DigU
Digital Teaching

Nowadays it is hard to imagine life without computers, tablets and mobile phones. It would also be unrealistic to ignore this technology when teaching foreign languages. Instead, the possibilities offered by such tools should be used to design interactive lessons. DigU, a “Digital Lesson Design” database, can help.

DigU is a web-based application available from the Goethe-Institut that language teachers can use to search for media-based tasks. The tasks illustrate how media can be used in GFL lessons to accomplish a particular skill, goal or learning activity.

HOW DOES Digu WORK?

Teachers can browse the DigU database for appropriate tasks in two areas: ready-made units can be found in the section Unterrichtssequenzen (i.e. Lesson Sequences). In the section Aufgabentypologie (i.e. Task Typology), teachers can find task templates which show how different tools can be used in different lesson situations.

The task templates are examples which contain generic task descriptions. The descriptions are worded in a sufficiently generic way to allow them to be applied to as many different but similar situations as possible, yet are specific enough to ensure that the teacher can understand how the task is supposed to be carried out. Each task template contains all the descriptions and information that the teacher will need: a description of the task, the learning goal, the social form, the activities which the teacher will need to carry out to prepare for and set the task, technical information and suggestions for follow-up activities.

Those aspects which need to be adapted to suit a particular target group, local conditions or technical equipment are marked, as for example in this task: Click in the forum entry on <…> [add button name] and write down your opinion, using the following expressions/grammatical structures: … [add expressions and structures].

Examples linked to the corresponding task template illustrate how the tasks can be adapted. These Beispielaufgaben (i.e. Specimen Tasks) show how the task can be realized using specific content and a specific tool. Once all the necessary adaptations have been made, the specimen tasks can be used in the classroom without any further modification.

units and Scenarios

The task templates and the specimen tasks to which they are linked represent the smallest units on DigU that are complete in terms of their content and structure. With their help, a more precise learning goal in areas such as oral communication, grammatical structures or cultural knowledge can be achieved. The specimen tasks lead to ready-made lesson sequences which show one example of how a media-based task can be used in the context of a larger unit. An overview of the individual DigU modules (PDF) can be found here.

Various possible scenarios as regards technical equipment are defined for the DigU tasks, such as learners have access to the Internet outside the classroom, there is a teacher’s computer and/or several learners’ computers with Internet access in the classroom, learners have access to mobile devices (BYOD). Teachers decide which DigU tasks to use on the basis of the local circumstances.

The methodological-pedagogical concept

The example scenarios are based on the principles of task-based language learning. Each lesson sequence focuses on one goal in which a real / authentic situation from the everyday lives of the learners is depicted. The “product” of the learner’s activities, which will be the outcome of the lesson sequence, is specified in the goal. In the goal “Finding a flat in Germany”, for example, the outcome of the exercise is a guide to finding a flat. Learners discover more ways in which to use language in real-life situations, which increases their motivation.  

The individual tasks in the lesson sequence build upon and are linked to one another. A complex goal is divided up into sub-tasks – smaller sets of different tasks which, working towards a shared subordinate goal, are linked to a unit that is complete in terms of its content and structure. Furthermore, learners are given the necessary preparation with respect to content, language and learning skills to achieve the goal and generate the “product”, supported in the process by appropriate digital media.

use in GFL lessons

A number of scenarios are recommended when it comes to using the DigU modules in GFL lessons:

The scenario Einsatz von fertigen Unterrichtssequenzen (i.e. Use of ready-made lesson sequences) is intended for teachers who are searching for ready-made material for particular levels and specific focal themes. Teachers can either use a complete lesson sequence or simply take some of the sub-tasks from it if the described goals and activities correspond to the target group and planned lessons.

The scenario Einsatz von Aufgabenbeispielen (i.e. Use of specimen tasks) is designed for teachers wishing to add individual media-based tasks to enrich their lessons. The specimen tasks require little or no changes, though teachers should check that the described objectives and content correspond to their target group’s needs and that the specimen task can be incorporated into the lesson plan in place of a non-media-based task.

The scenario Einsatz von Aufgabenvorlagen (i.e. Use of task templates) helps teachers create their own media-based tasks. In this scenario, a number of tools are recommended in each task template. Based on the selected tool and the technical instructions concerning how to use this task template, teachers add the necessary information to the task framework. The specimen tasks linked to the task template can be used as examples.

fostering media skills

DigU fosters the media skills of teachers and learners – by providing them with ready-made tasks and offering help with the creation of their own media-based tasks. Practical lesson materials and tasks facilitate the inclusion of digital media in the lesson process. They also illustrate how online activities can be interwoven with classroom-based activities. In addition, they offer new ideas for hybrid language learning - when digital media are embedded in the traditional learning process for the purposes of learning - during lessons and outside the classroom, and open up new ways of using media-based tasks more systematically.

If you are interested in using digital media in training, further training or continuing education events, a “Digital Further Training” (DigFo) database is available to complement the DigU database and offers a task typology for GFL/GSL teaching which can also be applied to other areas.