if you are prepared in advance. The challenge idea is a good one, but you have to make sure that your students will not lose interest in what you plan for them. A treasure hunt seems to me really interesting, but a lot of preparation is needed also. What you can also do is to have them choose maybe 3 items in the museum that they found interesting and have them write a short paragraph to describe what they found interesting about the objects. It is less demanding but I think that you should go with the treasure hunt if you have the time to design such an activity because students will probably be more motivated and interested by that.

[cyndie]

I totally agree with what Samuel said, it is an excellent idea to go out to learn new English vocabulary, but the museum is not a place where students will actually practice their oral skills. So maybe you should provide a sheet that they would have to comlete, in teams or alone, by asking questions to the person in charge of some specific animals like jungle animals. Students would for example need to ask this resourceful person what kind of food the animals are eating and at what hours of the day. You could even call ther museum and warn them of your wonderful project, therefore the satff wold be a little prepare for these questions.

[amrif]

In my opinion, day trips to learn English are a great idea; taking students out of the classroom in order to learn English changes things up a bit. They will enjoy this aspect of learning. Museums or places with historical value can be a great way of teaching students English. In order for it to be informative and for the students to not get bored or distracted is to give them a goal. As a teacher, make sure to be well informed about the place you will visit. As was previously mentioned, give students certain questions or things to answer or look for. This will keep them focused and motivated.

[samantha]

I believe that English day trips are a great way to learn English. They expose the students their target language all day, which is great. It also allows them to learn English in a different context. This will help them build their vocabulary and learn new expressions.
It’s important to make learning fun, and I find that a day trip can be a great motivator for students. It changes things up for them, and allows them to learn in a fun and new environment.
As English teachers, we have the advantage of being able to cover multiple aspects and subjects of life; all we have to do is adapt them to make them in English. Students always enjoy day trips, so I think as teachers it’s important to take these opportunities to expose the students to as much as we can!