Vinsers learn English through scientific inventions
The time machine that runs by battery, the time traveler that uses a computer, the magic mirror that brings you to the comic world, the flying car, the smart clock, the magic ruler, etc. are the examples created by the students of Class 5A7, 5A8 and 5A9 of Vinschool Primary School in an English class.
The above inventions were created by the fifth-grade “scientists” during their English period with the subject of “Invention”. Highly academic topics were thought to cause difficulties for the children, but they actually helped them develop their creativity and imagination towards unique inventions. The class really fascinated them.
The magic mirror that brings people to the world of comic books
Loving the cartoon world and dreaming of traveling there to meet the characters, Ngoc Han and Gia Linh researched, designed and invented the magic mirror together. They enthusiastically presented in English about it, “You just need to step into a mirror in the real world. This mirror is connected to the cartoon world. When you step out of the mirror, you can meet your favorite cartoon characters.”
The students also “cast a spell” on their familiar objects such as glasses, pencils, rulers or watches in order for them to become extraordinary things like movie pencil, Internet assess glasses, glasses that can catch robberies or a watch that you can talk to when having troubles.
The flying car that saves energy and helps people to avoid traffic jam by flying in it
Through their small “scientific project”, the students will present about the structure, operation principles, energy and the usefulness of their inventions. What’s special is that their inventions will be drawn, explained and presented in front of the whole class in English. In this way the students can learn new vocabulary on the topic and develop their imagination and creativity like a real inventor. The students enthusiastically said, “I really love the English classes with the topic of science. I am very happy and feel free to invent things!”
Now we not only have computers to surf the Internet, we also have the wonderful Internet Glasses!
Ms. Le Thi Chinh, an English teacher shared her thought, “Both Vietnamese and foreign teachers instruct the students to work on their projects in many class periods. In the first period, they learned to divide themselves into groups, divided the tasks and chose which invention to present about. During each class after that, they implemented each task and when a topic ended, they already had the complete information and invention to present about in front of the whole class.”
The glasses with unique function: catching robbers and seeing through walls
Teaching English at Vinschool means being attached with real life and different projects so that thee students can understand the contexts, form their English mind, and most importantly, acquire the subject’s knowledge in the most natural way. The textbook currently applied at Vinschool, “Explore our world”, not only provides English communication situations but also includes social, scientific, mathematical, musical knowledge and so on in the lessons’ comprehensive topics.
The time machine that can take you to any moment
In English periods, the teachers also apply many advanced methods and skills which effectively help the students to acquire the knowledge better, for example, the mindmap method that helps them to memorize better, the group discussion method, the pair sharing method, and the reverse learning method that helps the students actively study, be creative and be confident to present their knowledge.
