January 2024
- Employment, education and entertainment: the main drivers for learning English
- Learning English becomes, as it does every January, one of the main New Year's resolutions. However, language learning has changed considerably over the last few years, with a progressive disappearance of the ‘native’ ideal and with more personalised and inclusive learning proposals through AI.
- The British Council provides students with free online resources that combine formal and informal teaching methods, using business or football as a driver.
The conclusions of The Future of English: Global Perspectives research programme are that the main drivers for learning English are employability and education, recently joined by entertainment, which has gained momentum following the explosion of social media.
"Language learning and improvement is one of the great challenges that students face every January. The reality is that English can no longer be considered a foreign language, as it is so integrated into our daily lives that it cannot be treated as a foreign language. At the British Council, we are more aware than ever of this reality, understanding that, to offer valuable learning, we must adapt and rethink teaching while incorporating intercultural competence and digital literacy" explains Ruth Horsfall, Academic Director of English Language Teaching at the British Council Europe.
Personalised learning where the concept of ‘native’ is diluted
Thus, following the conclusions of the research programme The Future of English: Global Perspectives, the institution explains the transformation that English language learning has undergone in recent years. These changes begin with the deconstruction of a concept that is deeply entrenched in our society: that of ‘native’ English, transitioning towards a more flexible conception of the language based on linguistic competencies.
Considering this reality, learning is now more contextualised, personalised, and individualised, thus responding to current needs and more closely linked to the practical demands of students' professional and personal lives.
The result is that those whose New Year's resolutions include learning Shakespeare's language do so from a different perspective. The focus is increasingly on communication and speaking rather than grammar and vocabulary. This means reducing the discrepancy seen by employers and employees between the English that is taught and the English that is really needed in the workplace.
The key to this lies in integrated learning (teaching, learning and assessment as a single philosophy), which also balances formal and informal teaching methods. This is coupled with a more flexible and connected concept of language proficiency, combining more informal use of English in communication environments such as social media with formal certification of levels for employment needs and international study.
Digitalisation and AI for individualised and inclusive language learning
Another key issue for language teaching is the disruption that could be caused by the entry of global corporates such as Google into the sector, through approaches based on artificial intelligence and much more individualised learning proposals.
Thus, the research The Future of English: Global Perspectives highlights some benefits of the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in language teaching. Such as intelligent tutoring (answering students' questions and providing explanations), personalisation of content adapted to individual needs, automatic feedback (providing corrections and quick responses), scalability, immediacy or an engaging and enjoyable learning experience provided by interactivity or gamification, among others.
AI also has the potential to promote less intrusive and more diverse learning. It is a particularly attractive proposition for learners who are not readily accommodated in current systems due to developmental, physical or psychological differences. In this way, it facilitates better access to learning for neuro-diverse learners and those with disparities between their spoken and written English.
Business or football; drivers for learning
In response to these changes in the way we study English, the British Council provides students with a series of free online resources that combine new methodologies for learning English, offering a proposal adapted to the needs and timescales of each student:
LearnEnglish Business English: According to the conclusions of The Future of English: Global Perspectives, work and employability are among the main drivers of learning English. That is why the British Council provides a series of free exercises, especially focused on learning English for the workplace, with specific guidance on how to write emails or prepare for a job interview.
Premier Skills English: Learning English ‘playing’ football. This is the proposal of the British Council with 'Premier Skills English', in which the acquisition of knowledge of the language is carried out through content directly linked to the Premier League and the world of football. Football vocabulary and expressions or podcasts about matches make up this proposal, which is directly anchored in entertainment as a driving force for language learning.
LearnEnglish Skills: Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening exercises for all levels (A1 to C1), which help students improve their level of English and also prepare for their exams and certifications.
LearnEnglish Teens: In response to the need to personalise teaching, the British Council has created resources specially adapted for teenagers and young adults, which combine fun and relaxed content, applying both formal and informal learning methods.
LearnEnglish Kids: The British Council also offers free content adapted to children (6 to 11 years old). Songs, tongue twisters, jokes and online games complete the proposal to learn English in a fun way.
Future Learn: A series of courses aimed at adults and teenagers, with specific proposals to enhance communication between cultures in multicultural and multilingual contexts (Communicating across Cultures). In this way, intercultural competence, one of the keys already mentioned in The Future of English: Global Perspectives, is explored in depth. This platform also offers a wide variety of training courses focused on studying and working in the UK (Study UK: Preparing for work or Managing Your Wellbeing When Studying in the UK).
The Future of English: Global Perspectives brings together the conclusions drawn from round tables attended by 92 experts and education policymakers from 49 countries and territories around the world, including Spain. The research can be consulted in full and free of charge on this website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/future-of-english
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity, building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries around the world. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in over 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.