Musée Oceanographique, Monaco

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña in 2019

To make curriculum "sticky," as it is taught at the Arizona State University’s online

TESOL certification, language-teaching professionals employ various strategies
and techniques aimed at enhancing students' ability to recall, utilize, and retain
information effectively. Here you have some of my reflective journaling notes
around the need for stickiness in a language program.

Crafting Sticky Curriculum

Strategies for Effective Teaching

In the ever-changing and compelling landscape of language education, the

efficacy of curriculum implementation and subsequent delivery relies heavily on its
stickiness—the ability that teachers need to have to make learning memorable,
usable, and durable. Instructors do attempt to transform coursebook and platform
information into engaging learning experiences, employing a range of
methodologies to achieve this closing goal in language education. But, despite
their efforts, is language learning sticky?
Presenting Information and Modeling
Language teachers employ a variety of instructional methods to engage
students and foster deep understanding depending on the focus of the program in
which they work has. For instance, Project-Based Learning (PBL) immerses
students in real-world speaking scenarios, prompting them to tackle complex
problems collaboratively and finding ways to respond correctly in the target
language to various speech events. Experiential learning emphasizes hands-on
experiences, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge (grammar and
vocabulary) in practical and real-world speaking contexts and scenarios to be
functional in them. Case studies offer in-depth analysis of real-life speaking
situations such as (panel) discussions, encouraging critical thinking and problem-
solving skills. And nowadays, online self-directed language learning empowers
students to take ownership of their learning journey, exploring topics at their own
pace and in their preferred format, anytime, anywhere. However, the method does
not cast the stickiness in a language program, does it?
The Sticky Criteria
In the search for ways to make curriculum sticky in the learners’ minds and
to develop target language in all students, language professionals must focus on
three key dimensions: memorability, usability, and durability (also known as MUD).
Memorable content is presented in ways that capture students' attention and
facilitate information retention through engaging activities, anecdotes, or
multimedia resources. Usable content equips students with practical skills and
knowledge applicable to real-world scenarios, fostering competence, mastery, and
confidence. Durable content is designed to withstand the test of time, facilitating
long-term retention and application beyond the classroom setting in true real-world
speech events. MUD is the ELT’s “blazing torch” that needs to guide teachers in
the design and production of activities for their lesson plans.
Breaking Down Effective Presenting
A language curriculum becomes ideally sticky when teachers employ a
range of cunning strategies to enhance the content retention of their language
presentations. Here you are presented with two possible strategies:
 Tip 1 - Emphasize the importance of clear communication and active
engagement. By using teacher talk effectively, educators ensure that key concepts
are reiterated, illustrated clearly on the board, and linked to students' prior
knowledge. Metaphors and analogies are employed to make abstract concepts
more tangible and memorable, while sweat equity (hard work) is invested in
crafting instructional materials that resonate with learners’ prior knowledge. At this
point, the language instructor must wonder what area of communicative teaching
is being eaten up by teacher talk time (TTT) that is not aiming at boosting student
learning. If TTT is focused on the teacher, content won’t be that sticky.
Tip 2 - Encourage a conversational approach to teaching, where you
facilitate dialogue and interaction rather than delivering monologues. This
approach fosters a collaborative learning environment where students feel
empowered to ask questions, provide feedback, and participate actively in their
own learning process. Once again, do ask yourself how you are currently handling
your TTT as opposed to student talking time (STT). The maxim one is to keep in
mind is the 20/80 distribution of “talking” in the classroom: 20 minutes for the
teacher to quickly explain, guide, give instructions and feedback, and wrap up
lesson sections and 80 minutes for students to exercise with new content among
themselves.
Teacher Talk and Conversational Teaching
Effective communication is at the heart of sticky teaching. As mentioned
above, the 80/20 talking time balance should be aimed at in any language lesson.
Teachers, by far, need to strike a balance between conveying lexical and
grammatical information and eliciting student participation evenly, ensuring that
classroom interactions are dynamic, memorable, engaging, usable, and conducive
to durability. If there’s dialogue and discussion, language instructors also help
foster critical thinking skills and deepen students' understanding of the material
from textbooks and the language-practicing platform. But once again, it’s
imperative that one, as a language teacher, wonders how one’s balance of TTT
vs. STT is to ensure the latter and its stickiness.
Stimulating Learners through Activities
Have you ever thought how your board work stimulates or confuses student
understanding? Well, visual aids such as board work, diagrams, and illustrations
need to be employed to enhance understanding and retention of key concepts.
These visual representations serve as valuable tools for scaffolding learning,
providing students with clear visual cues to aid lexical and grammatical
comprehension. Visual aids can help establish clear guidelines for engagement;
they can help to maintain focus and structure during activities because what needs
to be achieved in an activity becomes a more concrete object, ensuring that
students remain actively involved in their learning process.
Language (controlled, semi-controlled, or free production) activities need to
walk, side by side, with the MUD principle for the sake of curriculum stickiness.
Activities become memorable because they can reflect what the language student
will encounter in the real world (like going into a convenience store to buy a
toothbrush). These activities also need to be usable when the time comes. That is,
speaking tasks, for example, need to reflect what learners may truly find in real-life
speech events. And the language being learned can be easily used in that context.
Finally, these activities need to reinforce durability because it can then be used by
learners when lexical or grammatical units are needed in “the same context in
which they were practiced” or in similar speech events where the students realize
they fit in the conversation.
Structuring the Learning Experience
A well-structured learning experience in a traditional context where CLT
(Communicative Language Teaching) prevails follows a logical sequence,
beginning with the explanation of grammatical and lexical rules and concepts.
Through modeling and examples, language instructors provide concrete
illustrations of abstract concepts, making them more accessible to learners.
Questioning techniques are used to assess students' comprehension (concept
checking) and encourage critical thinking, prompting deeper engagement with the
material.
This ABC in CLT also needs to be “embellished” and must “embody” the
idea of MUD. Language presentations and activities need to be aligned with the
concept of memorability because they will leave a permanent imprint in the mind
of the students. Through modeling (role plays) and examples (presentation of true
cases where the language is used) can reflect the usability of what is being
learned. The stickiness of the language learning process will simply reflect the
durability of what is being acquired since it can be used to communicate in target
language real-life scenarios with confidence and effectiveness.
Teaching via Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning involves guiding students through a process of
discovery, allowing them to derive general principles from specific examples. The
self-discovery of lexical and grammatical rules also reinforces the idea of MUD. By
presenting examples on the board and prompting students to identify patterns and
formulate rules, language professionals facilitate active learning and conceptual
understanding. Elaborating on students' ideas and contributions helps to reinforce
learning and deepen understanding through meaningful dialogue and reflection.
The stickiness of a language curriculum and its delivery in class time by
teachers can also line up with the idea of MUD. Self-discovery or what I like to call
“language epiphanies” are by far the most memorable moments when one is
learning a language. Understanding how something works in the target language
empowers one to use it accurately and specific and give speech events practiced
in the classroom or on the language platform. One’s constant in-class or out-of-
class practice will lead to durability.
My Personal (Reflective Journaling) Conclusion
In my personal quest for the crafting of a sticky language curriculum, I find
myself wielding a diverse array of strategies and techniques, anchoring their
pedagogy in principles of engagement, dialogue, and active learning under the
umbrella concept of MUD. By embracing these methodologies or approaches to
language teaching, I expect I’m guiding my learners to become empowered
students who not only retain information but also apply it meaningfully in real-world
contexts, fostering a culture of lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity in their
minds.
Crafting sticky curriculum with MUD requires a multifaceted approach that
encompasses engaging presentation techniques, interactive teaching strategies,
and structured learning experiences. By prioritizing memorability, usability, and
durability, I expect to empower students to become active participants in their own
learning journey, equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an
ever-changing world.
The secret to success in our language-teaching lives lies in harnessing the
power of MUD to make the results of my teaching sticky in the minds of our
learners. MUD will never sorely disappoint our learners because it becomes the
bedrock of our teaching reflecting the exit profile of the language programs where
we work.

Reference
Acuña, J. (2021, October 5). Making Curriculum Sticky: Arizona State University TESOL
Certificate. Personal Reflective Journal 2021, 10(1). 1-3.
Reflective Task
To reflect on the content provided in the text, you might consider the following
reflective questions or prompts to mull over your own teaching practice so far:
a) What are the key dimensions of stickiness in language education?
b) How do you employ instructional methods such as Project-Based Learning,
Experiential Learning, and Case Studies to engage students effectively?
c) What strategies are recommended for making language curriculum sticky in
terms of memorability, usability, and durability?
d) How can you balance teacher talk time (TTT) and student talking time (STT)
to foster a more interactive and engaging learning environment?
e) What role do visual aids and activities play in stimulating learner engagement
and comprehension in language education?
f) How does the concept of memorability, usability, and durability (MUD) align
with the principles of communicative language teaching (CLT)?
g) In what ways can you facilitate active learning and conceptual understanding
through inductive reasoning?
h) Reflecting on your own teaching practices, how do you currently incorporate
strategies to make your language curriculum sticky?
i) What adjustments or enhancements could you make to your teaching
approach to better align with the principles of stickiness?
j) How do you envision the implementation of MUD principles enhancing student
learning outcomes and fostering a culture of lifelong learning and intellectual
curiosity in language education?
These reflective questions can help you analyze and evaluate your teaching
practices, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to create a more
engaging and effective language curriculum.

Link to blog publication:

https://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/2024/04/crafting-sticky-
curriculum.html
Link to Academia.Edu:
https://www.academia.edu/118214512/Crafting_Sticky_Curriculum_Strategies_fo
r_Effective_Teaching