A CHANGE IN TEACHING PRACTICES: DESIGNING A PROJECT TO PROMOTE COMMUNICATION IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH COURSES AT THE VERACRUZANA UNIVERSITY, MEXICO

Since January 2009 and through the Institutional Project called ‘Proyecto Aula’, the University of Veracruz (from now on UV) has been promoting teachers’ change in their teaching practices. The main objective of the project is to highlight students’ competences for life in each and all the subjects that students take during their learning careers at this university. After a series of training courses, I have worked on the design and application of projects at my Elementary English courses. The present work describes the process I followed in the design of a project at an Elementary English course following the aspects suggested by “Proyecto Aula”. It also contains the description of both, the tasks I designed as well as the procedure followed for students to carry out the project. Samples of students’ outcomes are also commented. Finally, a list of advantages and drawbacks when designing projects found in the design and application stages is also mentioned. The present paper concludes with my opinions on the changes I made in my teaching practice after working with projects.