ZPD and English Pronunciation: Linguistic Scaffolding in the Production of Artistic Material

Jornada; V Jornadas Nacionales de ELT. Innovations and Challenges in the 21st Century.; 2019

Universidad Nacional de Villa María.

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is characterised as the distance between the current and actual state of development, as determined by the capability of independent problem-solving, and the degree or level of potential development, created by opportunities for problem-solving in interaction and collaboration with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978). In the processes of teaching and learning a foreign language, the development and practice of pronunciation is an area which is particularly sensitive to the need for modelling, scaffolding and guidance inherent in cooperative learning. In turn, the participation in joint artistic production processes provides the ideal context for scaffolding and the creation of ZPD possibilities. This paper will explore the pedagogical and affective value of creating ZPD possibilities that foster the development of English pronunciation during the various stages of the process of creating a comprehensive audio-visual artwork, starting from creative writing workshops to the development of audiobooks, interactive multimedia presentations and original videos. The case study of secondary school students from Santo Tomás de Aquino School in the city of Córdoba will be reported and analysed, as they go through the process of writing and creating these materials hand in hand with undergraduate students from the English majors of the Facultad de Lenguas (School of Languages), Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, and under the guidance and tutoring of secondary school and university English teachers. The task is presently under way in the academic context of a Proyecto de Compromiso Social Estudiantil (Social Commitment and Outreach Project) entitled Novel Authors. Production of integral works of art stemming from processes of creative writing in L1 and a foreign language. This kind of project seeks to engage university students and professors in socially relevant actions that enrich their training and succeed in establishing a dialogic relationship between the university and society at large.