Teaching English is no easy task. The field has undergone sweeping changes over time, as teachers attempt to move beyond outdated methods and texts. In today’s fast-paced society, English teachers must meet students where they are. This involves exploring trends in teaching English that prove to be effective for modern students.
Advanced degree options like the online Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum & Instruction – English program from Southeastern Oklahoma State University prepare teachers and curriculum leaders to critically assess evolving teaching trends. The insight this assessment offers can be vital in selecting and implementing effective methods of teaching English. The following seven instructional trends stand out for their widespread adoption by teachers seeking to inspire a love for reading and writing.
1. The Daily 5
One of the most well-known trends in teaching English language to K-12 students, The Daily 5, is a literacy framework that encourages students to become engaged, independent readers and writers. First introduced by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, this framework seeks to meet the varying needs of students while building a love of reading.
The Daily 5 framework offers students five choices of reading and writing activities to take on independently while teachers work with students individually: Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work. There is a variety of activities and materials teachers can use to implement the five aspects, and educators can tailor these activities to specific classroom environments. Edmentum offers a list of best practices and possible activities for each.
2. Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
A response to traditional teacher-led, grammar-oriented approaches of language instruction that encourage memorization, TBLT is a student-centered method that relies on interactive, meaningful activities. This approach moves away from grammatical drills, worksheets and activities to replicate real-life experiences.
Students use language to tackle real-world situations, learn how to ask questions and negotiate meaning in how they interact with groups. The task-oriented approach connects achievement of a language goal with accomplishing a real-life (or simulated) task. A student works to develop the English fluency needed to complete a task through understanding or producing a meaningful message, be it writing a letter to a friend or reading a recipe to cook a meal.
3. Tactile and Embodied Learning
Primarily intended to meet the needs of kinesthetic learners, tactile and embodied learning incorporates movement and touch into the English teaching process to enhance memory and engagement. Real-life objects, crafts, games and physical storytelling help students become involved in the process of learning.
Numerous tactile and embodied learning resources are available for teachers. For instance, The Art of Grammar outlines several approaches and strategies for teaching grammar to kinesthetic learners. Additionally, All About Learning Press offers a list of activities for kinesthetic learning.
4. Mobile Learning and Gaming
Apps and online games are more popular and accessible than ever. They offer new and exciting methods of teaching English. The Cambridge Dictionary’s Wordable app, for instance, makes learning vocabulary fun through games students can play with friends.
Various studies highlight the benefits of gamified applications for language learners. Mobile apps and games can reduce anxiety for students learning English, removing the performance aspect of being in a classroom. Through enhancing motivation and engagement while providing immediate feedback and interaction, gamified language learning apps can support multiple improved learning outcomes.
5. Blended Learning
Mobile or web-based learning is often not effective on its own. Many English teachers prefer blended learning, which utilizes both traditional classroom support and autonomous web-based tools.
While students receive guidance and foundations for learning in the classroom, they can engage with English outside of the classroom through digital games and practices. A blended approach to English education encourages students to think for themselves and offers opportunities for more individualized education.
6. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
CLIL is an interdisciplinary approach in which students learn English and a second subject at the same time. Many educators consider CLIL a somewhat more natural way to learn a language, as compared to traditional classroom methods.
Primarily based on English as a second or foreign language, CLIL involves teaching students a second subject in that language. The main idea behind this approach is that students’ motivation to learn English increases when they cannot comprehend the course content without it.
7. Media Literacy
With the avalanche of content from web-based sources and digital news outlets over the past decades, today’s educators understand the need for media literacy in their classrooms. Media literacy is now widely considered to be a fundamental component of overall literacy, making it a critical learning outcome for English education as well as other disciplines.
Traditional methods of teaching English focus on equally traditional methods of publication, such as books. Since today’s students largely consume real-time digital content, media literacy focuses on teaching them to assess the credibility and reliability of what they read. Resources for media literacy education are widely available. Edutopia, for instance, offers educators a wealth of resources and activities for teaching students critical media literacy.
This list of trends is by no means exhaustive, but it offers some food for thought when considering tools and approaches to teaching English. Educators can delve further into evidence-based English teaching methods with advanced coursework in Southeastern’s M.Ed. in C&I and discover new ways to better serve today’s students.
Learn more about the online M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction – English program from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.