Robinson Crusoe with a Cellphone: A Task-Based Proposal for Higher Secondary Education

Abstract

Robinson Crusoe has captured the imagination of young readers and has been used as a tool for didactic purposes over the centuries. Throughout this article, it will be argued that there is a need to promote literary education and reading habits within the English as a Second Language area in secondary education using classics such as this novel and an innovation educational project is proposed. Moreover, to connect with the students interests and ways of expression and the current and future social demands, the themes and topics of the novel will be introduced through selected extracts from the original text to also promote media literacy in higher secondary education, in an inter-disciplinary approach. If Crusoe’s story were to happen today, the internet would offer practical applications to adapt to the situation, or to solve it, which is why this is a learning situation that explores some of these possibilities in a task-based, fun, and creative way. The ultimate goal is to inspire teachers to use or adapt this proposal to a variety of educational contexts since it pursues to promote genuine communication in English and introduce students to a literary masterpiece, endorsing the responsible and adequate use of creative technological tools.

Keywords

• english as a second language
• robinson crusoe
• secondary education
• literary education
• media literacy
• task-based language teaching and learning