A WebQuest for high school students in EFL setting
Cornelius is a linguist studying human language. He really wants to know what human language is, but his research has almost come to a halt. One day an idea flashed him that he might be able to come over the problem if he expanded his research area to animal language or communication. Human beings and other animals have evolved together but in a different way. We have a language, but they do not, which is one of the most remarkable differences between people and animals. We mainly use language in communicating with others, but the other living things do not. However, they use other ways to communicate and make it sufficiently. So, Cornelius thought that comparing human language with animal language/communication would enable him to understand human language deeply.
He has got an idea, but he does not have enough knowledge on biology. So, after receiving a government grant, he planned to work with biologists to share the knowledge and get a hint to better understand human language.
Task One
You are going to work in four groups investing one of the animal communications stated above. Using the suggested resources, you will have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of each animal communication. Have fun and come to know how wonderful and different each communication method is!
Task Two
You and your group members are to create a brief Power Point presentation on the animal communication you have investigated and share the knowledge you found with other classmates. It should be included in the presentation that (1) what kind of communication method is used such as voice, sign, sound, and so forth, and (2) what kind of content can be conveyed.
Task Three
Cornelius is going to give you four imaginary communications between unknown organisms. You are going to be asked to apply the knowledge you have to analyze them. Then compare human language with animal communication and think about what is the main character of our language.
Before becoming an expert on one aspect of this topic, we should know the basics. Use the suggested links to do a better research.
Help!
You can use an online dictionary if you need one. Click here!
After investigating various forms of animal communication, you have become an expert on this area. Now, in order to complete the task three stated above, you are to think about six situations below.
I am going to provide you with six imaginary situations between Entity A and B, which are unknown what they are like. First, think about whether each category of animal you have investigated can perform these kinds of communication. Next, discuss with all the members whether human beings can deal with them. Finally, make a comparison between human language and animal communication. You can use the following worksheet. Print it out and then submit it to me. Note: if you have found a difference which is not described in six situations, you can think about it and jot down in the worksheet. I do not require you to make a perfect comparison. Do not be afraid, but try to do your best!
Through this WebQuest, you have seen various animal communication systems and attempted to compare our language with them. Even though you have studied only four animals, you know how diverse their systems are. Also, knowing different communication systems makes you notice how different your communication system, mainly using language, is. However, you should not think that human language is the best communication method. As you have studied here, all the species have their own way of communication and they work sufficiently. We have chosen language as a tool, but they have not, that is all. You should respect all of them and can learn a lot from them.
World-Wide Web Resources
A dog image in Six Situations
Licence Free Clip Arts for Language Teaching (http://www.sla.purdue.edu/fll/JapanProj/FLClipart/default-j.html)
Animal photographs (Monkeys, birds, fire, and whales) with permission
Goto Museum (http://www.gocomuseum.net/photo/index.html)
Bee Dancing image without permission
Honeybee Communication (http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/BeeDances.html)
Monkey image in the first page without permission
Language as animal communication (http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/~jcoleman/animals.htm)
Collaboration Rubric was quoted from:
Triton Curriculum Page (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/tidepoolunit/tidepool.html#evaluation)
I owe many things to many people in making this WebQuest.
First, the basic idea of this WebQuest was taught by Tomoya SUGANO (a teacher of medieval and modern Japanese, and ancient Chinese literature) when I was a high school student. The questions he gave me are still matters of concern. Next, I appreciate Dr. Chin-Chi Chao's comments. Without her comments, my WebQuest would be just "searching for the knowledge per se." Finally, I thank all the classmates for giving me helpful feedback.
[six situations] [summary] [For Teachers]
This page was written by TANAMACHI, Yukinori.
Updated August 18, 2003