Cultural literacy and language
Skills in the 21 Century
How
teachers help their students acquire these skills?
Pat Lo,
Susan Rui
Learning other languages and understanding
the culture of the people who speak them is a 21 century skill that is vital
for success in the global environment in which our students will live and work.
Nowadays, language learning is more purposeful; students learn to use the
language. Language teaching is focused on communication of three modes:
interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. Language learning becomes an
interdisciplinary experience for the students, which incorporate global awareness,
civic literacy, health literacy etc. in thematic
units. Language learning is also a process to foster students’ skills in
communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and innovation. In
the 21 century, our life is deeply changed with new technology. Media,
information and technology skills can be enhanced in language learning.
Besides the mastery of content and
pedagogue, teachers of 21st century should become culturally
competent in order to teach Chinese to students from different language and
cultural backgrounds. This workshop will discuss cultural literacy and cultural
competency as well as the skills of 21st century with the Chinese
language teachers.