BLOG1DIRECTIONS

ForyourfirstBlogReadingResponse,respondtothefollowingprompt:
Yourdepartmenthasbeenaskedtowriteashortarticleforthe
schoolnewsletterexplaininghowlearningalanguagemay
addresstheneedsofdiverselearnersinthe21stcentury.
Whatwillyouwrite?
___________________________________________________________________

Whybotherlearninganother
languagewheneveryone
alreadyspeaksEnglish?
AccordingtotheCIAWorldFactBook,only6%of
theworldspopulationarenativeEnglishspeakers.
Thoughthenumbertripledafterthosewhospeak
Englishasaforeignlanguageareincluded,weare
deprivingourselvesoftheinteractionswiththe
other80%oftheglobalcommunitywhenweonly
speakEnglish.Astravelandtechnologyclosethe
distanceamongus,wecannolongerlivein
isolation.Throughlanguagelearning,wewillbe
abletocommunicateandsharedifferent
perspectiveswithoneanotherfromdiversebackgroundswhileestablishingbetter
understandingandappreciationforourownlanguage,heritageandculture.
Moderntechnologyhaschangedhowweliveandlearntoday.Basedonthefindingof
theGoogle/IPSOSCTmediabehaviorstudy,21stcenturylearnersbetweenage13to
24arenaturallycuriousandlesspatienttopassivelywaitforanswers.Theirtechnical
skillsallowthemtodoresearchwhenevertheywantonwhateverintereststhemon
multipledevices.Throughtechnology,theirlearningisnolongerlimitedinsidethe
classrooms.
Tostudyanotherlanguageandculturegivesoneapowerfulkeytosuccessful
communication:knowinghow,whenandwhytosaywhattowhom.Allthe
linguisticsandsocialknowledgerequiredforeffectivehumantohuman
interactionisencompassedinthosetenInwords.(NSFLEP,2006)

AccordingtotheabovestatementintheStandardsforForeignLanguageLearningin
the21stCentury,todayslanguagelearningnotonlydemandslearnerstomasterthe
linguisticsandstructuresofthetargetlanguage,butalsorequirethemtodemonstrate
whattheycandowiththelanguageintherealworldsituations.Languagelearningisa
verycomplexprocesswhichconstantlychallengesthelearnersmentallyandcognitively
astheymakesenseofdifferentsounds,rulesandstructuresbetweendifferent
languageswhilemakingconnectionsandcomparisonstotheirfirstlanguage.
Therefore,thosewhospeakmorethanonelanguagelearntobecomecriticalthinkers
withbetterproblemsolvingskillsovertime.Thosewhospeakadifferentlanguageare
becomingmorecreativeandinnovativeastheyareinspiredbythediscoveryofdifferent
perspectivesofseeing,thinkingandrelatingtoanotherworldassociatedwiththetarget
languageandculture.Learninglanguagesnotonlybroadensourhorizonbutalsohelp
usappreciatediversityinthisglobalsociety.
The21stcenturyskillmaphighlights
thenecessaryskillsfortodaysdiverse
learnerstomaster.Throughthe
languagelearningprocess,learners
areabletotransferandmasterthose
essentialskillswhicharealignedwith
the4Csinthe21stCenturySkill
Mapcommunication,criticalthinking
andproblemsolving,creativityand
innovation,andcollaboration.The
StandardsofForeignLanguageLearninginthe21stCenturyused5Cscommunication,
cultures,connections,comparisonsandcommunitiestoguidethecontentchoicefor
languagecurriculum.Languagesarebestlearnedwithcontexts.Basedonthecontent
andinstructionalstrategyguidelines,languageinstructors,asfacilitators,areableto
helptodaysdiverselearnersachievetheultimategoalofcommunicationKnowing
how,whenandwhytosaywhattowhom.
Reference:
Clementi,D.,&Terrill,L.(2010).
TheKeystoPlanningforLearning:Effective
Curriculum,Unit,andLessonDesign(4thed.).
Boston:HeinleCengage
Learning.ISBN:0989653220

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