Project Work For Teaching Literature in ESL Contexts

Project work. It sounds so scary when I heard about it. Dr Edwin briefed us on what we are supposed to do throughout the course. When he said that we can choose any text we want to do or research on, I was thinking about researching on song. I asked him about it and he told me that I need to check with my tutor. I forgot his name. I even asked about our supervisor and when are we going to meet them. Probably in week 4 we will meet them. We are supposed to conduct this course at the end of our program. But, it seems that we need to finish it this semester before going back to “maktab” or IPTI (it is the same thing to me. They just change the name). This project work is important for us not just to improve our way of thinking in literature and how are we going to teach our students, but also to teach and prepare ourselves in managing a research paper. Dr Edwin enlightens us on how to do a research paper. After hearing his explanations, research paper is hard. Especially, thesis statement. A research paper presents and argues a ‘thesis’, the writer’s proposition or opinion. It is an analytical or persuasive essay that evaluates a position. As such, a research paper tries to convince readers that the writer’s argument is valid or at least deserves serious consideration. From Dr Edwin’s explanations, a research paper must has a clear thesis, shows a strong understanding of the topic and source material used, evidence that the writer has read widely on the topic, organized in a clear and logical way and each point is supported by solid, persuasive facts and examples. Hopefully I can get through this.