Overview:
In this career connected learning lesson developed by myBlueprint, students will explore the benefits that multi-language learning brings to various aspects of our lives and examine research findings to gain a deeper understanding of how acquiring another language is a valuable life skill.
NB Curricular Connections:
Example Middle Block
Personal Wellness Grade 8
Strand: Career Connected Learning. Big Idea: Exploring Potential Career Pathways – Skill Descriptor: Critically investigate and describe the labour market and preferred career pathways.
Big Idea: Thinking about Potential Career Pathways – Skill Descriptor: Demonstrate an informed vision for the future linked to own interests, preferences, values and abilities.
What You’ll Need:
- MyBlueprint lesson plan “The Power of Language Skills”
- The Power of Language Skills Slides
- Technology: Internet. Mobile device, tablet or laptop
Instructions:
Before the Lesson (Minds On)
- Open the slides titled “The Power of Language Skills” and share with students the learning objectives.
- Invite students to write the pro’s and con’s of learning another language (slide 3) in an online document or on a sheet of paper
- Discuss with students their answers through short discussion questions (slide 4)
- Share with students some personal stories of people who are multilingual language and how that has impacted their lives (slides 5-7)
- Invite students to discuss what they learned from reading these testimonials and encourage them to discuss further through the questions on slide 8.
During the Lesson (Action)
- Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students each.
- Provide each group with a prompt question related to the benefits of learning another language. You can choose to assign each group a specific question or give your students authority to choose a question of interest.
- What is the role of language in the global economy and its impact on career opportunities?
- How do language skills enhance different career paths?
- How does language help with cultural understanding?
- What are the current job market demands and industries where language skills are highly valued?
- How does learning another language help in being effective communicators?
- How does learning another language impact our brain?
- How do language skills contribute to international collaboration and teamwork in the workplace?
- What are the social and cultural benefits of being multilingual in a diverse workplace environment?
3. Explore recommended sources to support students’ research: Links found on lesson plan the power of language skills.
- Speaking more than one language can boost economic growth
- Mastering a new language: How it can boost your career prospects in today’s competitive job market
- Languages in a Global World: Learning for Better Cultural Understanding
- Exploring Industries That Highly Value Language Proficiency
- The Top 13 Most In Demand Jobs For Bilinguals You Should Know!
- Industries and Careers Where a Second Language Can Be Valuable
- How Learning a Language Can Make You a Better Leader
- The Cognitive Benefits of Learning Another Language
- The benefits of a bilingual brain (video)
- How Learning a Language Changes your Brain
4. After students conduct their research they will need to share their findings with other groups in a presentation format.
After the Lesson (Consolidation)
Invite students to reflect on this activity by engaging them through these discussion questions:
Group discussion:
After the brainstorming session, reconvene the whole class.
Create space for each group to present their findings in front of the class.
Reflection Activity:
- Encourage students to reflect on the brainstorming session and write down at least three benefits of learning a second language that they find most compelling.
Extension Activities: (Optional)
- The consolidation and reflection part of this activity could be later integrated into similar discussions and reflections within the French Second Language classroom, linking to cross-curricular connections and CEFR aligning, with secondary Post-Intensive French and French Immersion. Learners could demonstrate their language learning skills in their myBlueprint porfolio.
Global Competencies:
What We Teach: Being and Becoming Globally Competent – NB Curriculum Framework (nbed.ca)
SGC, CTPS, CM, SASM, CL
Acknowledgements:
MyBlueprint myBlueprint.ca | Support
