The English Classroom of Tomorrow
BOOKR Kids
A reading-based edutainment tool to help kids acquire better native and/or second language skills.
Dear fellow Educational experts and enthusiasts,
As my team and I do our best to constantly update and innovate the BOOKR Class Library App, keeping one eye on trends and user needs is undoubtedly crucial. Let me share with you some insights from our latest Trends Report: what can we expect for the English Teaching Industry in 2023?
Trends, new tools, and methods are shaping how the English language is taught to K-12 students. Some trends were a long time coming, lurking in only the most innovative classrooms - and are rapidly making their way to becoming the new standard in the educational sector. Stay ahead of the game and enjoy your monthly short and sweet with us. Let's unpack the trends we see as most relevant for this year.
The language classroom of tomorrow
+ 1 knows how to cater to today's higher-quality visual preferences
Now let's see what all this actually means in practice.
Emphasise Communicative competencies!
Recently, there has been a shift towards prioritizing communicative competence in English language teaching. This means that teachers focus on teaching students how to use English for real-life communication rather than just memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules. Context is everything!
Some practical steps to take in this direction:
Social-Emotional Learning is the new game-changer.
Academic skills are great. Children need to learn how to write, read, count, and speak another language – but are we paying enough attention to developing their soft skills? Or better yet, the question is, how can we do that?
This is a broad topic with lots of answers that need to be found at home with a child's family but don't think there is nothing we can do as educational experts. A great way to help students develop self-awareness is to introduce some practices through books - and to support not only parents but educators in doing that, at BOOKR, we created stories that unwrap some issues in an age-appropriate manner. Tolerance, relationship skills, acceptance towards oneself and others, decision-making, emotional awareness, and standing up for oneself - are all essential skills that are not easy to teach. Using our animated books is an effective way to start a conversation at home or in school.
Let me help you get started with this topic, read through a more detailed article, and change lives by incorporating SEL into your curriculums!
Technology Integration is the new norm.
As we know, technology has become an increasingly important tool in language teaching, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since, teachers and schools have been incorporating various technological tools and platforms, such as online learning management systems, interactive whiteboards, and language learning apps. Why do they keep using these tools even in physical classrooms? Simple: to make lessons more engaging and interactive for students.
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Speaking of technology, we can't omit one of the buzzwords of 2023 that is gradually becoming part of our everyday lives: Artificial Intelligence. AI tools such as ChatGPT are making their mark in education, but that is not the only way you can utilize Ai in your business or teaching practices.
Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning and blockchain can truly transform the way we learn, teach and interact with educational content. They can help to personalise learning experiences, to make them more immersive and engaging, but also to safely manage academic records or certifications. At BOOKR we started moving in this direction, following an AI roadmap.
Our library application leverages Artificial Intelligence for Speech Analysis, which enables children to improve their pronunciation skills when using BOOKR Class - and we apply AI to optimize our book production process. We can witness this trend throughout the sector, Duolingo, for instance, has just introduced ChatGPT to facilitate genuine conversations.
Are you looking for guidance or tips on how to get started with edtech? Check out our detailed guide to the world of technology in the classroom!
Catering to all learning styles: Multimodal Learning is a must.
Another trend in English language teaching is the use of multimodal learning, which involves incorporating various modes of learning, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. Teachers use videos, songs, and games to teach language concepts and include physical activities to make language learning more interactive and engaging. The list of ideas and activity tips here is endless, but let me share with you my personal favorites for a warmer task, which are great examples of multimodal learning.
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an approach that involves teaching subject content (e.g. science, social studies) in English, to promote both language learning and content learning. When students are busy absorbing information, language learning and the internalization of content or skill can occur incidentally.?Trying to make sense of a text involves thinking skills as much as language skills in the ESL / EFL classroom. Here you can learn more about implementing it.
Culturally Responsive Teaching
There is a growing trend toward culturally responsive teaching in English language classrooms. This means that innovative schools and educators take into account the cultural backgrounds and experiences of their students and include culturally relevant materials and activities in their lessons to make them more meaningful for students.
+ 1 Today's young learners' visual preferences have evolved.
Engagement is everything. We either capture a child's attention or we do not help them learn effectively.
A wide range of visual stimuli on a daily basis can be distractive, from the graphics in their favorite video games to the animations in movies; kids’ attention is easy to grab but hard to keep. Therefore, they have developed a keen eye for high-quality visuals and expect the same level of quality in all forms of visual content - at school as well. Make sure you use innovative content in your classroom, and let me know about the results!
These were our list of 6+1 unavoidable trends in the ESL/EFL sphere. I would love to know, what is your experience? Do you already use any of these methods in your school?
Thank you for your time and attention, dear friends; I'll see you again in May with a special edition of Edtech Lab by BOOKR, in honor of Mental Health Month.
Have a lovely day,
Dorka