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New Culture of Learning: Challenges and Opportunities for English Language…
New Culture of Learning: Challenges and Opportunities for English Language Teaching
A growing digital, networked infrastructure has enabled us to access and use nearly unlimited and incredible resources
It is a lifelong interest that is renewed and redefined on a continual basis
Additionally, advances in information technology and new developments in learning science provide opportunities to create well-designed, learner-centred, interactive, affordable, efficient, flexible e-learning environments
Indeed, web-based technologies and powerful internet connections provide various new possibilities and latest trends for teachers and learners
In the twenty-first century, learning does not necessarily take place in a classroom
Everyone and everything around us can be seen as resources for learning
it happens all around us, everywhere, and it is powerful
Role of Classrooms and Teachers in the New Culture of Learning
In the new culture of learning, the classroom is replaced by learning environments in which digital media provide access to a rich source of information and play
Learning takes place through engagement within the world, not learning about the world
We need to embrace what we do not know, come up with better questions about it, and continue asking those questions to learn more and more
The goal is to create an environment for students to take the world in and make it part of themselves
Back in 1971, Robert Nisbet claimed that “the man of knowledge and his pursuits were sacred”
But they are no longer considered as sacred
Today, in the 21st-century classroom, teachers have multiple roles and responsibilities
They can facilitate student learning by creating a productive classroom environment
Students would ask themselves how they would utilize the available resources for deep exploration
Many teachers integrate such approaches as content-based, project-based approaches, co-teaching, team-teaching, and collaboration with other teachers
Teachers need to embrace new ideas to effectively teach in our ever-changing societies
Learning can be a painful experience and yet fun
Play can be serious and challenging as well as fun and joyful
Thinking about play as a disposition makes play powerful as a learning tool
Learning that is driven by passion and play is poised to significantly extend our ability to think, innovate, and discover in ways that have not previously been possible
Most importantly, it can allow us to ask questions that have never been imaginable
Embrace Changes in Goals of English Language Teaching and Learning
Change motivates and challenges
Embracing change means looking forward to what will come next
It means viewing the future as a set of opportunities, rather than something that forces us to adjust
Today’s learners take up language studies to achieve fluency in language, but the focus is no longer on grammar, memorization, and pure language skills
Today´s technology has removed geographical and physical boundaries to enable students to reach out to the world around them
Challenges and Opportunities
Rapid developments in technology and the use of cell phones and multimedia devices have opened endless possibilities for English teachers to access information
Such technologies as the Internet and e-books are designed to help teachers prepare lessons and classroom activities with ease
Teachers can bring real life into the classroom when they have access to ready-made materials with the stroke of a key
However, simply watching videos or images during class, playing an Internet vocabulary game, or even taking turns at an interactive whiteboard might be no longer enough
Additionally, over the last couple of years, from learning apps as Duolingo to online language lessons, technology has been shaping the way people acquire language
Online language lessons carried out over communications programs as Skype or Google Hangouts have been increasingly popular
The most obvious advantage of online language lessons is flexibility
Neither the teacher nor student needs to spend time commuting to their agreed destination for the lesson
They just need the most basic of technical equipment – usually a laptop and an Internet connection
Conclusion
The world is changing at a rapid pace
How we learn is changing
How we teach and assess learning is also changing
Old, authoritarian models are giving way to gentler, more collaborative models
Today’s young people are as hungry as they ever were to be guided, coached and mentored
Their curiosity about the world around them continues to be piqued
The trends in English language learning are moving us forward in such a way as to empower our students to communicate with others across the globe in real time and to help the world a better place
Students are not merely learning the English language per se, but they are constructed to be future social change agents
And that is the new culture of English language teaching and learning