The Popular Culture elective module covers a wide variety of text types and topics. The text types covered include non-print texts such as movies, TV programmes, documentaries, advertisements, blogs, forums and the like. These texts are easily accessible for students, and many of the topics covered in the module are of interest to them, or overlap with the Social Issues elective module. Encouraging wider reading and viewing, therefore, is a good way to cover a wider variety of text types and topics than can comfortably be covered in class. The option to include viewing as well as reading helps to cover non-print text types and also makes the project more interesting for students.

Other elective modules with similar wide coverage of text types and topics could also lend themselves to such self-study projects. The Social Issues elective module would be a good example. It might also be possible to prepare a portfolio and materials list for the Short Stories elective module.

Teachers prepared lists of recommended print and non-print texts for students. These lists were arranged by topic within the three main areas of health, technology and entertainment. In addition to the materials listed, students were also encouraged to make independent choices of materials, provided they fell within the three main areas given above. As has been noted, the majority of students who answered the online questionnaire felt that they had been able to select appropriate materials. However, there were 23.3% who said that being unable to find interesting materials was a hindrance in completing their goals, and 14% said that the materials were too difficult. In future, it might be possible to indicate the level of difficulty of materials in the recommended lists, or to search for more manageable materials for students. Of course, this poses a difficulty for teachers, as searching for appropriate materials on the web is very time-consuming. Sharing of recommendations among students might also be useful. Indeed, in their individual presentations some students were able to recommend interesting non-print materials and sources to their classmates.

It appears that support from the teacher is important in helping students to complete the tasks. From students’ responses in the questionnaire and their self-evaluations, it seems that, rather than wanting help with language skills, students appreciated some personal encouragement from teachers. In future, teachers could comment more on students’ progress and make more specific recommendations.

Some students were also able to make changes to their study goals and their methods during the course of the project in order to improve their effectiveness. Some of them shared their strategies in the self-evaluation. Such modifications could be pointed out and shared by teachers and students in order to offer solutions to those who are struggling with the goals they have set for themselves and find that their study methods are not very cost-effective.