4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

Infinite Possibilities Expanding Limited Opportunities in Language Education: Proceedings of the 8th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference
May 23 - 24, 2009. Chiba, Japan: Toyo Gakuen University, Nagareyama Campu. (pp. 1 - 11)

TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks
bySarahMulvey(NanzanUniversity)&BrianCullen(NagoyaInstituteof
Technology)
WefirstgottheideaofusingscrapbooksinEnglishlanguageclasseswhenwewereteachinga
privatestudentwhoseEnglishwasgood,butwhosimplydidn'tseemtowanttotalkmuch.Oneday,we
broughtinafewphotographsandimmediatelytheatmosphereofthelessonchangedasthestudent
becameinterestedandstartedaskingquestionsabouteachphoto.Conversationflowednaturallyasthe
studentheldthephotosandaskedquestionssuchas"Whoisthis?","Whatisshedoing?","Whereis
this?"andsoon.Forthenextlesson,thestudentbroughtinsomephotosofhisfamilyandfriends,and
wecouldcontinuetheconversationinmuchthesameway.SeeinghoweasilyanormallyreticentEFL
studenttooktothephotos,wedecidedtoexploretheuseofscrapbooksinmuchmoredepth,and
eventuallybegantobaseanentiresemesterofauniversityOralCommunicationcourseontheideaof
scrapbooks.Byhavingstudentsmakeascrapbookpageonaseriesofthemessuchasmusic,family,
hometown,andbooks,andbyaddingsupportivelanguageactivities,scrapbookshavebecamethefocus
ofmostofourOralCommunicationclasses.ScrapbooksarenotanewideainEFL.Theyhavebeen
beenusedforprojectbasedlearning(Yabuno,2006),asatoolinposterpresentations(Ward,1994),asa
meansoflearningandconsolidatingvocabulary(Rueckert,2008),orasawaytoenlivenlearning
notebooks(Lawless,2009).However,inthispaperwehavetakentheideaofscrapbooksmuchfurther
byplacingthematthecoreofourcourses.
Scrapbooksmayseemalittleoldfashionedinourmodernworldinwhichstudentspostphotosand
commentsonsocialnetworkingsitessuchasFacebook,MySpace,andMixi.Likemanyotherteachers,
wehavetriedusingblogsandonlinesitestogeneratecommunicationinCALLclassroomsandregular
classes.However,inourexperience,thereisnothingaseffectiveasarealscrapbookinencouraging
studentstotalkabouttheirownlivesandtoencourageotherstudentstoaskthemgenuinelyinterested
questionsaboutit.
"thereisnothingaseffectiveas
Ourexperiencesinrecentyearsisthatstudents
arealscrapbookinencouraging
havebeenenthusiasticandpositiveaboutlearning
studentstotalkabouttheirown
Englishthroughscrapbooks.Onerecurringcomment
livesandtoencourageother
wasthatthestudentsfeltthattheyhadachievedmore
studentstoaskthemgenuinely
genuineoralcommunicationthaninanyoftheirother
interestedquestionsaboutit."
classes.Infutureresearch,weplantocarryoutmore
systematicsurveystoassessstudentattitudestowards
scrapbooksandtheactuallearningachievedthroughtheiruse,butinthemeantimewewouldliketo
shareourexperiencesofhow(andpossiblywhy)theyhavebeensuccessful.

WhyUseScrapbooks?
OnewaytoconceptualizetheuseofscrapbooksinEFLclassesisasarealizationofasocial
constructivistmodeloftheteachinglearningprocessinwhichteacher,learner,learningmaterials,and
taskallmutuallyinteractwithinasupportivecontextinordertoleadtoadynamicongoinglearning
process(WilliamsandBurden,1997).Scrapbookshaveprovedtobeawonderfulwayforstudentsto
talkaboutacontextandtopicthattheyknowverywellthemselves.
[p.1 ]
Howmanytimeshaveyouhadartificialconversationsintheclassroomthatweren'tmeaningfulfor
https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

1/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

eitheryouorthestudents?Somanytextbooksfeaturethesametireddialoguesbetweentextbook
charactersthatbearlittlerelationtothelivesofourstudents.Boththestudentsandtheteacherbecome
boredbymidterm,repeatingthesamekindofexerciseswhichoftenseenirrelevant.Webelievethat
scrapbooksareinherentlymotivationalbecauseitisthestudents'owncontentapropthatallows
studentstotalkinmeaningfulwaysaboutthingsthatarerelevanttothem.Scrapbookscanactasa
mediatorbetweentheteacherandthestudents,thestudentsandtheirclassmates,andtheenvironmentof
theclassroomwiththeoutsideworldofthestudents.Inthiswaythescrapbooksactasapowerfultool
inthegenerationofgenuineinteractionatmanylevels.

WhatDoYouNeed?
Makingscrapbookscanbeverysimple.Themostimportantingredientisimagination,andyour
studentswillsurpriseyoubyhowmuchtheycanbringtotheclassroomwhentheyaretalkingabout
theirownlives.WeliketohavestudentsmaketheirscrapbooksonA4colouredpaper,alittlethicker
thanusualtoensurethatitcansupporttheitemsthatarepastedtoitandthatitwilllastalongtime.We
havefoundthatA4isbigenoughtoallowthemtoaffixvariousitems,butstillsmallenoughtofit
snuglyinsideatextbookorabackpack.
Otherusefulitemsareofcoursescissors,paste,stencils,andsomecolouredmarkers.Theteacher
doesn'tnecessarilyneedtopreparethesethingsintheclassroomasstudentsshouldbepreparingtheir
scrapbooksashomework.However,wehavefounditisalwaysgoodtohaveextraresourcesinthe
classroomforstudentstotouchuptheirwork.
Youshouldencouragestudentstochooseavarietyofthingstostickintotheirscrapbooks.Some
examplesincludemaps,postcards,photos,stickers,letters,magazineclippings,guitarpicks,hair
clippings,illustrations,charts,foodlabels,andonandonthelimitisonlysetbyyourstudents'
imaginations.
Youmayneedtogivedifferentinstructionsdependingonclasssize.Forexample,whendoing
privatelessonsorworkingwithverysmallgroups,perhapsgivingmorefreedomisappropriateasyou
candealwithitinthenextclass.However,whenimplementingthisconcepttolargeclassesof30+
students,youmayneedtogivemoredetailedexplanationsofwhatyouexpect.Youcanspecifythe
contentofthescrapbookaspreciselyifyouwish.Asacaseinpoint,youcouldsay,"Includethree
photographsandonesketch.Writeonekeywordbesideeachitem."
Whileeveryteachingsituationisunique,anexampleofhowscrapbooksmightbeusedwitha
typicallargeuniversityEFLclassispresentedbelow.

WhatCanYouDowithScrapbooks?
Inourclasses,wegenerallyfollowatwoweekcycle.Thisisbrieflyoutlined.
Lesson1
Inthefirstweek,weintroducethetopic.Thereisahugerangeofpossibletopicstochoosefrom.
Oneswe'vefoundusefulincludeschool,friends,hometown,music,family,food,books,travel,hobbies,
dreams,sports,clubactivity,festivals,animals,andhomes.
[p.2 ]
Afterspecifyingthetopic,weintroducerelevantvocabularyandencouragestudentstoaddtoit
throughbrainstorming.Next,weprovideamodelscrapbookpagebasedonourlives.Inourexperience,
studentswillbemostmotivatedifyouarewillingtosharesomethingfromyourownlife.Youmayalso
liketoshowyourstudentstheexamplesprovidedintheappendices.
Followingthetopicintroduction,studentsaregivenapreparedinterviewsheetwithquestionsbased
onthetopic.Forexample,ifthetopicwere"Family,"interviewquestionscouldinclude"Whoisthe
funniestpersoninyourfamily?","Whatdoesyourmotherdo?",or"Doyouhaveanypets?"Students
https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

2/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

aregivenenoughroomontheinterviewsheettoprepareatleasttwooftheirownquestions.Thelistof
questionsisthenusedbyeachstudenttointerviewthreeorfourdifferentclassmates.Byaskingand
answeringthequestions,thestudentsbegintothinkaboutthetopicmoredeeplyandtoactivatethe
vocabularyandgrammarstructuresthattheycanusetotalkaboutit.Inaddition,theyarealready
preparingthemselvesfortheactualpresentationoftheirownscrapbookpageforthenextclass.
Thisinterviewactivitycanbesupportedbyprovidingusefullanguageoradditionalvocabulary.
Theteachercanalsoselectorcreatelisteningactivitiesandreadingsthatarerelevanttothetopicwhich
canbeusedtofurtherdevelopandreinforcetheunit'svocabulary.
Homework:MakingtheScrapbookPage
Attheendofthefirstlessoninthiscycle,studentsareassignedhomeworktomaketheirown
scrapbookpageonthetopicthattheyhavebeenpracticingandtoprepareashortpresentation(usually2
minutesinouruniversityclasses)toexplainittootherstudents.Besuretoelicitandbrainstorm
scrapbookideasbeforesendingthemhome.Forexample,ifthetopicistravel,somestudentswilloffer
ideassuchastrainticketstubs,travelbrochures,maps,photographs,orasmallsouvenirorstickerfrom
apreviousvacation.Moreideasgeneratedandwrittenontheboardgoalongwayinensuringthe
studentswillgohomeandputtogetheraninterestingandcreativescrapbookpage.
WealwayssetaminimumlimitoffourorfiveitemspastedontotheA4scrapbookpageinorderto
ensurethatstudentshaveenoughtotalkaboutintheirpresentation.However,moreoftenthannot,
studentscompletelycovertheirpageoftenwithsomeveryinnovativeideas.Itwasn'tuncommonto
seesomeofourstudentsproducingscrapbookpageswith3Deffectpages,withpartspoppingrightoff
thepage.Wealsorequirestudentstowritenotesonthebackoftheirscrapbookpagetohelpthemmake
theirpresentation,andsometimeskeywordsonthefrontofthepage.
Lesson2
Inthesecondlessonineachcycle,studentsarerequiredtomakeapresentationabouttheir
scrapbookpage.Thiscanbecarriedoutinsmallgroupsifyouhavealargenumberofstudents.Besure
torotatethegroupssothatstudentsgetachancetopracticetheirpresentationseveraltimesduringa
semester.Afterpracticinginsmallgroups,callonasmanystudentsaspossibletopresentinfrontofthe
wholeclass.
[p.3 ]
Youwillfindthatmanystudentswriteoutthefulltextoftheirpresentation.Thisisnotnecessarily
abadthing,butovertime,youshouldencouragethemtopracticemakingtheirpresentationsfromnotes
orevenfrommemory.Youshouldalsohelpthemtomakebetterpresentationsbyprovidinguseful
languageforstartingandfinishingtheirpresentatiosn,aswellasphrasessuchas"Lookatthispicture"
tohelpthemtopointoutthescrapsontheirpage.Itisalsoagoodideatorequirestudentswhoare
listeningtoaskatleastonequestioneach.Thisensuresthattheylistenandpayattention.
Thescrapbookpagesarealsoidealforposterpresentations.Inlargerclassesofover25students,an
A4scrapbookmightbetoosmallforallstudentsinclasstosee.Insuchcases,itmightbepossibleto
makeascrapbookwithlargerpaper,butamorepracticalalternativeistohavestudentsputtheirpages
onthewallaroundtheclassroomandtotaketurnsexplainingtheirscrapbookpagetootherstudents
whorotatearoundtheroom.Ahightechalternativeforsomewouldbetouseanimagemagnifier.Each
oftheseoptionsareusefulwaystoencouragestudentstospeakwithoutnotessincetheycannolonger
seetheirnotesonthebackofthepage.

PotentialProblemsandAvoidingThem
Ofcourse,thingsmaynotgoassmoothlyaswehavedescribed,especiallythefirsttimethat
studentsmaketheirscrapbookpresentations.AppendixCshowsasamplehandoutforstudentsthatcan
https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

3/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

reducethelikelihoodofmanyproblems.
Moreover,fourcommonproblemsandpotentialsolutionsarepresentedbelowinaquestionand
answerformat.
Q:Howwouldyouhandlestudentswhobringnothingtoclass?
A:Wekeepagrabbagofitemsonhandforpresentationdays.Thosestudentswhoarenot
preparedcanchoosefourorfiveitemsfromthegrabbagandmustcreateashort
presentationwithwhattheyhavechosen.Itmaynotbeaspersonal,butitdoesofferan
opportunityforcreativityandthestudentmuststillparticipateinclass.
Q:Whatdoyoudoifanotherstudentmakesfunofaclassmate'sscrapbookchoices?
A:Ingeneral,wehavefoundthatstudentsaresupportiveandappreciativeoftheirfellow
classmates'work.Indeed,theyseemtogreatlyenjoytheopportunityoflearningaboutthe
livesoftheirclassmatesoutsidetheclassroom.Intherarecasewhereonestudentmight
appeartobemakingfunofanotherstudent'swork,besuretoremindstudentstobe
respectfuloftheirclassmates'work,andcautionanystudentwhoisinviolationofthis.You
mayneedtoalteryourclassorganizationifthereisclearlyaproblemwithinaspecific
groupofstudents.
Q:Whatshouldyoudoifastudentexpressesaconcernaboutprivacy?
A:Moststudentsareveryhappytoshareinformationabouttheirlivesandarequite
sensibleaboutsettingtheirownlimitsforwhattheyarewillingtoshare.However,ifa
studentdoesexpressconcernaboutprivacy,forexampleanunwillingnesstoshare
photographsoftheirfamily,givethemtheoptionofcreatingtheirowndrawings,oreven
focusingonafamousfamilyinpopularculture.
[p.4 ]
Q:Whatdoyoudoifastudentusesaninappropriateitem?
A:Beawarethatthereisoftenagenerationalandculturaldifferencebetweenteachersand
students,sowhatmayappearasinappropriatetoyoumaynotalwaysbesotothestudents.
However,ifaniteminascrapbookisobviouslyinappropriate,forexampleapornographic
imageordrugparaphernalia,takethestudentaside,andexplainthattheitemmustbe
removedbeforethepresentationcancontinue.

CompletingtheScrapbook
Attheendofthecourse,studentsshouldcombinealloftheirindividualscrapbookpagesintoa
completescrapbook.Thisprovidesanexcellentsenseofclosuretoasemester'sworkandprovides
tangibleprooftothestudentsaboutwhattheyhavelearned.Besuretohavethemdesignacoverwith
slightlythickerpaperandtomakeitintoaproperscrapbookbystaplingorusingsomeotherkindof
simplebinding.InfutureEnglishcourses,onhomestays,andinanyfutureencounterswithEnglish
speakers,thescrapbookcanprovideawonderfulandrealintroductiontothestudent'slifeandactasa
propthatwillhelpthemtousetheirlinguisticresourcesaseffectivelyaspossible.
Afterafinalcheck,thescrapbookshouldbereturnedtothestudentstoallowthemtousethemin
thefuture.
Youmaywishtokeepascrapbookortotakephotographsofitisinordertodemonstrategood
examplestostudentsinfutureclasses.This,however,doesraiseissuesofprivacy,andteachersshould
ensurethattheyreceivewrittenpermissiontoshowtheworktofuturestudents,probablyintheformof
asimplestatementgrantingrightstouseit,somethingsimilartotheexamplebelow:
StudentName:
https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

4/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

Iamhappytoletmyteacherusecopiesorphotosofmyscrapbook
forfutureclasses,discussionswithotherteachers,orresearchpapers.
Signed:

Wehopethattheideasinthisshortpaperwillencourageyoutobringtheinfinitepossibilitiesof
scrapbooksintoyourclassroom.Forteacherswhoarelookingforadditionalideas,bookssuchasThe
EncyclopediaofScrapbookingTechniques(McIvorandMason,2006)canoffermanywonderfulideas.
Butifyouareopentothecreativityandideasofyourveryownstudents,youwillfindthattheyamaze
youwiththeirpresentationsoftheirworldsthroughtheirbeautifulscrapbooks.

References
Lawless,L.K.(2009).LanguageScrapbookFrenchClassProject.RetrievedOctober18,2009from
http://french.about.com/cs/teachingresources/a/scrapbook.htm
[p.5]
McIvor,K.andMason,S.(2006).TheEncyclopediaofScrapbookingTechniques.TunbridgeWells,Kent,UK&Petaluma,
CA:SearchPress.
Rueckert,C.(2008).QandAScrapbookproject.RetrievedOctober18,2009fromhttp://www.esllesson
plan.com/archives/2008/03/q_and_a_1.php
Ward,J.(1994).SharingClassroomExperienceswithPosterExhibits.EnglishTeachingForum,32(4)38.Retrieved
December23,2009fromhttp://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol32/no4/p39.pdf
Williams,M.&Burden,R.L.(1997).Psychologyforlanguageteachers:Asocialconstructivistapproach.Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress.
Yabuno,K.M.(2006).Servicelearningprojectswithenvironmentalorganizations.InG.H.Beckett&P.C.Miller(Eds.)
ProjectbasedSecondandForeignLanguageEducation:Past,present,andfuture.(p.173176).Charlotte,NC:
InformationAgePubInc.

AppendixA.GoodExamplesofScrapbookPages
Example1showsagoodrangeoftheitemsthatcanbeusedinscrapbooksincludingmaps,
photographs,handdrawndiagrams,musicscores,handwrittentext,andrealia.
Example1.Some"good"JapaneseuniversityEFLscrapbooksamples.

https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

5/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

[p.6 ]
Examples2and3giveacloserviewoftheuseofrealia.Addingthesemakesthescrapbooksthree
dimensionalandcreatesamuchbiggerimpact.
[p.7 ]
Example2.Adetailedimageofa"good"JapaneseuniversityEFLscrapbookpage.

https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

6/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

[p.8 ]
Example3.Anotherdetailedimageofa"good"JapaneseuniversityEFLscrapbookpage.

https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

7/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

[p.9 ]

AppendixB.AnExampleofa'Bad'ScrapbookPage
Sometimes,studentscanlearnasmuchfromseeingabadexampleasagoodone,soExample4showsa
pagefromaweakscrapbook.Ascanbeseen,thephotosaretoosmalltobeseenclearlyandthestudent
hasclearlynotspentmuchtimepreparingthisscrapbookpage.
Example4.OnepoorlydesignedJapaneseuniversityEFLscrapbookpage.

https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

8/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

[p.10 ]

AppendixC.ASampleStudentHandout
Do'sanddon'ts...
Do
Startoffyourpresentationwithastrongbeginning,e.g."Hi,I'mToshiko.Iwould
liketotellyouaboutmyfamily."
Besuretogiveastrongendingtoyourpresentation,e.g."Thankyouforlistening.
Doyouhaveanyquestionsaboutmyscrapbook?"
Usetransitionwordstointroduceeachitemonyourscrapbook,e.g."Inthispicture
or"Ifyoulookclosely,youcansee"or"Thisphotowastaken"
Explainwhyeachitemisimportanttoyou,e.g."Thisismyfavouritepicturebecause
itshows"or"Ichosethisbecause"
Prepareatleastafewsentencesabouteachiteminyourscrapbook.
TrytousesimpleEnglishsothatpeoplecanunderstand.Ifyouusedifficultwords,
explainthem.
https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

9/10

4/22/2015

_TheInfinitePossibilitiesofScrapbooks_bySarahMulvey&BrianCullen

Practiceexplainingyourscrapbookbeforeclass.
Speakinaloudvoice,smile,makeeyecontact,andusegestures.
Chooseitemsthatwillbeinterestingforotherpeople.
Addcolourandkeywordstomakeyourscrapbookpagelookattractiveand
interesting.

Don't
Readyourpresentation.Ifyoupractice,afewshortnotesaspromptsonthebackof
yourscrapbookpagewillbeenoughtohelpyouremember.
Prepareonlyjustbeforeyourpresentation.
Practiceyourpresentationwhileotherpeopleareexplainingtheirscrapbooks.
Benervous!Relaxandhavefunsharingyourscraps.
Don'tuseverysmallitems.Youwantpeopletobeabletoseeyourscraps.
Somepossibleitemstouseinyourscrapbook:
aphoto,aconcertticket,aletter,origami,apostcard,aphonebill,amap,acandywrapper,areceipt,a
sketch,aCDcover,anewspaperarticle,anairplaneticket,songlyrics,ashoppinglist,alockofhair,a
birthdaycard,anewyear'scard,aChristmascard
it'syourscrapbookhavefun,andmakeitinteresting!

2009PanSIGProceedings: AuthorIndex

MainIndex PageIndex TitleIndex Topic

Index
CompletePanSIGProceedings: AuthorIndex MainIndex PageIndex TitleIndex Topic
Index

HTML: http://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/Mulvey-Cullen.htm / PDF: http://jalt.org/pansig/2009/PDF/Mulvey-Cullen.pdf

Copyright2009bySarahMulvey,BrianCullen&theJapanAssociationforLanguageTeaching

[p.11 ]

https://jalt.org/pansig/2009/HTML/MulveyCullen.htm

10/10