JENNIFER MORGAN -

FOSTERING CRITICALITY AND CREATIVITY IN A GLOBAL ISSUES CONTENT-BASED COURSE: LEARNER RESEARCH, REFLECTIONS AND REPORTS : CRITICAL THINKING IN ELT

Learning institutions and educators are increasingly connecting issues of global citizenship and social justice with language education to better prepare their students to take an active role in increasingly globalized workforces and diverse communities (Osler & Starkey, 2005). How can teachers help their learners to act critically and creatively in the learning they do together in the classroom community? What approaches, tasks and resources can teachers use to help their learners develop their English proficiency while engaging critically with relevant global/social issues content? This poster presentation explores ways in which a university teacher and her mixed-proficiency students co-created learning in a global issues, content-based course. The class negotiated the syllabus topics and the learning goals which included developing discussion and opinion-making skills through research, discussion and presentations on global/social issues in English. Class materials and learner products, including learner written reflections and final research reports, will be shared.

Jenny Morgan has taught English for 18 years in New Zealand, China, the UK and Japan. Currently, she teaches English communication, and research and discussion skills in Tokyo universities. Her research interests include materials writing, learner criticality and creativity in global issues content-based classes, learner development and teacher development issues.