Rhonda Eley

LAPU

Professor: L.R.G.

ENGL 420 Principles of Language

12/21/2020

The Power of Language Essay

Living in the 21st century, there is a common understanding that there is a sense of belonging

to a broader community that is linked to growing independency, and interconnectedness

between countries in economic, cultural and social areas, as well as communication. According

to hanen.org" The advantages that technology presents to the baby Boomer generation are

quite evident "(hanen.org), having skills in the 21st century are more important to students now

than ever before. Not only do students provide the framework for successful learning in a

classroom, this ensures that students can thrive in a world where change is constant in learning

never stops. "our old stories of education are breaking down or broken because the Internet is

releasing intellectual energy that comes from our latent desires as human beings to have a

voice, to create karma and to participate. Students themselves are largely prepared to drive

their own educations" ( edweek.org).

Language is a critical skill for well educated children of the future because language is their key

to the world. When you have parents as well as educators that stay on top of your learning as

far as reading, writing, and learning new words constantly, all this plays that critical role in the

development of that child literacy skills. Here is a list of critical skills for modern and/or future

students: leadership, digital literacy, communication, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship

come global citizenship, problem-solving and teamwork. Another reason why language is a

critical skill is because "spoken language competence involves several systems. Children must

first master a system for representing meaning, and acquire a facility with the forms of

language, ranging from the sound structure of words to the grammatical structure of

sentences"(child-encyclopedia.com). An education is supposed to prepare you for the future.

Most of the articles that I have read in research about what these authors say about teachers'

moral Imperative to develop literacy in their students are all commonly tied together with culture

and digital resources. According to this author Sarah Davila, in The 21st century Skills in the

English Language
Classroom talks about Sergio Correra who is a young teacher who taught uninspired curriculum

to students and was disengaged so he had to fix the problem. So Mr. Correra took the research

that he did on Indian educator, Sugata Mitra,and used his way to inspire interest and

engagement in the classroom while building 21st century skills in his learner's. Mr. Correra uses

the 4c's as they call it which is:"​Collaborate-​ group effort, ​communication-​ have learners use

information to communicate results, ​Critical Thinking​- students comparing answers from other

groups. Have groups create a short writing or spoken piece to explain results, and ​Creativity

-use the information collected from the class, analyse data and groups working together

(english. com). Also, author Toni Faddis talks about how not just educators(teacher wise) But

principals also have a duty to the community to teach students who establishes learning-

centred climates and model it to make them eager to learn. Faddis also mentions how principles

continually evaluate instructional quality in making sure teachers are supported with the latest

research on literacy learning in the knowledge of culturally and linguistically relevant curriculum

(literacyworldwide.org pages 3-4). The author is saying the resources being used with these

educators is communication and teamwork.

As a classroom teacher I will build a warm and safe environment and be a role model for my

students. Key ideas that I will apply to end or for my students is to help them ​uncover

knowledge​ by- designing essential questions to drive learning, ​encourage collaboration

amongst the students by- letting them discuss, present ideas, and make decisions in order to

increase their stakes in their own learning, design lessons with​ flexible learning paths-​ Set up

learning experiences to provide the students with multiple means of engagement,

representation and expression; giving them flexibility to take in different learning styles, and

lastly,provide students with built-in tech support meaning, provide the students with tech tips

tutorials with instruction at the time they need it. If we as teachers are preparing ourselves for

the classrooms of the future, these are things that need to be implemented now rather than

later.
Preparing my students for language skills in the 21st century I will continue with the 4 c's I've

been talking about throughout this essay which is communication, creativity, critical thinking,

and collaboration. As this world evolves toward greater interconnectedness we are entrusting

our students with the responsibility of building a better global society as the future progresses.

According to education world.com strategies they have for students of the 21st century is to,

"encourage teamwork, be future- focused, teach complex thinking skills, prep for college and

career, and lastly, round out the curriculum" (education world.com). Also, just an

acknowledgment, to equip the students to get started we need to instil on them how to use

modern technology since technology is pretty much woven into the DNA of Generation Z,

building solid foundations by starting this early which is getting to understand their skills and

interests, experiences that can go along way, weave real world skills into every subject like:

Science, English, Social-sciences and Physical Ed,and once again, Encourage a collaborative

learning environment. Just make learning real-world relevant by giving students concrete

examples of how certain skills in concepts will be applied in the "real world" .

Ethical and spiritual implications of language study rests on a lifelong learning perspective. "An

attitude supported by an understanding of multiple levels of identity and the potential for a

collective identity that transcends individual cultural, religious, ethnic or other differences,and a

deep knowledge of global issue In universal values such as Justice equality, dignity, and

respect "(unesdoc.Unesco.org), Is a good way to put ethical implications for language since our

interpretations of language vary from person to person. Being spiritual will implement the

traditional learning methods and maintain sustainability with the information of technology and

the challenges that are faced with it. Also, with religion it will promote the faith given to learn

new things and advance in it as well as taking scriptures and learning new languages to prepare

students to thrive more successfully to function in the 21st century.

 References

Literacy as an Outcome of Language Development and its Impact on Children’s Psychosocial

and Emotional Development.Dawna Duff,1 PhD, J. Bruce Tomblin,2 PhD.(n.d.)

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/language-development-and-literacy/according-experts/literac

y-outcome-language-development-and-its​ Retrieved December 18,2020.

The Teaching Profession in 2020 (in Charts).Will,Madeline.December 18, 2020.(n.d.)

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-teaching-profession-in-2020-in-charts/2020/12

Retrieved December 18,2020.

https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/five-ways-to-better-prepare-students-for-careers.shtml.

n.d. Retrieved December 18,2020.

21st century skills and the English language classroom.Davila,Sarah.July27,

2016.(n.d.)

https://www.english.com/blog/21st-century-skills/​ Retrieved December 18,

2020.

Teaching Children to Think: Meeting the Demands of the 21st

Century.​Greenberg,​ ​Janice. (n.d.)

http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Teaching-Children-to-Think--Meeting-the-demands-of

.aspx​ RetrievedDecember 18,2020.

Principals as Literacy Leaders. International Literacy Association | 2019. (n.d.)

https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-principals-as-literacy-leader

s.pdf​ Retrieved December 18, 2020.

Global citizenship education: preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. 

Corporate author:​UNESCO​ [57988] 2014. (n.d.) 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227729​ Retrieved December 18,2020.