The Internet
TESL Journal
A Task-Based Cultural Activity for EFL Students: The Dragon Boat
Festival and Rice Dumplings
Chiung-Chu Huang and Bo-Ting Wang
hwangcc(at)fcu.edu.tw
and btwang.tw(at)gmail.com
Feng Chia University (Taichung, Taiwan)
This article introduces a task-based cultural activity for
university students in an open atmosphere outside the English
classroom. It aims to motivate students to understand their own culture
while learning English through tasks and language games.
Introduction
Proponents of Communicative Language Teaching advocate the
use of authentic materials in task-based communicative activities and
recommend that learners be given opportunities to put their language
skills to practice in real life situations (Richards & Rogers,
2001). However, Taiwanese students rarely have as many
opportunities to use English as students from other Asian regions such
as Hong Kong and
Singapore, where English is one of the official languages.
Therefore, it is important to create an English-speaking environment
for our students to use English. One way to achieve this goal is
to host communicative activities such as language games, cooking
classes and parties outside regular school hours and encourage students
to participate. In this short article we outline the approach and
procedure that we employed in designing a special activity
corresponding to the Dragon Boat Festival–wrapping rice dumplings. There are two major reasons why we chose wrapping rice
dumplings as our activity. First, through task-based activities
we can motivate students to use English to communicate in the real
world (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). A task-based communicative activity
involves students accomplishing the task with the target language
(Richards and Rogers, 2001), and the focus is not only on the product,
but also on the process of learning. Students are expected to
acquire new vocabulary words and practice listening and speaking skills
throughout the task.
Second, it is important to achieve cross-cultural
understanding—awareness of students’ own culture along with that of the
target language (Tomalin & Stempleski, 1993). Mckay (2003)
recommends introducing local culture in teaching materials rather than
overloading students with Western culture. Kilickaya (2004)
suggests using authentic materials and cultural content in foreign
language teaching. With this goal of cultural instruction in mind, we
attempted to raise our students’ cultural awareness and inspire them to
introduce this special festival to their foreign friends.
Procedure
We divided 50 students into five groups, with each group seated
around a table on which all the cooking materials, ingredients and
utensils were placed. Following the basic methods and principles
of task-based teaching (Ellis, 2003) and adding the cultural elements,
we designed the procedure for our activity as follows:
Pre-task
- First, we introduced the history of the Dragon Boat
Festival, through which students could understand the origin and the
meaning of wrapping rice dumplings. This introduction gave the whole
activity more significance than an ordinary cooking class.
- Next, using PowerPoint, we showed pictures of the
ingredients, materials and utensils along with the English names of all
items. The use of visual images can increase students’ memory and
comprehension of new words and promote learning interest.
- Because many of the words were new to students, we asked
them to repeat each word. Moreover, in order to check the students
learning progress, we would pick up the authentic materials on the
table (see Appendix A for ingredients, seasonings, and wrapping
materials) to ask students, “What is this?” If we found students
had problems pronouncing certain vocabulary words, we repeated them.
This visual presentation of authentic materials could reinforce the
learning of new vocabulary words.
During-task
- First, we showed the cooking steps of the rice dumplings
using PowerPoint. Next, we demonstrated cooking in front of the
students.
- Students followed our instructions and wrapped rice
dumplings step by step.
- We walked to each group and answered students’ questions
regarding how to wrap the rice dumplings properly.
Post-task
While waiting for the rice dumplings to be boiled, which took
about 30 minutes, we had students play two language games, which not
only allowed them to have some fun but also reviewed what they had just
learned. The winners of games were awarded with an extra rice
dumpling. The games are as follows:Language Game One
Each student received a paper printed with
a list of words (see Figure 1). We then showed 16 pictures on
PowerPoint, which included the new vocabulary words taught in the
pre-task phase. Students tried to match the correct words with the
correct pictures. After the 16 pictures had been shown, papers were
graded.
Language Game
One
You will see the following pictures in the PowerPoint
presentation. From the list of words—A to P, find the correct answer to
match each picture.
| A.
wok B.
recipe
C. boiling
pot D. soy
sauce
E. peanuts F. dried
radish G. sticky rice
H. black pepper I.
mushroom J. chicken cube K.
dragon boat L. bamboo
leaves
M. string N.
dried shrimp O.
stove
P. red onion |
| 1. B
|
2.
|
3.
|
4.
|
| 5.
|
6.
|
7.
|
8.
|
| 9.
|
10.
|
11.
|
12.
|
| 13.
|
14.
|
15.
|
16
|
|
|
(Figure 1)Language Game Two
Each student received
a paper (see
Figure 2). In this activity, we described certain objects in English
and students were asked to identify the objects. For example, one
description was: “This food may give you pimples if you eat it too
often.” Our students might not know what “pimples” mean, so we would
use body language (e.g. squeezing pimples) to get the meaning across.
The students then tried to choose the correct answer (peanut) from the
list A-P and write the correct letter (E) on the line.
Language Game Two
What is it? After you hear the
teacher's description, try to figure
out what is described and write down the letter on the line.
| A.
wok B.
recipe
C. boiling
pot D. soy
sauce E.
peanut F. dried
radish G. sticky rice
H. black pepper
I.
mushroom J. chicken cube K.
dragon boat L. bamboo
leaves M.
string N. dried
shrimp O.
stove
P. red onion |
1. __________ 2. ___________ 3. _____________ 4.
_______________ 5. __________ 6. ___________ 7.
_____________ 8.
_______________ |
(Figure 2)
Results
The input of photos and pictures using PowerPoint, and
most important of all, the use of authentic cooking materials,
ingredients and utensils enhanced the students’ acquisition of new
vocabulary words as manifested in the language games. Moreover,
students actively interacted in English with both teachers and partners
throughout the whole cooking process. Wrapping rice dumplings stood out
as a unique task involving Chinese culture, thus giving students an
opportunity to explore their own cultural legacy.
The number of students who elected to participate
proved that the activity was overwhelmingly attractive as very few
students had ever made rice dumplings before. The highlight of
the activity was when students were ready to taste the product of the
task, the rice dumplings. We were also thrilled to see students “reap
the harvest” with great satisfaction.The process of wrapping rice dumplings involves a
significant amount of time-consuming preparatory work, which might be
daunting to teachers who do not have much time to shop, prepare cooking
ingredients, and clean up the “aftermath.” However, with good
planning as well as the assistance of staff and several student
volunteers, we were able to manage the activity and accomplish the
challenging task.
Conclusion
There are several things that could be done to improve
this cultural activity in the future. For example, instead of
using pictures or photos, we could use YouTube to select video clips of
the rice dumpling cooking process and dragon boat races (see Appendix
B) to make the pre-task more vivid and interesting. In addition,
to further understand students’ needs and opinions, we could administer
a questionnaire in the post-task stage. The success of this activity
also encourages us to explore other possibilities for introducing
Taiwanese culture (e. g. aboriginal tribes in Taiwan and their culture) to our
students. In summary, combining culture with a task-based teaching
approach adds a new dimension of achievement and understanding for both
students and teachers.
References
- Barry, T. & Susan, S. (1993). Cultural
Awareness. Oxford:
Oxford
University Press.
- Ellis, R. (2003). Tasked-Based Language Learning
and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
- Kilickaya, F. (2004). Authentic Materials and
Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms. The Internet TESL Journal 10,
7. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kilickaya-AutenticMaterial.html
- Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in
Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
- Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and
Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
- Mckay, S. L. (2003). Teaching English as an
International Language: the Chilean Context. ETJ 57, 2.
- Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches
and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.) Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Appendix A
Ingredients |
Seasonings |
Wrapping Materials |
Glutinous/sticky rice Pork Dried mushroom Raw peanuts Dried radish Fried red onion Dried shrimp |
Soy-sauce Sweet & spicy sauce Salt Black pepper Cooking oil Chicken cube |
Bamboo leaves String |
Appendix B: Useful Websites
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=making+rice+dumplings
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dragon+boat+races
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XIV, No. 6, June 2008
http://iteslj.org/
http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Huang-CulturalActivity.html