If you want to boost your skills in using 21C skills/core skills, this is the perfect place to get started.
The free tools and resources below have been specially selected to help you:
- develop your own awareness of 21C skills (learning; life; literacy) to help equip your learners with the necessary tools to navigate a fast-changing and interconnected world and develop their agency
- demonstrate the value and importance of core skills for learning and life, such as critical thinking, problem solving, active citizenship and media literacy, and select appropriate activities and resources that allow learners to develop them
- reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your own proficiency in 21C skills, as well as your ability to develop your learners' proficiency in them.
There is no set order for the resources below. Choose what to do according to the time you have and the topics that are most interesting for you.
- Video: Integrating global issues in the creative English language classroom (6 minutes)
Are you interested in integrating sustainability themes into your lessons in a creative and engaging way? This short video introduces the British Council publication Integrating global issues in the creative English language classroom. It introduces the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and suggests a whole range of lesson plans and classroom activities that raise awareness of these through engaging activities for all levels and ages.
Click here to watch the video and find out more about the publication.
- Video: Secondary success stories: Developing 21st-century skills (8 minutes)
Saima from Pakistan explains how she uses project-based learning to develop 21st-century skills such as critical and creative thinking, collaboration, social responsibility, problem solving, communication skills and media literacy.
- Article: Digital literacies: What are they and why should we care? (10 minutes)
In this article, ELT writer Nicky Hockly explains what is meant by 'digital literacies' and why they are important to consider in an English language teaching context. She breaks them down into four main areas and gives a brief overview of each one.
- Article: English teaching in the post-truth era (10 minutes)
In this article, James Taylor shares some interesting lesson ideas to help learners develop their media and digital literacy skills and encourage them to think more critically when finding information and reading online.
- Publication: Core skills – unlocking a world of potential (60 minutes)
The aim of this British Council brochure is to support you, as teachers, to develop your pedagogy in the following core skills: critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; creativity and imagination; citizenship; digital literacy; student leadership and personal development.
- Podcast: What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into ELT? (30 minutes)
In this podcast (series 3, episode 7), Paul Dummett and Graham Crookes talk about critical thinking as a mindset rather than a skill, and they explore ways in which you can integrate it into your lessons.
- Podcast: How can I integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into my teaching? (30 minutes)
In this podcast (series 1, episode 7), three ELT writers discuss their ideas on how to integrate global issues into ELT, and Margarita Kosior talks about how these ideas can be effectively contextualised in the classroom, showing that it is possible to meet language goals – and prepare learners for examinations – by teaching about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
- Webinar: Everything you need to know about STEAM teaching in ELT (55 minutes)
In this webinar, Eugenia Dell'Osa from Argentina gives practical STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) ideas for English teachers in kindergarten and lower primary. She provides hands-on activities to put into practice in online and face-to-face classes.
As you watch the webinar, make notes: which of these ideas could you use with your classes, and why?
After watching the webinar, share your answer to the discussion question in the comments section below.
If you watch the recording and comment on it, we'll be happy to send you the link to an attendance certificate for the session.
- Webinar: There are no wrong answers – confidence and creativity for teens (55 minutes)
In this webinar, Teresa Bestwick shares practical, low-prep activities for teenage learners with tasks where there are no wrong answers. This aims to encourage learners to think more creatively and boost their confidence at the same time. All the activities can be adapted to different ages and levels and can be used with any coursebook/materials.
- Lesson plans (60–90 minutes)
The Sustainable Development Goals (A2 level – primary)
This creative lesson introduces the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to primary learners. They discover what each goal is and what it means, and then decide which ones they think are the most important and why. Finally, they design an icon for one or more of the goals that they can share with the class.
The Sustainable Development Goals teaching materials
Asking for change (B2 level – secondary)
This lesson focuses on Goals 10 and 16 of the UN's SDGs. Learners read some extracts from famous speeches asking for change, analyse the use of rhetoric (ethos, pathos and logos) in these speeches, and then work to write their own persuasive speeches asking for change.
Asking for change teaching materials
21st-century jobs (C1 level – adults)
This lesson encourages learners to discuss the future of work and the environmental impact that the workplace can have. They consider the types of jobs that are expected to develop in the 21st-century and the nature and characteristics of the jobs. Finally, they list ideas for the future of work in light of the climate crisis and global inequality.
- Workbook: Using 21C skills/core skills
If you want to develop further in Using 21C skills/core skills, this workbook will help you take your skills to the next level. It's designed to help you create a regular learning habit and apply what you've learned in the classroom. You'll find an overview of the theme and recommended learning materials. You'll also find support to reflect on and personalise your learning. You can use the workbook in different ways – do what works for you! We hope you find it beneficial.
Click here to access the workbook