Learning Guides
Learning Guide 1
Pronunciation Guide for Greek Learners
Overview
This guide was designed as a practical resource for independent learners. It simplifies greek pronunciation by focusing on commonly confused sounds and presenting them through a clear, visual and learner-friendly structure.
Adolescents & Adults
A1 / Beginner
The Design Process
1. Learning Need / Challenge
Beginner learners of Greek as a foreign language often struggle to distinguish and correctly pronounce the different sounds represented by αυ and ευ, such as /av/–/af/ and /ev/–/ef/. These sound variations can easily cause confusion, particularly when learners are trying to rely on written rules alone.
A simple explanation of the pronunciation rules is not always sufficient, especially for learners studying independently who may need additional support in connecting written forms with the sounds they hear and produce.
2. Design Decision & Rationale
I designed a visually organised self-study guide that combines familiar vocabulary, clear examples and corresponding audio.
The intention was to allow learners to work with several forms of information at the same time: they can see the written word, hear its pronunciation and repeat it aloud. Familiar and accessible vocabulary was selected so that learners could focus primarily on the target sound rather than on understanding unfamiliar words.
The material can initially be used as guided support, with learners listening and repeating alongside the examples, and later as a reference while they practise producing the same sound patterns more independently.
3. Assessment & Possible Next Step
The next step would be to check whether learners can recognise and distinguish the target sounds without relying entirely on the guide.
This could be assessed through short listening and production activities. For example, learners could listen to a word and identify whether they hear /av/, /af/, /ev/ or /ef/, match audio examples with the appropriate written form, or pronounce new words containing the same sound patterns.
These activities could later be developed into interactive exercises, a short quiz, a video-based activity or a simple digital learning activity. The purpose would be to check whether learners can move from supported recognition and repetition towards more independent sound discrimination and pronunciation.
Learning Guide 2
French Welcome Guide
Objective
The guide introduces learners to essential French greetings and helps them recognise when different expressions are appropriate in everyday communication.
Overview
This visual guide presents the most common French greetings and well-wishing expressions used throughout the day, such as saying good morning, good evening or good night. By placing language in everyday contexts, it helps learners develop essential communicative skills while becoming familiar with the cultural use of these expressions.
Target Audience: Adolescents & Adults
Level: Beginner / A1
Learning Design Process
1. What is the Learning Need / Challenge?
Beginner learners need to do more than simply learn the meaning of a French greeting or expression. They also need to understand when, in which social situation, and in what cultural context it is appropriately used.
Connecting the linguistic form, its meaning, and its sociocultural use at the same time can create confusion, particularly when expressions are presented as isolated vocabulary rather than as part of real communicative situations.
2. What did I design, and why did I choose this approach?
Instead of presenting greetings and well-wishing expressions as a traditional vocabulary list, I organised them visually and connected them to specific situations, times of day, and communicative contexts.
The aim was to allow learners to connect each expression not only with its translation, but also with when and why it is used. Visual elements provide an additional point of reference, helping learners associate the language with the situation in which it naturally appears.
3. How could I assess or extend the learning?
The learning could be checked through short activities that gradually move from recognition towards independent use:
1. Context matching
Learners are given short social situations and asked to match each situation with the appropriate French expression.
2. Quick contextual response
Learners are given a short prompt in English or in their first language—for example, a time of day or a social situation—and are asked to quickly select or produce the French expression they would use.
These activities can help check whether learners are able to connect the expression with its appropriate communicative context, rather than simply recognise its translation.
3. Optional learning / consolidation activity
For younger learners, an additional activity could invite them to create their own drawing or visual cue connected to a particular greeting or expression. This would not function as the main assessment, but as a learning and consolidation activity, allowing learners to create their own personal visual association with the expression and its context.
Project Preview
Skills Demonstrated
- Functional Language Learning
- Context-Based Learning Design
- Visual Communication
- Educational Content Design
The complete project can be shared upon request as part of my professional portfolio.
Learning Guide 3
Self-Directed French Learning Guide
Objective
To design a structured self-directed learning guide that supports learners in developing independent study habits through carefully selected digital resources, practical strategies and guided learning pathways across the four core language skills.
Overview
This guide was designed to encourage learner autonomy by helping students navigate their language learning beyond the classroom. Rather than simply providing a collection of online resources, it offers a structured learning experience that combines curated digital tools, study strategies and motivational guidance to support sustainable, self-directed learning.
Project Preview
This project reflects my approach to designing structured, learner-centred educational resources. While some referenced digital tools may have evolved over time, the instructional design principles and learning strategy remain central to the project.
Skills Demonstrated
Level: A1+ -Α2
The Learning Design Process
1. What is the Learning Need / Challenge?
The guide was developed in response to real requests from adult learners who wanted more opportunities to practise independently outside the classroom.
Many learners knew what they wanted to improve, but needed clearer guidance on how to organise their self-study, where to find appropriate resources, and how to practise different areas of language use on their own.
The challenge was therefore not simply access to online material, but helping learners navigate available resources and turn them into a more structured and purposeful independent-learning routine.
2. What did I design, and why did I choose this approach?
Instead of providing learners with a simple list of websites, I organised selected digital resources into a guided self-study pathway.
The guide combines online resources, self-correcting activities and practical suggestions for practising receptive and productive language use independently.
I chose this structure because adult learners often have specific and immediate goals. The intention was to give them enough guidance to make informed choices while still allowing them to decide what they wanted to practise, how deeply they wanted to explore a topic and which resources best suited their individual needs.
For productive language practice, where immediate correction may not always be available, the guide also proposes simple ways for learners to practise speaking and writing independently rather than waiting for a classroom opportunity.
3. How could I assess or extend the learning?
The effectiveness of the guide could be evaluated by asking learners to use it to create and follow a short personal study plan based on their own learning goals.
Learners could select resources, identify what they want to practise and record how they used the suggested activities.
A short reflection or learning log could then help identify whether the guide provided enough structure, whether learners were able to navigate the resources independently and where additional guidance might be needed.
Optional Interactive Extension
Although the assessment focuses on how effectively learners can use the guide to organise and manage their independent learning, an optional interactive component could also be added.
For example, learners could use a shared digital space to reflect on the resources or strategies they explored, identify what they found useful or challenging, and share how they applied them in their own learning.
This would not function as a formal assessment, but as an optional collaborative reflection activity that could extend the learning experience and provide additional insight into how learners are using the guide.
Design Note
The CEFR Companion Volume approaches language use more broadly through reception, production, interaction and mediation, viewing the learner as a social agent who uses language to pursue real-world goals. In this self-study guide, however, listening, reading, speaking and writing are intentionally retained as a practical organisational framework. This reflects specific learner requests and provides adult learners with a clear way to identify and practise areas they want to develop independently, while supporting their broader ability to use language in real communicative contexts.
Learning Guide 4
Visual Grammar Guide for Intermediate Learners
Objective
To transform complex French grammar into clear, visually structured learning materials that support comprehension, retention and independent study for intermediate learners.
Overview
This guide presents key French grammar concepts through visual organisation, concept maps and simplified explanations. Instead of relying on traditional grammar presentations, it uses structured layouts and visual associations to make complex language patterns easier to understand and remember.
Learning Design Process
1. What is the Learning Need / Challenge?
As learners progress from beginner to intermediate levels, French grammar becomes increasingly complex. New verb forms, syntactic structures and grammatical patterns are introduced and need to be connected with previously acquired knowledge.
Alongside the explanations and examples provided by FLE textbooks and grammar books, visualisation can offer an additional point of reference. A diagram, mind map or other visual representation can act as a visual anchor, helping learners organise grammatical information, recognise relationships and return more easily to specific concepts during review.
The need for some of the grammatical points included in the guide also emerged from recurring questions and difficulties observed during specific lessons with B-level learners. Certain verb forms and syntactic structures repeatedly generated similar questions.
The selection of content was therefore based both on the relevance of these grammatical structures at the corresponding level and on actual learner difficulties encountered during teaching.
2. What did I design, and why did I choose this approach?
I designed a visually organised grammar guide in which different types of grammatical information are presented through different forms of organisation, depending on what best supports the presentation of each concept.
The guide uses:
- mind maps,
- concept maps,
- categorisation,
- visual comparisons,
- structured visual organisation,
- and grammar in context.
The choice of format depends on the grammatical concept being presented. Concept maps can highlight relationships, categorisation can organise recurring patterns, and visual comparisons can make distinctions between related structures clearer.
Grammar in context also connects grammatical form with its communicative use rather than presenting grammar only as an isolated rule.
The guide is not primarily intended as a complete self-study programme. It can be used independently as a reference or review resource, but it is mainly designed to support teaching and revision. Teachers can select particular sections or visual models according to the grammatical point they want to present or reinforce.
3. How could I assess or extend the learning?
Because the guide covers different grammatical concepts, a single assessment for the entire resource would not be appropriate.
Each visual or grammar section could serve as a starting point for different forms of practice and assessment according to the specific grammatical objective.
The progression could move through:
recognition → application → production in context
Learners could first recognise the grammatical structure or pattern through short exercises or self-correcting quizzes.
They could then apply the structure in new examples or short written or spoken tasks.
A further stage could involve contextualising the grammar by using the structure in a communicative situation, through activities such as short dialogues, sentence creation or oral production.
In a classroom setting, guided collaborative activities could also be used, with learners creating examples, comparing them and discussing them with teacher support.
Recurring questions or difficulties identified during these activities could then inform further revision of the guide or the addition of further examples.
Project Preview
Skills Demonstrated
- Visual Learning Design
- Concept Mapping
- Knowledge Organisation
- Information Architecture
- Visual Scaffolding
- Grammar in Context
Level: Primarily designed for B1–B2 learners, the guide can also be used from A2+, depending on learners' prior knowledge, needs, and level of support.
The complete 54-page guide is available upon request as part of my professional portfolio.