DIDACTIC SCENARIOS IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Specialization / Direction

Specific Foundation / Core

The course is also offered to exchange programme students.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: • understand the basic principles of designing didactic scenarios and their significance for lesson planning • address methodological and practical challenges • analyze and interpret qualitative data • search for the required bibliography in various ways, including online catalogs • point out issues in the teaching process and justify their remarks based on the theories they were taught • prepare and deliver presentations using various media and presentation techniques

The seminar focuses on the structural elements and design principles of didactic scenarios in German as a Foreign Language. The aim of the seminar is to familiarize students with the structure and principles of teaching scenarios and enable them to create their own didactic scenario. The terms didactic scenario (διδακτικό σενάριο, Mitsikopoulou, 2015) and lesson plan (σχέδιο μαθήματος, Matsagouras, 1998) are closely related, but not necessarily overlapping. To this end, the course highlights the differences between the didactic scenario and the lesson plan, as well as between the m-scenario and the didactic scenario. A didactic scenario is often implemented over multiple class sessions and includes activities divided into clearly structured teaching units. These units are clearly defined in terms of time and pursue specific objectives. During the seminar, both the structure and the sequence of activities, as well as the role of the teacher and his/her interaction with media and materials are analyzed. In both cases, the lesson plan and the didactic scenario make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to emphasize collaborative problem-solving and critical thinking in decision-making processes. The use of new technologies in teaching and learning a foreign language is an essential component of the modern reality of the digital school (ITYE 2020). Within the seminar, the concept of literacy and the relationship of digital media to new forms of literacy will be introduced. Regarding teaching methodology, didactic scenarios promote exploratory, experiential, and discovery-based learning. From this perspective, methodological approaches such as differentiated, experiential, and research-based theories of teaching and learning foreign languages using digital media will be analyzed. Didactic scenarios in the teaching and learning of a foreign language rely on digital multimodal texts and cooperative learning formats. The seminar emphasizes the value of these elements for the learning process. Equally important is the shift towards authentic activities in the didactic scenario and alternative assessment methods for both the course and the learners. Therefore, in the seminar, digital media will be presented that may aid in this direction. The expected learning outcomes of scenario activities are described according to the communication competence indicators outlined in the language curricula (Unified Curriculum for Foreign Languages & Curriculum for Foreign Languages in Lyceum). The course will present these communication competence indicators, which provide brief descriptions of what learners are expected to master at each level of language proficiency. In recent years, various digital databases, of didactic scenarios for foreign language teaching in Greek schools have been developed. "Open Science" in education adds value to foreign language teaching. Open educational resources available in digital databases can be utilized in planning and creating scenarios. The scenarios offered with open licenses (Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA) adhere to standardized structures of didactic scenarios and are accessible to all interested parties (teachers, students). These scenarios can serve as a source of inspiration and as a starting point for the development of further scenarios tailored to the needs and proficiency levels of learners, always with reference to the author of the scenario. The seminar will introduce digital databases (Fotodendro, Ifigenia, Aesop) that meet curriculum requirements and can be used in scenario development. In the second part of the seminar, students will create didactic scenarios adhering to the structure and design principles and engage in a critical process. This aims at enhancing the creative and active role of future language teachers, who not only convey existing knowledge but also support the learning process through targeted scaffolding.

Didactic scenario, m-scenario, exploratory-experiential learning, digital databases

22-06-2025