Teaching English Beyond The Classroom
The process of teaching and learning English needs to change. Why?
Because we do not learn language only from books, teachers, or tests.
We learn language by living and doing.
We learn when we talk with people, work, travel, tell stories, listen to music, use technology, grow food, solve problems, and take part in our communities.
But in many schools, students are asked to show what they know mainly through tests and classroom activities.
Is that enough?
What about the knowledge students already have from their families, cultures, communities, and life experiences?
What if the farmer can be a teacher?
What if the elder can be a teacher?
What if the artist, musician, business owner, parent, or community leader can help us learn?
And what if the student is already a KNOWER?
Roots & Rivers™ asks us to think differently about teaching English.
The community can be the classroom.
Students can learn English by exploring, asking questions, talking with people, solving real problems, creating projects, and sharing what they learn.
This is also about epistemic justice — respecting different people and different ways of knowing.
So the question is not only:
How should we teach English?
We must also ask:
Who gets to be a KNOWER?
And:
Who decides what knowledge is important?
#RootsAndRivers #WhoIsTheKnower #CommunityIsTheClassroom #LearnEnglish #EnglishLanguageLearning #TESOL #ELT #ExperientialLearning #EpistemicJustice
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