A teacher using an interactive board to present to a class of young learners from diverse backgrounds

Using 21C skills or core skills

See this section to develop skills and understanding that you and your learners need in order to participate actively and critically in learning and in life.

Using 21C skills or core skills

In this section you can find useful professional development resources – including articles, webinars, podcast episodes, research and teaching tips and tools – all to help you develop your skills and knowledge of Using 21C skills or core skills.

What does Using 21C skills or core skills involve?

This professional practice is about the skills that learners and teachers need in order to develop agency, navigate a fast-changing and connected world and to participate actively and critically in learning and in life. It involves:

  • developing your own awareness of and proficiency in:

    Learning skills
    • critical thinking and problem solving
    • communication 
    • collaboration and interpersonal skills
    • creativity and innovation
     Life skills
    • active citizenship around social, political, environmental or economic issues and responsibilities
    • intercultural competence
    • developing and building on learner agency, autonomy and leadership
    • developing lifelong learning skills to support employability
     Literacy skills
    • digital literacy and critical digital literacy (including information literacy)
    • emotional literacy (e.g. self-awareness, maintaining well-being, resilience, motivation)
    • media literacy (e.g. receiving information, understanding and summarising it and then communicating it to others)
  • selecting appropriate methodologies, activities and resources for introducing, developing and evaluating your learners' skills in these areas

  • demonstrating the value and importance of 21C skills or core skills for learning and life for your learners (e.g. modelling your own development of literacy skills as part of your lifelong learning)

  • reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your own proficiency in 21C skills or core skills for learning and life and your  ability to develop your learners' proficiency in these areas.

Explore resources on 'Using 21C skills or core skills'

This workshop, with Nicky Hockly, provides an introduction to 'Digital literacies'. Nicky offers a useful insight to the different aspects of digital literacies and gives some practical tips for the classroom. The workshop was filmed at the British Council Young learner centre, Barcelona in December 2012. The workshop is divided into four parts. The first part, below, looks at 'Information literacy'.

This workshop, with Nicky Hockly, provides an introduction to 'Digital literacies'. Nicky offers a useful insight to the different aspects of digital literacies and gives some practical tips for the classroom. The workshop was filmed at the British Council Young learner centre, Barcelona in December 2012. The workshop is divided into four parts. The second part, below, gives an overview of the different kinds of digital literacies.

This workshop, with Nicky Hockly, provides an introduction to 'Digital literacies'. Nicky offers a useful insight to the different aspects of digital literacies and gives some practical tips for the classroom. The workshop was filmed at the British Council Young learner centre, Barcelona in December 2012. The workshop is divided into four parts. The third part, below, looks at 'media literacy'.

This workshop, with Nicky Hockly, provides an introduction to 'Digital literacies'. Nicky offers a useful insight to the different aspects of digital literacies and gives some practical tips for the classroom. The workshop was filmed at the British Council Young learner centre, Barcelona in December 2012. The workshop is divided into four parts. In part 4, Nicky looks at Cultural and Intercultural literacies, and demonstrates how these can be taught by showing a video created by a group of students.

Our latest tip looks at ‘Critical thinking’. Watch Alister using the map of the world with his young learner class to encourage greater critical thinking in language learning.

If this video is not available for viewing in your location, please click here

Article

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight