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awareness, global values and critical thinking skills besides

promoting social cohesion at the local level. Incorporating

human values in English as a Second Language (ESL) and EFL

programmes would create active, caring and responsible citi-

zens nationally and globally who would be agents for positive

changes in modern pluralistic societies. Participants of such a

programme will learn English indirectly and will develop their

critical thinking through problem-solving based learning.

With the development of advanced technology and the

growth of social media for transcultural communication,

learning English is no longer a solo academic study; it has

become an essential skill for world citizenship. As a result,

ESL/EFL teachers can involve pupils in the learning process

using interesting and authentic instructional materials in an

attempt to develop positive character traits, understanding

and appreciation of intracultural and intercultural norms,

and empathy. In addition, these issues stir discussions that

require the participants to analyse, evaluate, reflect and think

critically. Participants also learn to express their approval and

disapproval politely using specific expressions such as “I don’t

agree.” Furthermore, multimedia and information technology

develop not only social skills, but also autonomous learners.

These projects could be carried out through content-based

instruction (CBI), which is a method of teaching where language

and content are combined for the purpose of language learn-

ing. Following a theme, which is human values in this context,

content could be chosen from a very big number of different

topics, with relevant materials selected for teaching the theme.

Addressing values could be carried out in the context of CBI

through reading or literature classes such as discussing stories,

fables, plays and novels, and in history classes, as well as using

multimedia and doing community service. Besides employing

CBI, problem-solving should be considered to provide the skills

and content knowledge to provide solutions.

Many projects aimed at integrating human values in education

have been implemented in different countries, aiming to help

learners grow personally and emotionally in order to understand

and accept others. There follows an example carried out by my

students under my supervision. This project was designed to

promote values that help pupils grow intellectually, morally and

emotionally, eventually helping to create a productive, healthy

and peaceful society. The focus of the project was on three main

values: respect, cooperation and tolerance. It aimed to improve

relationships among the pupils, increase communication, create

trust and enhance feelings of similarity among them. The student

teachers worked in pairs during the intensive practical work

week in a local junior high school, where they taught the same

class for five days a week using materials from a book called

‘Learning to Live Together’ which was published by the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in

2008. It is also based on the four pillars of the Dolers report

for teacher education in the twenty-first century. Therefore, the

student teachers not only learned the material, but also knew

how to deliver it using technology to better convey it in terms

of teaching English and address human values for promoting

cooperation, understanding and respect.

Results showed that the student teachers were eager and

highly motivated to carry out such a project. The final product

of the pupils in this project shows their high level of eagerness

and involvement. Pupils reflected on the project by adding the

following positive statements: “We wish RACISM ends. We

wish child labor ends. We wish everyone is free.” Due to the

success of the project in general, there is a need to develop a

school curriculum that promotes values in order to create a

dynamic classroom atmosphere that fosters pupils’ intellectual,

moral and emotional personalities. The results also showed the

enthusiasm of student teachers to implement a variety of activi-

ties and ideas for carrying out a project that emphasizes human

values. It is important to note that the pupils, as well as the

teacher trainers at schools, were very excited throughout the

week when the project was implemented. The pupils not only

cooperated well with the student teachers, but also asked for

more opportunities to extend the project.

In sum, integrating human values in education would help

in qualifying teachers in the twenty-first century in terms of

developing content knowledge, acquainting them with current

and innovative pedagogy, integrating technology and promot-

ing multiculturalism. However, promoting multiculturalism

couldn’t feasibly be achieved in one week. At least one semes-

ter is needed to carry out such a project to instil these values.

There is a need to extend it to include a Jewish school in order

to enhance cooperation among Jewish and Arab pupils as well

as educators aiming to reduce the stereotypes against each other

and hoping to promote understanding, respect, sympathy and

solidarity among them. A group of EFL educators from both

sectors can work together to develop a project to be carried out

over four months in two schools, one in each sector. In addi-

tion, the participating pupils can also meet and do activities

together. The final product could be a play which would be

performed on the stage by pupils from the two schools.

The project points to a need for developing a school curric-

ulum that promotes values in order to create a dynamic

classroom atmosphere that fosters pupils’ intellectual, moral

and emotional personalities, and which eventually helps in

creating a productive, healthy and peaceful society.

The collaborative work of one group of pupils in the project: their high levels

of eagerness and involvement are reflected in positive statements

Image: Dr Ruwaida Abu Rass

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