LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
Didactic Concept
I.
Approach:
1. Blended learning course
 A combination of e-learning/distance learning and face to face
sessions.
 self-paced learning in the e-learning sessions
 live, collaborative learning in the face-to-face sessions
2. Communicative and task-based
Communicative approach:
 emphasizes the acquisition of language through the communication of
meaning in the course (rather than the practice and manipulation of
grammatical forms).
 emphasis on communicative activities in face-to-face sessions: learners
use language in real life contexts dealing with topics interesting and/or
relevant to the learners and encouraging them to express their needs,
opinions and ideas. Students can be engaged in communication
processes through role-plays.
 immediate feedback after exercises or activities in the distance learning
material
Task-based:
 tasks are goal-oriented activities in which learners use language to
achieve a real communicative outcome. They include features such
as intellectual and linguistic challenge and a focus on meaning before
form.
 tasks shall enable participants to bring in the experience & data from
their own job situation
 tasks are relevant for the book and media business
 activities should lead to a more complex task at the end of a unit
3. Authenticity of
 Texts: authentic texts (natural speech and written texts) produced in
real life by native speakers of the target language for genuine use, e.g.
texts from newspapers and magazines, books, brochures and leaflets,
from the Internet, etc. and recordings of natural speech, from radio and
television, songs, etc.
Therefore the speakers in the course should be native speakers
 Situations: Consider which situations learners do have to deal with at
work/business environment.
 Tasks: an authentic task involves learners in using language in a way
that replicates its use in the “real world” outside the course or
classroom. Learners deal with a text in the same way they would deal
with it in real life.
4. Primarily focus on content,
less important is focus on form
 Content-oriented activities promote development of learners’ fluency.
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 1/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
“Language analysis and grammar explanation may help some learners,
but extensive experience of target language use helps everyone.”
(Mitchell 1994)
 Form-oriented activities promote development of learners’ accuracy.
If there are form-oriented activities they have to be in clear context to
the content and should help the learners to perform the task at the end
of a unit more easily.
5. Interactive elements
 Learners are not only passive users but also can actively take part in
activities or add or change elements.
6. Elements of joyful learning
 such as appealing layout, photos, graphics, interactivity …
7. Photos and pictures
 They aid understanding and a better memorizing effect is achieved.
However, pictures also can distract from texts. Either the texts arises
questions that can be answered by studying a picture/drawing or the
text helps to gain better understanding of the picture/drawing (e.g. body
language in meetings)
8. Immediate feedback after activities
 Not only the solution for an activity shall be provided but also some kind
of positive feedback such as “well done”, “very good”, “try again” ….
9. Aims and objectives
Consider what learners should be able to do at the end of the
unit/module/course.
 Who are the learners, their previous knowledge, their computer skills?
 Which language level should be achieved?
 How much time is available to reach the objectives.
10. Integrated skills approach
 The basic language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are
generally integrated rather than occurring in isolation.
 When taking part in a conversation, for example, we both listen and
speak; when we fill in a form we read and write, and taking notes from a
lecture involves listening and writing.
11. Principles of autonomous learning
 Autonomous learning is provided by the course as such because it
comes as a blended learning course with individual distance learning
phases.
 Learners working with e-learning materials can act totally teacher
independently by interacting with and supported by new technologies.
 Learners are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning.
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 2/11
LaBooM
12.
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
Material Writing/Material Development
MODULE
aims:
Unit 1
input
Content
activities
language
activities
TASK
Sources:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unit 2
aims:
input
Content
activities
language
activities
TASK
Sources:
self-assessment
FINAL TASK
booksellers
publishers
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
librarians
Didactic Concept 3/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
The stages in this process are:
1. Find your text – as authentic as possible..
2. Go to the end of the model. Think of a task that the learners could do
at the end of the unit and define your objectives for the specific unit.
3. Go back to the module outline. Is the task the kind of activity that will
benefit your learners?
4. Decide which language structures, vocabulary, functions, content the
input contains. Which of these would be useful for the task, i.e. what
aspects of language and content could be usefully focussed on in the
exercises?
5. Think of some content-oriented exercises to help learners understand
the text. As second step form oriented exercises and activities can be
used to practise the items (structure, vocabulary, functions…) you
have identified.
6. Go back to the input. Shall it be slightly revised in any way to make it
more useful? Try out any revisions on learners, if possible.
7. Go through stages 1-6 again with the revised input.
8. Check the new materials against the module outline and your
objectives and amend accordingly.
9. Try the materials with a group of learners, if possible..
10. Most importantly, revise the materials in the light of classroom use.
There is no such thing as perfect materials. They can always be
improved.
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 4/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
III. Content of Modules
Part A (for beginners)
Persons involved
Valerie Brown
British
Lunar Publishing
Oxford Road, 9-11
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom
Manchester
vbrown@lunarpub.co.uk
trainee
Marco Polo
Italian
Book-Hits
(bookshop)
Via Basini 7
56100 Pisa
Italy
Julia Epstein
German
Media Distribution
(wholesaler)
Bachgasse 8
04109 Leipzig
Germany
Pisa
mpolo@bookhits.it
junior manager
Leipzig
jepstein@mediadis.de
sales representative
Unit A1
Getting to know to each other
These young people meet at an international language course for people working in
the book and media trade.
Dialogues/situation:
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introduction – getting to know to each other
jobs and positions
exchange of business cards
daily routines in the companies
Unit A2
They are still at the language course

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making appointments
time
programmes of cultural events (readings, theatre, cinema, concerts)
dialogues discussion about experience in planning cultural events
(readings….)
Unit A3
At a bookshop

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departments
directions
floor plan
types of books
bindings
dialogues: customer – bookseller
 asking for departments and for specific books
 payment
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 5/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade

giving selling points
Unit A4
Situation1:
customer – bookseller (dialogues)
 selling guides and maps
 descriptions travel guides and maps
Situation2:
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Julia presents new books
Marco orders books
order form
terms of delivery
invoice
Unit A5
Wholesaling
Publisher meets the wholesaler
Negotiations about
 programme
 figures
 returns

Terms of delivery and payment, transport
forms
Unit A6
Bookseller meets wholesaler

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departments of the Media Distribution
stock (books and other media)
logistics
terms of delivery
figures
services
orders
Unit A7
Publishing
The publisher shows the trainee (Valerie) around the publishing house explaining the
different




departments
jobs
programme (books and other media)
training programme for Valerie for the next few months
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 6/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade

dialogues between Valerie, the publisher, maybe another member of
the staff
Unit A8
Parts of books production of books publisher’s catalogue
Situation: Publisher - marketing department
 discussion with editorial department about new titles
(cover, blurb, amount of copies printed, target group, illustrations,
prices…)
 catalogue page
Unit A9
Frankfurt Book Fair
Going to Frankfurt book fair
Applying, booking stand, flight and hotel, registration (hotel and fair) phone calls, how
to get there
Programme, seminars, meetings, events, personal schedule
Unit A10
Book Affairs
Floor map of Frankfurt book fair, find your way, prizes
(famous authors, book of the year)
PR of book and media trade
Situation:
Discussion (rather a chat) between Valerie, Marco and Julia
 how bestsellers are made
 copyright
 fixed price
Workload
One module = 2 Units
One Unit – 180 minutes’ work:
 45 minutes: source material reading, listening and instruction reading
 135 minutes: activities
180 minutes per week
Self assessment test – every two units
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 7/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
Final task to be presented at the face-to-face session
IV Basic principles
1. Grade the task and not the text
 The more complex a text is the more simple the task shall be for
the learners.
 And vice versa: If your text is rather simple the task should be a
challenge for the learners.
2. Define your aims and objectives in can do statements for the
learners:
e.g. After this unit I can
 offer advice to customers
 tell them where to find departments in a bookshop
 answer customers’ request on the phone politely
3. General requirements
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Make it as compact as possible
Chunk the contents into smaller pieces, they are easier to
digest
Every screen page must be clear on its own (things that
belong together shall be placed on the screen without too
much scroll up and scroll down)
Keep the learners in mind as you write
Keep it simple, less is more
Clearly outline the objectives of the course
Provide summaries
Provide a simple and user-friendly navigation
4. Special requirements
 Correctness of input: Correctness of language and content,
up-to-date input, well-structured
 Technical terms have to be explained (mouse click)
 Instructions should be clearly separated from content and
easy to understand
 Feedback and “help” announcements should contein precise
information, why some of the answers were false or correct.
 Learners should be addressed directly “You can…..” “Fill
in…”
5. Guidelines for giving instructions
 Instructions should clearly define what to do (use a verb)
Avoid instructions like:
“Click only on those parts of the desk that are mentioned in
the manual.”
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 8/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
Better:
“Which words are mentioned in the text? Tick them (from the
list below).
V. Inputs
Authentic texts (natural speech and written texts) are produced in real work
life by native speakers of the target language for genuine use and not
especially designed for learning a language.
Inputs should be authentic in content and layout. Possible options for input
texts are listed below.
A. Reading
B. Listening

newspaper articles

reviews

sales dialogues

blurbs

book presentations

web sites

telephone calls

leaflets

business dialogues (publisher

maps
– wholesaler – printer – writer

publishers’ weekly or
– illustrator – sales
booksellers’ magazines
representative)
rather dialogues than monologues


invoices

e-mails

letters

book announcements

forms

messages on mail box

catalogues

orders from customers on the

book covers

advertisements

book announcements
conversations about
job/experience
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
answering machine
Didactic Concept 9/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
VI. Activities
A. Reading activities
Read and …
Content based
Arrange jumbled sentences into a
paragraph
Rather language or both
Put jumbled words into a sentence
Answer questions
Complete sentences
Complete a chart of information
Choose the correct answer from a)
b) c) d)
Decide if statements are true or false
Complete a chart of information
Complete a chart of information
Connect statements
Match questions to answers
Decide if statements are true or false
Match words to pictures
Match questions to answers
Match sentences to pictures
Fill the blanks
Fill in the missing information
Fill in the missing information
Tick / click the right...
Activities leading to a more complex final tasks could be…
Find the sentence which tells you that...
Look for specific words in the text
Take notes for the summary
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 10/11
LaBooM
Languages for the Book and Media Trade
B. Listening Activities
Listen and ….
Content based
arrange jumbled sentences into a
paragraph
Rather language or both
put jumbled words into a sentence
answer questions
complete sentences
complete a chart of information
choose the correct answer from a)
b) c) d)
decide if statements are true or false
complete a chart of information
complete a chart of information
connect statements
match questions to answers
decide if statements are true or false
match words to pictures
match questions to answers
match words and sentences to pictures
fill the blanks
fill in the missing information
fill in the missing information
look for specific words in the text
( underline adjectives, colours...)
tick / click the right...
who is saying what
fill in an order form
make a telephone note
follow the directions and find
C. Final tasks
These tasks should be presented by the learners in the face-to-face sessions.
Barbara Bartmann, Heidemarie Haider, Zbigniew Pyszka,
Hnatkova Tatiana, Parizkova Vera
Didactic Concept 11/11