As teachers, we?all?want our?students to?work toward making the world a better place. Through focusing on?global citizenship,?this drive to change the world is something we can help foster every day in the classroom.?In this post, we’ll explore how.
?A global citizen is someone who knows that they are part of a worldwide community. They understand that there are people who have completely different lifestyles, appearances, cultures and routines but with whom we share common values and responsibilities. Global citizenship encourages tolerance and understanding, and learning about it helps children become open-minded adults.??
In a primary English classroom, helping students become aware of themselves as citizens of the world will introduce them to a global way of thinking. We can do this while also helping them become familiar with, and proficient in, English.??
Before?students put themselves in a global context, they should get to know themselves as individuals. But they should also get to know themselves as people who?are part of?their immediate communities.??
In the classroom, this can be done by encouraging students to think about something personal, such as their likes and dislikes. We can then encourage students to look a little further: What kinds of homes do they see in their communities? What makes a house a home to them? What about people working in their communities — what important jobs do they do, and how do they make an impact??
For language teachers,?the idea is to?combine vocabulary and grammar structures with a slowly widening view of our world.?Simply by introducing the concept?that we are part of a worldwide community?can?take the children out of their own experiences and help them start to consider others.
Social media makes it possible?for?teachers to contact each other across borders and to collaborate between their schools. Something simple, like organizing a class video call for students after lunchtime and encouraging students in different countries to discuss what they ate in English,?can?help learners become more globally aware.?
Once students know something, they can progress to putting their knowledge into action. Teachers can foster this?by encouraging good habits –?a simple example is?how we?teach?very young?children to throw their litter in a bin. As they grow older, we can?‘unpack’ these habits. That is,?we can help?children?look deeper into why?they're so important.?Using the example of litter again,?this?could mean?making students aware about how their civic responsibility has a real environmental impact.?
Let’s look at how we can?go from knowing to doing, in simple stages, with a range of topics?that are common in the?language?classroom:?
The United Nations?has set out a collection of?17?global goals, called the??(SDGs), which aim to create a better future by 2030. They address issues like gender equality, hunger and poverty and can be an excellent resource for teachers to use in the classroom when discussing how global citizenship can help to improve our world. ?
Teachers can encourage students to spread the message about?SDGs in?various?ways. For example, students can:??
Teaching students to be global citizens may sound like a big task. However, through weaving these ideas through language lessons, teachers have the opportunity to plant an important seed in students. Because who knows, they may really grow up to change the world.?
Rise and Shine?is a 7-level story-based primary course that combines language learning with global citizenship. It is built on the?Global Scale of English, which helps students to understand exactly what they are learning and why.
The course?inspires learners to become?confident explorers?– they learn English and aim to become responsible global citizens. The series is also designed for use in inclusive and mixed-ability classrooms and supports every learner to achieve and shine.
Learning English with music can enhance learning and create a more engaging and dynamic classroom environment. In a previous post, we discussed if music can help you learn a language; this post looks at how music can be incorporated into the classroom.
Using music in your classroom can help improve student motivation, focus, and retention of information. Here are some ways you can use music to enhance your classroom teaching:
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Have you considered studying abroad? Moving to Canada to study? With more than 100 world-class universities across the country, there’s good reason to. From coast to coast to coast, it offers many international students a safe and supportive learning environment and the opportunity to work after graduation.
Want to learn more? In this guide, we cover ten things you should know about studying in Canada:
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There is a strong link between well-being and friendship, which is just as accurate for children as it is for adults. that children with stable friendships are happier, more able to cope with stress, and have higher self-esteem. Moreover, too, and children who experience friendship adjust more easily to school and perform better academically. School friendships are also a valuable way of learning social skills like sharing, resolving conflict, and engaging with peers positively.
Having friends is an important part of school life, and teachers can play a significant role in creating a positive classroom culture and helping children and young people to form friendships. How can you promote friendships between your students? Here are some ideas:
If there is an example of a good friendship in a book you are reading with students or in your lesson materials, draw your students’ attention to it. For instance, The Jungle Book is an excellent example of a story about friendship. Encourage your students to think critically about the friendships that they read about. You can ask questions like:
By discussing friendship regularly in the classroom, your students will learn about the behavior and characteristics of being a good friend.
You can create lots of opportunities for students to build friendships with one another during class time. Design activities that call for pair or group work, and include at least one or two in every lesson. Focusing on a common goal or problem is a great way to encourage your students to bond with one another.?As a bonus, this collaborative way of working promotes important 21st century skills like communication and problem-solving.
Another way of promoting friendships between different groups of students is moving them around. Adjust your seating plan regularly to ensure that all your students interact with and work alongside different classmates, to promote positive, friendly classroom vibes.
Friendship is a social skill that children need to learn – and you can help by teaching them. Be explicit about exactly what you expect from them. Saying, “Be kind” is an abstract, vague concept that children might struggle to put into practice. Instead, give them concrete examples of behavior, such as:
When you see a student engaging in these behaviors, draw attention to them and praise them.
But to really convey the importance of school friendships and kind behavior, it’s not enough to tell them. As the teacher, you must model the behavior you’d like to see in your students. Be consistently positive and upbeat in your interactions with students, thank your learners when they offer help with something, and try to refrain from sounding impatient (even when you are!). All these steps will help to build a positive classroom culture where students feel secure, supported and happy.
Conflict is an inevitable part of school life, but you can help students to navigate arguments and other difficult situations in the classroom. If two students argue, you can help them to resolve it with the following steps:
Following these simple steps teaches children a framework for resolving conflict and gives them the tools to process strong emotions.
An excellent way to promote a positive classroom culture is to do friendship-focused activities with your students:
You could do a Venn diagram activity, where students work in pairs to discuss and write down things they have in common and areas of difference. It’s good to pair students who don’t spend much time together for this activity.
Another positive activity is a 'Honey Roast'. Give students enough squares of paper to have one for each of their classmates. Get them to write their classmates’ names on the paper, and then, on the other side, write down a compliment or something they like about that person, for example, “I like your handwriting”, or “You always use kind words”. Collect the pieces of paper and read out some nice examples to the class. Alternatively, give them directly to the students to read to themselves.
