The Effect of Project Work Teaching Technique on the Institute of Fine Arts students' efl reading and Writing Performance a thesis submitted to the Council of the College of Education Ibn Rushd

2.3.6.2 Learning in the Here and Now
"A foreign language can often seem remote and unreal thing. If learners are going to become real language users, they must learn that English is not only used for talking about things British and American, but can be used to talk about their own world" (Hutchinson 1994: 12).
The phrase "learning in the here and now used by Legutke and Thomas (1993: 215) aptly names one of the basic features of project-work which is also one of the greatest benefits of this method. Project work is a task-based methodology of teaching and the learners move through various stages of the project in order to complete the task. Whatever they learn or prepare they will use very soon. During the project the students should naturally keep in mind the goal of the project and relate their learning to this final goal. Their learning includes new language as well as developing interpersonal skills. Students know that they will have to write letters or e- mails, make telephone calls, talk to people, ask questions, be polite, etc. and that everything will happen in English. When they prepare for these tasks in the classroom they can ask the teacher to help them with their language preparation. The basic difference (compared to traditional teaching of language skills) is that students want to learn and know these specific phrases because they know they will have to use them correctly in order to complete their task.
Often one part of a project is realized outside the classroom. This may include interviews with native speakers or tourists, visits to various institutions where English is spoken, etc. Teachers usually tend to consider this phase the highlight event where the "learning in the here and now" takes place. Legutke and Thomas (1993: 215-217) argue that "learning in the here and now" manifests itself cyclically in all types of projects, including those carried out solely in the classroom. Students have to activate the relevant language knowledge and combine it with other skills, they have to be selective and decide which piece of collected information is interesting and should be used in the final product and which can be omitted. All of this is done in a creative way and makes the learning process "in the here and now authentic. Fried-Booth (1990: 3) speaks about four types of authenticity in every project-work. It is:
1-Authenticity of language input
2-Authenticity of task
3-Authenticity of event
4-Authenticity of learner experience