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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