The Incorporation of Current Events in the Language Classroom and Its Pedagogical Importance

Discussing current events and issues in your foreign language classroom can be an incredibly engaging, motivating, valuable and rewarding part of your curriculum. Staying up to date with current events is vital for personal development and it allows one to have a broader understanding of the universe around us. A new language learner usually focuses on textbooks, grammar structures and the completion of controlled homework assignments. Integrating current events and issues into your language teaching curriculum provides the learner the opportunity to expand both topical and critical thinking vocabulary, practice self- expression and develop debate strategies and techniques. It focuses on local, national and global issues that affect students’ everyday lives such as politics, economics, medicine, technology, violation of human rights and the environment … just to name a few. Researching, analyzing current events not only fosters critical thinking, an important element that unfortunately has faded away in our current society due to the excessive use and dependency of technology; but also, it allows the students to make real world connections. In closing, it is the aim of this study to share with the audience of how to combine face-to-face instruction with on-line learning components which encompass the following: active blended and collaborative learning; design thinking process; enhancement of critical thinking and problem solving; formation of flipped classroom through digital media outside of the classroom and problem-based learning (PBL) where students learn solving real world problems.