Task 1: GPS (Geographical Preparation for Students) in English Lessons
Geography is a very versatile subject that can introduce mere myriads of new media in its syllabus. Books, maps, movies, projectors, computers, programs, like Google-Earth, a globe, pictures and many more. This is a reason why it should be integrated in other subjects, too. Connecting geographical topics with the English language can thus be a way to integrate new media into the English classroom. This does not have to be only including the topics into grammatical lessons. It can range from engaging students in authentic discussions over to reasearching for a topic that is featured in a textbook. Students can therefore use a high variety of the mentioned media and in addition learn new methods of research, co-operation and presenting content. Due to the worldwide spread of the English language it is also possible to engage students in discussions and projects regarding general knowledge about other cultures. The variety of topics in an English lesson can be increased significantly by using for example the American Civil War in one lesson block and switching over to other regions like Canada, Australia or Scotland in the next block. Of course a teacher should have certain connections in this topic transitions so that students can easily connect their previous knowledge to the current topic. The fact that geography is recently more or less neglected in the school education systems in Germany leads to a complementing syllabus of English and Geography. Topics that could not be discussed in regular Geography lessons due to a lack of time can be introduced in English lessons and in addition the students can practice their English skills. Of course the English language should always be the most important part in an English lesson but students should have an interesting background in their English lessons which they can explore and is interesting for them so they are able to learn more effectively and without being forced to learn grammatical rules by heart. But also meaningful discussions can be introduced into the classroom. For example: Students are afflicted by stereotypes every day. A discussion about different types of stereotypes in different parts of the world or about different groups of people and how these can be positive or negative would be a possibility to bring some spice into the relatively dull learning environment (Gutschow 1974, 365-366). But geographical topics can also lead to historical topics, like wars, foundings of countries or even language development. A teacher could, for example, bring up the similarities between Spanish, French, German and English, which are all Indo-European languages and therefore have undergone certain similar influences, like the mixture with Latin or show the regional derivations from English dialects, like Scottish, Australian and Canadian English. This can be reinforced with some work on maps or even the internet aas an external source. Of course the lesson should still be held in common British or American English because it is the most commonly spoken variation of English.
Aside from these examples I think that in the German education system there is a decrease of geography. The amount of geography lessons that students have today is not nearly enough to discuss every important event that happens or happened in the world. This is why I think that geography should be included in other subjects like History, Politics or English. Globalization is the key to the world after all and the German schools should prepare our students not only with the skills to handle the challenges in this world (language skills, reasoning skills) but also with the cognitive knowledge about the world (geographical facts, historical facts) and why things are how they are.
Aside from these examples I think that in the German education system there is a decrease of geography. The amount of geography lessons that students have today is not nearly enough to discuss every important event that happens or happened in the world. This is why I think that geography should be included in other subjects like History, Politics or English. Globalization is the key to the world after all and the German schools should prepare our students not only with the skills to handle the challenges in this world (language skills, reasoning skills) but also with the cognitive knowledge about the world (geographical facts, historical facts) and why things are how they are.
