This teachers’ CPD course is dedicated to exploring tech and soft skills for the 21st century and how to incorporate them into your English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom.

Focusing on professional practices outlined in the British Council’s teacher development framework, it will build your knowledge and confidence in:

Integrating ICT into the classroom Promoting 21st century skills Using multilingual approaches Understanding educational policies and practice

Promote tech and soft skills in your English classroom

Building the right skills to succeed in the 21st century is one of the biggest challenges facing educators. While ICT skills are important, so are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. This course covers all of these skills and looks at how you can help your students build them while improving their English language.

Integrate new technology into your teaching practice

How can we use mobile phones to aid learning? And what is the best way to analyse teaching technology that will help your students develop English skills outside the classroom? This course covers a range of technology options and gives you the tools you need to find your own favourites.

Learn from experienced English teachers and grow your teaching resources

Your learning will be supported by video interviews with experienced teachers and downloadable teaching resources at every stage. You will also see classroom videos demonstrating how other teachers have put these techniques into action.

What topics will you cover?

Promoting 21st century skills

Understanding 21st century skills
Critical thinking
Collaboration and communication
Fostering creativity

Integrating technology

How does technology affect the way we teach
Evaluating technology
Technology, autonomy and collaboration

Understanding educational policies and practice

How educational policy affects teachers
Child protection
Internet safety
Applying policy

Using multilingual approaches

Your classroom linguistic context
The impact of other languages on learning
Multilingual teaching approaches
World Englishes and the future of English

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Compare teaching approaches and experience with others from around the world.
Assess the relevance of 21st century skills for English language learners.
Discuss the impact that technology has had on what and how we teach.
Evaluate a range of learning technologies and their usefulness.
Explore the impact that national policies have on classroom practice.
Reflect on the importance of child protection and consider whose role its implementation should be.
Assess the importance and influence of learners' L1 in their language learning.

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at English language teachers at all levels. You will need an intermediate level English (around B1 on the CEFR) in order to engage with the course materials.

What do people say about this course?

"I've been teaching for over 30 years and have recently changed from teaching French to teaching English. I have found that these courses have refreshed me as a teacher and made me determined to do as good a job as possible in my new role. I'd like to apply as much of what I've learned on these courses as is possible so the students get more out of my lessons. I'm getting a new classroom tomorrow so a fresh start in January will enable me to get some of these ideas into practice."

Jane Hughes

"I don't know what to say. Literally. It has been truly wonderful. This course has succeeded in making me a better teacher. I know I can do more. My learners need more and I will go out of my way to make sure I impart what I have learnt. I intend to apply what I have learnt in my classroom this new year. Padlet-here I come! I can't wait to recommend my colleagues for the course to help broaden their scope. Thanks again."

Evelyn Effiong

Who developed the course?

British Council

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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