ForewordForewordTSK TeachingSkills Kit
Series editor: Rachel Finnie Contributing editor: Christopher Graham
21stCenturySkills
in the ELTClassroom– a guide for teachers
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3
Contents
Foreword 4
Abouttheauthors 10
1 21stCenturySkills–anOverview 14
2 CreativityandInnovationinELTClasses 28
3 CriticalThinkingandProblem-solvinginELT 50
4 CommunicationandCollaborationinELTClasses 66
5 Information,MediaandTechnologySkills 78
6 GlobalCitizenshipinELTClasses 93
7 21stCenturySkillsandELTMethodology 107
8 21stCenturySkillsinELT–theChallenges 127
9 ReflectionsontheFuture 152
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom4
Forewordby Christopher Graham
TheteachingofEnglishasaforeignlanguagehaschangedverysignificantlyovertheyears.Researchingforatalkayearorsoago,IcameacrosssomeactivitiesandrecordingsfromacoursecalledAccesstoEnglish,byBasilLordandMichaelColes,publishedin1974byOxfordUniversityPress.ItwasthefirstcoursebookIeverused.Lookingatitnow,ofcourseitseemsdated,almostinnocent.ButitmademethinkalotabouthowtheworldofEnglishlanguageteaching(ELT)haschanged,andindeedhowithasn’t.
AccesstoEnglishisbasedaroundtwocharacterscalledArthurNewtonandMaryStephens,andtheirlivesinatowncalledMiddleford.Therearemanyaspectsofthecoursethatnowseemremarkable.Thelanguageisverystilted,thereadingtextsseemtobelengthyforthelevelandthereisalotofdrillingthatisonlyreallystructuralmanipulation.Butthenagain,itwaspublishednearlyfiftyyearsago,andthatbeingsaid,myadmittedlyratherhazymemoriestellmethatstudentslovedthebooksandmadeprogressbyusingthem.
LookingatAccesstoEnglishandatmorerecentcoursebooksinparallel,itseemsremarkablehowwehavegonefromArthurandMary’sadventuresinthelocallibrarytolookingatthedifferencesbetweencorrelationandcausationandhowtomanagesearchengineresults.Ofcourse,mostsocietieshavechangedimmeasurablyinthelastfiftyyears,butworkingwith21stcenturyskillsisonewaytofuture-proofourclassrooms,withnewskillsemergingassocietydevelops.
TheinitialcatalystforthisbookwasconversationsandobservationsthatI’vehadwithteachersaroundtheworldinbothsecondaryandtertiaryinstitutionswhere21stcenturyskillshave‘landedontheirdesks’,eitherinacoursebookorintheircorecurriculum.Thereactionfromteacherswhenfirstconfrontedwithasetof21stcenturyskillscontenttendstobeacautiouswelcome.Afterall,theideamakesperfectsense–weareaimingtopreparestudentsforcontemporaryEnglish-mediumworkandstudysettings.Theproblemisthatmanyteachersarenotsurewhat’sinvolved–whetherit’scontentorwhetherit’smethodology,andtheyarealsoconcernedaboutstudentanxiety.Thedegreeofinstitutionalsupportfromsupervisors,directorsofstudiesandheadsofdepartmentofcoursevariessignificantly,butitseemedtomethattherewasneedforabooktolookattheissuesaroundtheintegrationof21stcenturyskillsworkintoELTclassrooms.
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom 5
Foreword
Thebookitselfisunderpinnedbythreeimportantconcepts.
Practicality
Thereisalargebodyofacademicworkandarticlesaroundthesubjectof21stcenturyskills,butwhatIthinkELTteachersneedisabookofferingbothpracticaladviceandexamplesthattheycantakeaway,adaptslightlyanduseintheirclasses.Inevitably,therehastobeadegreeoftheorytoprovidereferencepointsandframeworks,but‘outofthebox’practicalactivitiesandapproachesareattheforefront.
Flexibility and Relevance
Thisbookcan,ofcourse,bereadfromcovertocover,butitwillalsoworkwellasabooktodipintoifyouhaveconcernsorissuesaboutaparticularaspectof21stcenturyskillsteaching.Youshouldbeabletoseefromthechaptertitlesexactlywheretogotoforspecificideas.Iwould,ifyou’reusingitasadip-intobook,certainlysuggestmakingChapter1compulsory,becausehereyouwillfindaframeworkandthejustificationfor21stcenturyskillsworkthatyoucanuseasaspringboardfromwhichtoexploretheworkonspecificindividualskillsandtheissuesaroundthem.
The Voices of the Writers
Thefinalconceptthisbookwasbasedonwasthefactthatwewantedtogivethewritersagreatdegreeofautonomytointerpretthechapterheadingsastheywished,giventheirknowledgeandexpertise.Ihopethatyoucanfeeltheindividualityofeachwriterthroughthechapters.Theremaybesomedisagreementsandsomecontradictions.Inonerespect,Ireallyhopethereare,becausethisbookshouldalsobeastimulusfordiscussion.Equally,theremaybesomerepetitionandoverlap,asit’simportanttoseethetopicsfromdifferentangles.
So,let’shaveaverybrieflookateachchapter,withoutprovidingtoomanyspoilers.
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom6
Foreword
Chapter 1 ThechapterbyHelen Soulé givesusanoverviewandanalysisofthecentraltheoreticalandpracticalframeworkbehind21stcenturyskills.Readingthischaptershouldgiveyousomeunderstandingofthethinkingbehindthe21stcenturyskillsmovement–whyitissuchanimportantpartoftheglobaltrainingscene,andanunderstanding,Ihope,thatmanyofthethingsthatELTteachershavebeendoingintheirclassesforsomeyearsareactually21stcenturyskills.Helen’schapterisdeliberatelynotwrittenfromanELTperspective.It’sfromaperspectiveofgeneraleducationandtraining,andIthinkthisisimportantbecauseELTisincreasinglybecomingpartofmainstreameducation.WeaspractitionersneedtohaveanunderstandingofsomeoftheglobalapproachesbeingimplementedoutsideoftheELTbubble,whichmayimpactourwork.
Chapter 2Nik Peacheyhasashisfocuscreativityandinnovation.Isuggestyouhavealaptopnexttoyouwhileyoureadthischapter,asNikgivesusalargenumberoflinkstointerestingexamplesoftoolsyoucanuseinclassroomactivities.Thechaptertakesusthroughcreativityandinnovation,explaininghowtheyarelinkedandhowtheymatterinthemodernworkplace.Nikthengoesontolookathowtechnologycanbeusedtohelpdeveloptheseareas.Thisisahighlypracticalchapter,andthebestwaytounderstandhowthesevarioustoolsworkistoclickonthelinksandgivethematry.Tohelpwiththis,thereareclearproceduresfortheactivitiesinthechapter,whichyoucaneasilybuildintoyourlessonplans.
Chapter 3 Inthischapter,JJ Wilsongivesusahistoryofcriticalthinking,fromthecavementothepresentday.Healsoexploresdefinitionsoftheterms‘criticalthinking’and‘problem-solving’.Helooksatcriticalthinkingintheclassroomaspartoftheteachingcontent,andalsoattheimportanceofcriticalthinkinginsomeoftheinternationalexaminationsuites.Criticalthinkingcan,afterall,beoneofthemostchallengingaspectsofsomeofthemajorexams.Throughoutthechapter,JJshowshowcriticalthinkingandproblem-solvingcanbeembeddedintoday’sELTactivities,withlotsofexamplesofquestiontypesandtasktypestostimulatestudentstothinkcriticallyandseeksolutionstoproblems.
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom 7
Foreword
Chapter 4Lookingatcommunicationandcollaboration,Christina Lorimerspendssometimeevaluatingcommunicationandcollaborationas21stcenturyskills,andthenputseverythingintoarealELTcontextbyusingthecasestudyofacoursethatshe’srecentlybeeninvolvedwithintheUnitedStates.Thisexperience-basedpersonalizationensuresthatherobservationsringverytrue.ShecontinuesbylookingathowcommunicationandcollaborationcanfitintoanELTcurriculum,anddevelopsherideaswithacasestudyofanotherprojectthatshehasbeeninvolvedin.Christinaalsodiscussesteachingstrategies,makingthisahighlypracticalchapterandonefromwhichreadersshouldbeabletoextractideastoincorporateintotheirownclassrooms.
Chapter 5 Gavin Dudeneylooksatinformation,mediaandtechnologyskills–inmyviewanareaof21stcenturyskillsthatfillsteacherswithexcitementandanxietyinequalmeasure.HestartswithanoverviewoftechnologyinELT,thenmakesthekeylinkagebetween21stcenturyskillsandtechnology.Gavinmovesontopracticalapproachestointegratingtechnologyintotheclassroom,withexamplesofactivitiesthatteacherscantakeandadaptfortheirlessons.Hetakesaccountofthefactthatnotallteachersfeelable,orwant,touseextensivetechnologyintheclassroom,andofferssolutionsandsupporttopeoplewhodon’tfeelconfidentthattheyhavethenecessaryskills.ThischapterhasalargenumberofrealclassroompracticalactivitiesthatI’mcertainteachers,asaresultofwhattheyread,willfeelempoweredtotryout.
Chapter 6 This chapter focusesonglobal citizenship, and Julietta Schoenmann puts us straight into actionwithanimage-drivenactivityaroundsomekeyglobalthemes.Shediscusseshowtheseactivitiescanbeintegratedintoourclassesandbringseverythingtolifebyheruseofcasestudieswrittenbyrealteachersaboutrealprojectsthattheyhavebeeninvolvedin.Globalissues,includingcitizenship,canundeniablybecontroversialattimes,andinoneofhercasestudiesJuliettadiscusseshowthechallengeofacceptabilitycanbedealtwith.TheEnglishlanguageisoneofthemediathatcanhelpcreateglobally-awarecitizens,andthischapterwillgiveteachersplentyofideasthattheycanuseintheirownlessons,towardsthatgoal.
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom8
Foreword
Chapter 7 Inthischapter,Nicola Meldrumleadsusawayfromtheskill-by-skillapproachofthepreviouschaptersandtakesalookattheinterfacebetweenELTmethodologyand21stcenturyskills.Sheseekstoshowushowarangeofmethodologicalapproachescanbeusedtodevelop21stcenturyskills.ThegreatreassuranceforteachersfromNicola’schapterandelsewhereinthebookisthatwearealreadyusingalotof21stcenturyskillsinourteaching:thewayweusegroups,thewayweuseproblem-solvingandthewayweencouragelearnerautonomyareclearexamples.Theintegrationof21stcenturyskillsintoanELTsettingdoesrequireacertaintypeofclassroombehaviourandacertainapproachbytheteacher,andinthischapteryouwillreadaboutsomeideastohelpyoumakeyourclassroomintoanenvironmentwhere21stcenturyskillscanflourish.
Chapter 8Nochangeineducationiseverstraightforward.Therecanberesistance,uncertaintyandsometimesevenfear.Mostofthesephenomenaarecausedbylackofinformationandlackofclarity.Inthischapter,Itrytoidentifysomeofthemainchallengesinvolvedinintegrating21stcenturyskillsintotheELTclassroom,andcomeupwithsomeoutlinesofapproachesformanagingthesechallenges.Itgoeswithoutsayingthateverycircumstanceisdifferent,andeveryclassroomhasitsownissues,butIhopesomeofthegeneralideascanbetakenandadaptedtospecificclasses,toeaseandfacilitatetheintroductionof21stcenturyskillsandhelpusprepareourstudentseffectivelyfortheirfutureintheworldbeyondtheclassroom.
Chapter 9Inthischapter,Itakeacautiousandtentativelookforward–not,asIstressatthebeginningofthechapter,atthefutureofELT,butmoreatsomeoftheinfluencesontheprofessionthatalsohaveanimpacton21stcenturyskillswork.Ifweworkonthebasisthat21stcenturyskillsmapandfollowworkplacetrends,technologicaltrendsandbroaderlearningtrends,thenthewholefieldisnecessarilygoingtobeverydynamic.Indeed,ablogthatIrefertointhechapterlistssomenewareasoftrainingthatwillmostlikelysoonbecomepartofELTwork.Twentyyearsago,Ididn’tknowwhatemotionalintelligencewas,yetnowI’mseeinghowimportantitistomeasateachertrainer,particularlyasalotoftheworkIdoiswithtraumatizedteacherswhoworkinwarorpost-warenvironmentsaroundtheworld.ELThasshownresilienceandalsoflexibilitytoadaptitselftoachangingworld–longmaythiscontinue.
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21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom 9
Foreword
‘…Ihavenoparticularqualificationsorknowledgethatenablesmeorentitlesmetoprescribemethodsoflanguageinstruction…Myownfeeling,forwhatitisworth,isthatatanylevel,fromnurserytograduateschool,teachingislargelyamatterofencouragingnaturaldevelopment.’
Source:AninterviewwithNoamChomsky,(December,1994/January,1995)TheReadingTeacher,48(4)
Theworldinhabitedbysomany(butnotall)ELTstudentstoday,oftenfacilitatedbytechnology,isoneofcuriosity,challengeandinnovation.IfthesefactorsarenowpartofChomsky’s‘naturaldevelopment’in21stcenturystudents,asIthinktheyare,thentheideasdiscussedinthisbookhaverealrelevance.
IwouldliketothankallthewritersandRachelFinnie,PublisheratGarnetEducation,fortheirworkandsupportinmakingthisbookhappen.
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