Using Google Maps to support integrated skills tasks in the English classes

Abstract

This case study aims to present a teaching sequence carried out with middle and high school students in a bilingual school in the state of São Paulo. We sought to integrate communicative skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) through the exploration of places using Google Maps' Street View feature. According to Thornbury (2001), task-based language teaching helps bring purpose and meaning to the classroom, as students need to work together to solve a problem using language. Ellis et al. (2020) emphasize that task-based learning prioritizes student performance but does not reject the practice of grammatical structures. Thus, through reading different works, the students performed a "pedagogical task" (WILLIS, 1996), based on a writing model (which served as scaffold for students with little experience with the English language) created by the teacher, in order to practice English structures found in the rubrics of proficiency exams (CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH, 2011): the presentation, description, and comparison of images. After this, the students created digital presentations to interact with their classmates, motivating them to communicate their discoveries in English.