Its eyes followed me as I walked across the darkened space, its head tilting slightly to match my gait. Its retracted arms bent beneath its long torso, its strong legs poised ready to attack.  I walked warily, my left arm clinging to the adult who accompanied me; the image before me laying a deep indent into my mind, one that would remain there for over the next two decades. But though it seemed at the time nightmarish, this wasn’t a nightmare. In fact, this was educational. I happened to be on one of my first ever school trips. My other 9 year old companions and I were visiting London’s Natural History Museum and here we were in the dinosaur zone. The terror I previously described was the life sized moving model of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a model that has many a child (and adult!) transfixed both in awe and fear.  This cocktail of emotions  is something I will never forget. And therein lies a powerful truth- learning experiences outside the classroom can make lasting impressions and therefore are a powerful teaching aid.

I couldn’t tell about you any particular classroom lesson I had as 9 year old, I can just about tell you the name of my class teacher (Mrs Woodrow, phew!). But that trip is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. It’s not just that one trip that has stayed with me; I remember the smell of the trenches in the Imperial war museum, the feel of the Egyptian tombs in the British museum and the distinct tinkle of the lobby music in the V&A.  You see, excursions have the ability to engage different learners because they engage different learning styles- visual, auditory, as well as kinaesthetic.

So what are some of the benefits? Often students are presented with a task that they must complete with a partner or small group, thus independent learning is encouraged. The challenge of working with peers to meet a shared goal promotes cooperation, compromise and inevitably helps young people form relationships. Excursions are an invaluable part of any educational course. And that’s why we have decided to make excursions an intrinsic part of our London courses with our Inside Out programme.

Our students have always visited key sites along with MLA staff who endeavour to be well informed providing some basic information about the site. But in 2016, we are adding something more. Classroom teachers will accompany students on some of these excursions. In simple terms, students can enjoy lessons, (which would usually be inside) at an external site (outside- hence the Inside Out programme!)

What sort of things can the learners expect? A few hypotheticals, – A pre intermediate group have been revising the use of prepositions of place. On their trip to the National Gallery, the teacher presents them with the task of choosing a picture and describing what they can see in it. The language naturally produced may sound like this: ‘In the centre of the picture there is a boy. Above the boy I can see a kite. The kite is red and blue. Beside the boy there is a small dog…”. The excursion has accomplished two things, it has recycled the language learned previously in class, but perhaps more importantly, it has given the student a reason to use the target language in a meaningful way. This will make far more of an impact than just completing an exercise from a text book.

Let me give you another scenario- A group of Upper intermediate learners have been talking about fashion. In the Victoria and Albert museum, they are able to see fashion trends from the 17th century through to our day. Based on the information they collect, back in class they make presentations about fashion from different eras, using pictures and other information gathered. Again, students are given a reason to speak, thus their communication is natural and meaningful.

At MLA, we are constantly trying to improve year on year, and to give our learners the best possible experience. We do not doubt that our Inside Out programme will add to the memorable experience that an MLA adventure is, which will stay with your students for years to come.

 

Daniellar Amoah

UK Academic Manager