The first part of this paper aims to examine the concept of the globalised world from a number of different angles and poses questions related to the relevance and validity of the curriculum currently presented to EFL students. A number of methodological suggestions related to the field of education with a big E will be observed such as motivation, metacognition, learner autonomy, use of widely accessible resources and “The University of Life”. Thus the role of the teacher in ELT will shift towards that of faclitator and educator, raising awareness in self and in students of the need to become global citizens who are lifelong learners and putting the learner at the centre of the educational process. The second part of this paper examines the overriding factor of using English as a global language to examine global issues through the practice of critical, comparative and creative thinking skills. The framework for the paper is based on Robert Fisher’s thinking skills language learning model.

1. Abstract
The first part of this paper aims to examine the concept of the globalised world from a number
of different angles and poses questions related to the relevance and validity of the curriculum
currently presented to EFL students. A number of methodological suggestions related to the
field of education with a big E will be observed such as motivation, metacognition, learner
autonomy, use of widely accessible resources and “The University of Life”. Thus the role of the
teacher in ELT will shift towards that of faclitator and educator, raising awareness in self and in
students of the need to become global citizens who are lifelong learners and putting the learner
at the centre of the educational process. The second part of this paper examines the overriding
factor of using English as a global language to examine global issues through the practice of
critical, comparative and creative thinking skills. The framework for the paper is based on
Robert Fisher’s thinking skills language learning model.
The Net and the Self
The social landscape of human life, the material basis of society, the very understanding of the
concept of education has been transformed to such an extent in the last fifty years that it is
imperative that we start to question all the practices we hold dear. The information technology
revolution, the media communication services and a globalised economy have pervaded every
sector of our lives. “Our societies are increasingly structured around a bipolar opposition
between the Net and the Self”1
and it is this opposition that opens up for language teachers a rare
opportunity to play a vital role. We have always been involved in our students’ search for
identity whether we recognise it or not; in dealing with adolescents learning a foreign language
we are essentially catapulting them into different worlds, into second or third “Selves”. Now
with the Net they have a further identity, that of researcher and discoverer of their own interests
and with unlimited power.
The Global Perspective in ELT
At no other time in history has so much information been available to so many; at no time
before have the masses been exposed to so many accessible facts and figures; at no juncture
have our children been faced with so many options and so little maturity to deal with them. The
fledgling democratisation of so many countries has plunged thousands of adolescents into
demanding their rights and misunderstanding their obligations such that the confusion
experienced has created alienation and disinterest. This applies to all types of learning, no less
in ELT, for it is through the English Language itself, be it AmEng, BritEng, AustEng or another
world English, that much of this transformation has been effected. The new form of relationship
between economy, state and society has become global and we as English teachers must take on
the huge responsibilty of playing our roles according to the new paradigms. An understanding
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007
Content with your Content in ELT?
2007
Susan Hillyard B.Ed. (Hons)
ssnhillyard@gmail.com
http://susanhillyard.blogspot.com.ar/

2. of this global transformation requires a perspective as global as possible on our part, a
willingness to see the world through the eyes of others and a desire to question the tenets of our
profession.
The Knowledge or Information Society
Due to all these factors, and many more, we have moved into what has been termed the
Knowledge Society or, as some like to call it, the Information Society. I believe there is a huge
difference between these two concepts although, sometimes, they seem to be used
interchangeably. Information relates to facts and figures; it is about the material that used to fill
the Encyclopediae of yore. Some people have called it general knowledge in layman’s terms.
But this is misleading. Each individual has to take in information and then through the process
of constructivism in education transform it into knowledge. This knowledge can then be used in
new situations to make connections and therefore to make meaning, solve problems, make
decisions and lead to an understanding of the Self and one’s place in the world.
The University of Life
There no longer remains an accepted body of limited knowledge set out in a tight, selected,
structured syllabus. Our students have access to a huge wealth of information and they generally
know how to get at it without much help from us.They belong to the new University of Life. We
are no longer the purveyors of truth and fact; we are no longer the guardians of information and
knowledge. As a result of this it is imperative that we work in new ways to maintain our status
and their respect. Unlike in times gone by, our students are no longer dependent on us as
providers of the material of their learning. Where we must intervene, therefore, is in guiding our
students to choose the kind of content they require and to acquire the necessary skills to convert
this information into knowledge. By this I mean that we must develop a whole new set of
practices which encourage our students to be selective in their research and adept in their ability
to transform the information and be able to apply it to new situations. Thus I refer you to the
title of this paper “Content with your Content?” and question what kind of content-based
language learning we are feeding our students.
Questioning Textbook Content
As ELT evolved and textbook writers started to offer more motivating topics and more content
orientated passages for reading comprehension, writing stimulus, oral and listening tasks, so we
ourselves became more conscious of the student being placed at the center of the process,
feeling we needed to assess interest level. If, however, you study the topics you will see there
is little contoversial material; there is little for adolescents to get their teeth into; there are very
few real life hooks. You will find such themes as: the family, sport, hobbies, travel, pop culture,
festivals, health, fashion, food, etc, etc. In other words nothing much to get them thinking.
Finding an Identity in a Globalised World
This, surely, is the point. Our students are bombarded with information all day, everyday, yet
they have few mentors who will work with them to help them make sense of this world, to filter
and sift the information, to make logical connections with their prior knowledge and to help
them to make meaning in order to find their own identity. They spend hours on the net finding
information but this does not help them to find knowledge unless we intervene to introduce
thinking skills. In addition we must introduce debateable topics and all in English, the global
language. It is precisely here where we, the English language teacher, can close the dysjuncture
between the Net and the Self.
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007

3. Teaching Thinking Skills
Robert Fisher, who believes that every lesson should be a “thinking lesson”2
presents a thinking
model of language learning clarifying the interrelatedness of reading, writing, listening,
speaking, input, output and metacognition. The interesting points here are the new dimensions
of INPUT, OUTPUT and METACOGNITION which can direct us into exactly the type of
paradigm to move our students forward into the globalised world. In other words we will still be
teaching, reading, writing, listening and speaking but we will monitor our own INPUT so that it
is more specifically related to teaching thinking in the foreign language, while the OUTPUT is
given a heavier significance so that our students actually learn by doing.
Learning to Learn
When we start to accept that metacognition must be embedded as an integral part of our
syllabus then we move into the realms of learner training, learning to learn, autonomy and
understanding the self through reflection. In this way, we extend our practice beyond teaching
the language to teaching the students. In finding the Self the students must make comparisons
with others so teaching social values in the context of global issues is a perfect vehicle. Not only
this, but adolescents are instrinsically motivated by discussing, analysing and criticising what is
going on in the world around them and beyond. Thus the whole package serves to merge the
two opposing forces of Self and Net.
Time to think and to express
Before we are able to do any of this, we must first challenge our own understanding of ELT and
work on our own perceptions, questioning ourselves at the local level within the context of a
global vision. The first step is to look at the Knowledge Society and assess the need for
curriculum reform, particularly in the areas of teaching critical, comparative and creative
thinking skills related to global issues. “Critical thinking, if successfully taught at this level,
becomes the antidote for individual and social illiteracy”3
The questions we need to ask are
essentially about the identity of the social clubs to which our students belong so that we observe
the diversity of our own culture, knowing that very often our students live in rather small
bubbles, rarely coming into contact with other social groups. We should try to offer thinking
skills, techniques and strategies which encourage our students to analyse their own context so
that they stand back and question prejudices within their own cultures. The club psyche,
reactions to squares and eccentrics, responses to artists and journalists, beliefs related to the
creative act and the critical spirit and feelings about the family, the people next door, the people
who live at a distance and the people who live on the other side of the world, must be
questioned. If our students are to find their own selves in tandem with an educated use of the
Net and at the same time to find their own voice in English we must give them opportunities to
THINK and to EXPRESS.
Teaching a language of thinking
As Alan Maley says in his Foreward to Global Issues (2004) “Global issues can no longer be
dismissed as something ‘out there’. They are very much ‘in here’ too. We cannot escape
them………The world is a web of intricately interdependent strands” and research among 11-
16 year olds indicates that over 80% are interested in Global Issues and feel they should learn
about them at school. So here we have a perfect type of content where the basic skills of critical
thinking can be exploited; students can be taught the language of thinking through learning the
skills of analysis, inference, explanation, interpretation, evaluation and self regulation. In
addition they can develop those qualities of thought which contribute to developing the citizens
of the world: open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, good judgement, truth seeking, confidence in
their own powers of reasoning and the ability to be systematic in their research. Not only this
but comparative thinking skills are introduced through the observance of other cultures and the
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007

4. creative skills can be exploited by asking the students to dream, to imagine, to plan and act and
to criticize their own products and themselves.Through this content-based language learning
students will develop their own personal expression in the global language helping them
towards the responsible use of the net, a raised awareness of diversity and at the same time a
positive means to search for their own identity.
Opposing views of diversity
Traditionally there have been two opposing views of diversity in the developed world: one
relates to minority groups who needed to be equipped with the language skills and cultural
knowledge of the dominant group in order to be assimilated into the societal values of that
group and the opposing view that the whole society would be enriched by social pluralism and
policies of diversity. New paradigms are pointing to a stress on social and economic
functionalism so that diversity is seen not as a problem to be eradicated or a right to be
guaranteed (sometimes considered to be patronizing) but rather as a resource to be cultivated.
What better way can there be to teach English than by opening up, raising awareness, building
empathy and by developing compassion through a study of global issues? The question remains
for us as teachers, in South America, as to how much we can fit our work into the changing
paradigms.
The ELT teacher as a model of social values
As managers or leaders of adolescent groups it is important that we act as models in changing
our classroom practice to reflect the social values we wish to explore. More democracy and less
authoritarianism must prevail in every classroom. We should work on egalitarianism rather than
elitism. We should be looking at developing the processes of thinking through Global Issues in
English so that our students can use the net to their advantage while developing a self as a
speaker of the English language.
A Parable
Once upon a time there was a class
And the students expressed disapproval of the teacher.
Why should they be concerned with
Global interdependency, global problems,
And what others of the world were thinking, feeling and doing?
And the teacher said she’d had a dream in which she
Saw one of her students fifty years from today.
The student was angry and had said,
“Why did I learn so much detail about the past
and the administration of my country
and so little about the world?”
He was angry because no-one had told him
That as an adult he would be faced
Almost daily with problems of a
Global interdependent nature, be they
Problems of peace, security, quality
Of life, inflation, or scarcity
Of natural resources.
The angry student found he was the
Victim as well as the beneficiary.
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007

5. “Why was I not warned? Why was
I not better educated? Why
Did my teachers not tell me about
The problems and help me understand
I was a member of an interdependent human race?”
With even greater anger the student shouted,
“You helped me extend my hands with incredible machines,
My eyes with telescopes and microscopes,
My ears with telephones, radios, and sonar,
My brain with computers,
But you did not help me extend
My heart, love, concern,
To the entire human family.
You, teacher, gave me half a loaf”
John Rye Kinghorn
References:
1. Castells M., 1996. The Rise of the Network Society. Blackwell Oxford
2. Fisher R., 1995. Teaching Children to Think. Stanley Thornes
3. Sampedro R. and Hillyard S., 2004. Global Issues. OUP
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007

6. “Why was I not warned? Why was
I not better educated? Why
Did my teachers not tell me about
The problems and help me understand
I was a member of an interdependent human race?”
With even greater anger the student shouted,
“You helped me extend my hands with incredible machines,
My eyes with telescopes and microscopes,
My ears with telephones, radios, and sonar,
My brain with computers,
But you did not help me extend
My heart, love, concern,
To the entire human family.
You, teacher, gave me half a loaf”
John Rye Kinghorn
References:
1. Castells M., 1996. The Rise of the Network Society. Blackwell Oxford
2. Fisher R., 1995. Teaching Children to Think. Stanley Thornes
3. Sampedro R. and Hillyard S., 2004. Global Issues. OUP
Content with your Content? Susan Hillyard 2007