The Cambridge

Life Competencies
Framework

Young
Learners

Introductory Guide
for Teachers and
Educational Managers
 Why teach Life Competencies?
Our world is changing fast and we need to prepare and to maintain a positive mindset in an increasingly
our students with the skills and experiences that go complex world.
beyond learning an additional language.
The Cambridge Life Competencies Framework
We see the increasing need to work together with supports teachers in this challenging area – we
people from around the world, to think creatively understand that the engaging and collaborative
and solve problems, to analyse sources more nature of the language classroom is the perfect
critically, to communicate our views effectively, place to develop and embed these key qualities.

Hear from our experts

2
What is the Cambridge Life
Competencies Framework?
The Cambridge Life Competencies Framework helps teachers and educators who want to
understand how life skills, or 21st century skills, can be integrated more effectively into English
language programmes. The framework has six Competencies that describe how these essential
skills develop and vary across different stages of education, as learners grow and change.

Learners actively participate in creative activities, generate new ideas and

CREATIVE THINKING
use them to solve simple problems.

Learners identify patterns and relationships, evaluate ideas and use these
CRITICAL THINKING
skills to solve problems.

Learners develop practical skills to support and take control of their learning
LEARNING TO LEARN
and reflect on their own progress.

Learners choose the most appropriate language to use in different

COMMUNICATION situations, manage conversations effectively and express themselves clearly
and confidently.

Learners work well together in groups through actively taking part in

COLLABORATION group activities, listening to others, sharing tasks and finding solutions to
problems.

Learners recognise and describe different roles and responsibilities in a

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
variety of groups and understand cultural and global issues.

Learners describe and manage emotions and develop positive relationships

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
with others.

The Learning Pre-Primary

Journey
The Cambridge Life Competencies Framework Primary
supports learners at all stages of their
learning journey, from very young pre-primary
learners right through to adults in education
and at work. The framework maps out how
learner behaviours typically found within Secondary
each competency can change and develop
as learners encounter new situations and
circumstances in their lives, both within and
beyond the classroom.
Higher Education
This booklet describes how the Cambridge
Life Competencies Framework allows us to
support learners of English in pre-primary
and primary education.
At Work

3
 Understanding the Cambridge
Life Competencies Framework
The framework describes what each Competency really means by breaking it down into
sub-skills. Each Competency is divided into Core Areas, and those are divided into
Component skills.

Can Do Statements describe the observable behaviours that could be suitable targets
or objectives for learners at each stage of their learning. This booklet gives one example
Can Do Statement for each Component.

Example Language is also provided as suggestions for how learners might express the
actions and behaviours in each Core Area.

See this example for one Core Area within Creative Thinking at the Primary stage:

COMPETENCY CORE AREA COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO EXAMPLE

STATEMENTS LANGUAGE

CREATIVE Implementing Experimenting with Experiments with I’m going to use…

THINKING ideas and solving and refining ideas own ideas for doing
problems creative activities like
colouring, drawing
and building.

Implementing, Uses resources to Let’s use [a pen].

presenting and initiate their own
explaining ideas and play or own games
solutions

Get Involved
The Cambridge Life Competencies Framework is an
ongoing project, evolving through stages of validation
and teacher feedback. Go to cambridge.org/clcf to
see how you can get involved.

4
What is Creative Thinking ?
Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, alternatives, or possibilities rapidly and
elaborate on them. Some of the attributes of creative thinking include curiosity, divergent
thinking, imagination, cognitive flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity or unpredictability,
intrinsic motivation, and enjoyment of things previously unknown.

We have identified three key Core Areas within Creative Thinking:

• Preparing for creativity includes taking part in activities that promote the development
of creative skills. These might be drama, music and artistic tasks but also include
discussions of hypothetical scenarios, brainstorming and problem-solving activities.
In addition, it involves exploring issues that need to be solved or concepts that a learner
needs to grasp, ensuring that they see this from multiple different perspectives.
This lays the foundation for coming up with original and useful ideas.

• Generating ideas requires coming up with lots of new and varied ideas (fluency
and flexibility), developing those ideas (elaborating), and coming up with ideas that
do not occur to most people (originality). This will often require divergent thinking
and imagination.

• Implementing ideas and solving problems involves learners testing out the ideas
they have generated and refining them. It also involves them being able to confidently
present and explain their ideas to others.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that
make up each Core Area:

CREATIVE Preparing for Participating in a range of creative activities

THINKING creativity
Exploring issues and concepts

Considering multiple perspectives

Finding connections

Generating ideas Generating multiple ideas

Elaborating on and combining ideas

Imagining alternatives and possibilities

Implementing ideas Experimenting with and refining ideas

and solving problems
Implementing, presenting and explaining ideas and solutions

5
 Creative Thinking
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Preparing for Participating in a range Engages in fantasy or pretend play Let’s pretend we…
creativity of creative activities after listening to a story.

Exploring issues Demonstrates curiosity by asking Where did she go?

and concepts questions.

Considering multiple Participates in activities that involve I want to be [the

perspectives taking the role of familiar people (e.g. teacher].
being a teacher, parent, doctor or
police officer).

Finding connections Draws pictures to represent vocabulary This is [a dog].

and familiar concepts (e.g. an animal,
a house, a happy girl, etc.).

Generating ideas Generating multiple Produces more than one solution to I have another idea!
ideas a problem (including fun and playful
solutions).

Elaborating on and Adds some details to their ideas. And then…

combining ideas

Imagining alternatives Thinks of new, imaginative roles for self I’m driving [on the
and possibilities through play. moon].

Implementing Experimenting with Experiments with own ideas for doing I’m going to use…
ideas and solving and refining ideas creative activities like colouring,
drawing and building.
problems

Implementing, Uses resources to initiate their own play Let’s use [a pen].
presenting and or own games.
explaining ideas and
solutions

6
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Preparing for Participating in a range Engages in activities with fantasy or Let’s imagine we’re…
creativity of creative activities mystery elements.

Exploring issues Actively participates in investigative I think … will happen.

and concepts and exploratory tasks.

Considering multiple Acts out the roles of various characters Who are you?
perspectives in games and drama.

Finding connections Identifies connections between the I feel the same when…
contents of a poem and their own
experiences.

Generating ideas Generating multiple Produces multiple possibilities for Let’s change it!
ideas substituting words or lines in a song
or poem.

Elaborating on and Finds new uses for objects and explains We can throw/drink/
combining ideas these ideas in detail. sit on it!

Imagining alternatives Imagines alternatives endings In the end…

and possibilities to stories.

Implementing Experimenting with Experiments with using different I’m going to use…
ideas and solving and refining ideas media to make and describe their
own designs.
problems

Implementing, Narrates own stories. Once upon a time…

presenting and
explaining ideas and
solutions

7
 Creative Thinking
in the classroom
PRIMARY

It is possible to foster creative thinking in the classroom, through the use of different types
of tasks. By simply tweaking a familiar task – for example, adding a game-like element
(e.g. a time or word limit) – teachers are able to introduce an element of spontaneity
and unpredictability in class. This can also be done by offering learners more choice,
by prompting them to use their imagination, to interact more with their peers or simply
to ‘think outside the box’ and encourage original ideas. Overall, whatever the age, the
following methods for fostering a creative environment in the class are worth considering:
• Celebrating originality – giving praise to learners demonstrating creativity and reward
out-of-the-box thinking.
• Asking learners questions and encouraging them to ask questions too. By using
questions as a vehicle to dive deeper into your learners’ thoughts and ideas, you are
promoting creative thinking and encouraging learners to consider different perspectives.
• Allowing learners to be playful in their creative thinking – no answers are wrong answers;
they should celebrate diversity and even absurdity.
• Ensuring learners feel that the classroom is a safe space in which to engage in
creative thinking.

At this level, getting learners to engage in a fantasy or a mystery element is easier than
with older learners because younger learners are often less inhibited and their attitude
more playful. They are innately creative, and from the very early years they use imagination
in a wide variety of contexts, particularly during play activities. At this age, it is less about
teaching creative thinking skills, and more about fostering and developing skills that are
already inherent.

Photo here

8
8
Creating poems and stories

Working with a variety of texts, such as poems and stories, can be an effective
way to get learners creating new content from their own ideas or other
resources. For example, in this task called ‘I am…’ (from Goldstein’s 2008
publication Working with images – see further reading page at the end of this
booklet) learners:
1) read and identify the object described by deciphering a text and then;
2) produce a similar text by personalising an object, allowing them to conjure
up new and unexpected images from the object’s material, size, shape,
location, etc. without giving the game away too early.

For example, learners read the following text and guess the object.
They then create their own ‘I am….’ verse using the text as a model.

I’m sometimes made of plastic.

I’m usually round.
I have many different shapes.
But I’m often quite small.
I have numbers.
I often sit next to the bed.
You usually use me during the week.
You need me but you don’t like me.
(Answer: alarm clock)

This task allows learners the opportunity to think outside the box and show
originality. It also requires them to consider others’ perspectives, as their
classmates will try to guess their object, and so the clues in their poem need
to be at the appropriate level of challenge. Even the process of guessing the
object involves some creative thinking and problem solving – teachers can
get learners to work together on this part to negotiate and agree on possible
answers. To add a game-like element, the teams who work out the answers
the quickest could be awarded a prize, or classmates could vote on the best
‘I am’ verse.
This task can also develop divergent thinking, imagination, cognitive flexibility,
and tolerance or enjoyment of ambiguity or unpredictability. These skills
are necessary to participate in creative activities and are central to this key
competency as established in the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework.

Over to you…
1. Try this task with your class. When planning the activity, try to make the task as open as
possible to encourage divergent thinking and imagination.
2. Reflect on the activity: did it work well? If so, in what ways? Could you improve it?
What would you do differently next time?
3. A key element of creative thinking for learners is developed through facing mystery,
ambiguity or unpredictability. How could you foster this in class? Consider modifying
course book story materials to encourage predictions, guessing, and use of imagination
in learners, before showing them the complete stories.

9
 Creative Thinking
in learning materials
Here, students develop their creativity by learning about acrostic poems
PRIMARY (exercise 1) and making word lists (exercise 2). They then use their knowledge
to generate multiple new ideas when they come to write an acrostic of their
own (exercise 3).

My p
portfolio

An acrostic poem
1 Read these poems,
p which are called acrostics. What is an acrostic?

F un and laughter D inosaurs were huge

R unning around
I n our playground I n a time far away
E njoy N o people on Earth
N ot alone O ne hundred million
D reams years ago
S unshine
Strong
A nd dangerous
U nder water and on land
R eally
S cary

2 Work in groups. Create ideas for an acrostic poem. 3 Choose ideas and plan
a Make lists of words that start with the same letter. your own acrostic.
Show your plan to your
A: apple, angry, and, art, ... teacher to help you.
B: blue, before, but, ... 4 Write your acrostic out
neatly, using colours if
b Agree on a word which you all like, for example you want. You can add
HOLIDAY, SEASIDE, CHOCOLATE, DRAGONFLY. a picture too.
c Write the letters of the word in a list down the page.
d As a group, discuss words or word groups that express
the idea of your word. i Tips for writers
T
Itt’s
IIt’s
It’
’s a
always
lway good to check your
lway
Holidays are great / Hotel in the sun spelling, but it’s even more
On the beach / Our big tent important if you’re writing an
acrostic poem or planning
Lying on the sand / Lots of ice cream puzzles such as crosswords or
I wordsearches. Use a dictionary
D to help you if you aren’t sure
how to spell a word.
A
Y

Revision 117

Super Minds Level 6, page 117,

10 ISBN 9781107458291
What is Critical Thinking ?
Critical thinking refers to higher levels of thinking that learners need to enable them to think
effectively and rationally about what they want to do and what they believe is the best action.
Thinking critically is effortful (Halpern, 2014) and consists of skills such as identifying links
between ideas, analysing and evaluating arguments and undertaking reasoning in order to
come to appropriate conclusions.

We have identified three Core Areas within Critical Thinking:

• Understanding and analysing ideas and arguments refers to a learner’s ability to identify
and analyse information in order to recognise patterns and relationships. This helps
students to gain a deeper understanding of ideas and arguments as well as to interpret
and draw inferences about the information they are presented with.

• Evaluating ideas and arguments is related to a learner’s ability to judge which arguments
or ideas they can rely on and which they should be sceptical about. This includes
evaluating evidence presented in an argument as well as the argument’s overall logic.
Mastering this competency helps learners draw appropriate conclusions and construct
strong arguments themselves.

• Solving problems and making decisions involves many skills such as identifying and
analysing problems, gathering appropriate information, evaluating a range of options,
making decisions about which options to implement and finally, evaluating those decisions
to further refine solutions.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

CRITICAL Understanding and Identifying and classifying information

THINKING analysing ideas and
arguments Recognising patterns and relationships

Interpreting and drawing inferences from arguments and data

Evaluating ideas and Evaluating specific information or points in an argument

arguments
Evaluating arguments as a whole

Drawing appropriate conclusions

Solving problems and Identifying and understanding problems

making decisions
Identifying, gathering and organising relevant information

Evaluating options and recommendations to come to a decision

Justifying decisions and solutions

Evaluating the effectiveness of implemented solutions

11
 Critical Thinking
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Understanding Identifying and Sorts, arranges and describes objects It’s a [square/circle/
and analysing classifying information by shape, size, colour, weight, texture triangle].
and position.
ideas and
arguments
Recognising patterns Matches objects, people, letters, They’re [comparative
and relationships pronunciations and words. adjective].

Interpreting and Draws simple inferences from pictures She is [happy/sad/

drawing inferences or stories (e.g. guesses from a picture angry].
from arguments of a broken toy that there was an
and data accident).

Evaluating ideas Evaluating specific Judges whether something is true True!/False!

and arguments information or points in or not.
an argument

Evaluating arguments Identifies whether a text is factual or That’s [real / not real].
as a whole fictional.

Drawing appropriate Chooses which ‘point of view’ they I agree with…

conclusions agree with most. because…

Solving problems Identifying and Identifies characters’ problems It’s not working!
and making understanding in stories.
problems
decisions

Identifying, gathering Identifies some options for solving He/she can [verb].
and organising relevant a problem.
information

Evaluating options and Explains what is good and bad about It’s good because…
recommendations to different options.
come to a decision

Justifying decisions Explains why they have chosen a Because…

and solutions particular option.

Evaluating the Explains whether a solution is working It doesn’t work

effectiveness of or not. because…
implemented solutions

12
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Understanding Identifying and Identifies characters, setting, plot and It’s about [a man]…
and analysing classifying information themes in a story.
ideas and
arguments
Recognising patterns Compares different types of In the first [picture/box],
and relationships information (e.g. looking for similarities there’s…
and differences).

Interpreting and Explains why things happened He was angry because…

drawing inferences (e.g. identifying cause and effect in
from arguments a story).
and data

Evaluating ideas Evaluating specific Judges whether something is true or I don’t think so.
and arguments information or points in not, and gives a reason.
an argument

Evaluating arguments Explains why they believe or don’t [He]’s telling a lie
as a whole believe what a character says in a story. because…

Drawing appropriate Suggests possible reasons for problems Maybe…?

conclusions described in a text.

Solving problems Identifying and Describes problems in a situation given There aren’t any…
and making understanding in a story (factual or fictional).
problems
decisions

Identifying, gathering Identifies potential solutions to a real- [We] could…

and organising relevant world problem (e.g. reducing pollution).
information

Evaluating options and Describes consequences of different If [he]…, [he] will…

recommendations to potential actions of characters in
come to a decision a story.

Justifying decisions Articulates preferences and can justify I prefer…because…

and solutions their choices.

Evaluating the Makes predictions and estimations This plant will grow
effectiveness of from given information. faster than the others.
implemented solutions

13
 Critical Thinking
in the classroom
PRIMARY

Regardless of the age of learners, at the heart of critical thinking is the notion of asking
questions. Learners should be encouraged to continually question the information they
receive and the conclusions they come to. The teacher should push learners to deeper critical
thinking by asking them questions, such as:

• Why is that your answer?

• How did you come to that answer?

• Do you think there could be another answer?

Teachers should genuinely listen to learners when taking feedback and respond accordingly,
by properly evaluating their ideas and arguments. In so doing, they show their learners that
they too are critical thinkers (i.e. act as an effective model).

Young learners are naturally curious. As such, it is crucial that learners do activities which
actively encourage this curiosity. To this end, it is important to create an atmosphere in the
classroom which encourages learners to think critically. Teachers must ensure learners really
listen to each other during speaking activities so they can ask effective questions, and in
doing so understand and analyse links between ideas.

The following are some classroom activities and strategies that teachers can use to promote
critical thinking development:

Translanguaging

When teaching speaking, teachers should consider using ‘translanguaging’, where learners
can ‘mix and match’ their first language with the target language (i.e. English). This practice,
which is common in many multilingual societies, can help manage the problems that occur
when the content of an activity is too linguistically challenging, and help learners in better
understanding and analysing links between ideas. This can be seen as an intermediary stage,
prior to learners being able to do the task entirely in the target language.

Storybooks

Storybooks can be a useful resource when developing critical thinking skills with young
learners. When teaching reading with a storybook, more predicting could be encouraged –
for example, guessing what the story is going to be about from its title, or from the pictures.
This can continue throughout the story through dialogic reading practices, i.e. asking learners
questions at key points.

14
The doughnut method

After a task is a complete, learners feed back to others on what they have learnt.
This activity encourages task repetition, so that learners deepen their knowledge
on the topic. Learners follow these steps:

Doughnut method

1. 2. 3.

1. Learners form two rings facing each other – learners in the inner ring present their feedback
to the learners opposite them;

2. After two minutes, learners in the outer ring move round to the right one place;

3. Learners in the outer ring then tell the learners opposite them what the previous learner said;

4. The process repeats itself several times.

Visual organisers
Compare your answers with a partner. Write your ideas
These can be useful tools for in the left circle. Write your partner’s ideas in the right
learners to organise, evaluate circle. Then write things you agree on in the middle.
and compare their thoughts
and ideas. For example, What we both think
a Venn diagram can be used
to help learners to identify
similarities and differences.
What my
What I think
partner thinks

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
– Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved
next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to
develop their critical thinking skills.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be
using in your classes in the next week or so. Consider how you could make these
activities more effective in developing critical thinking skills.

15
 Critical Thinking
in learning materials
Here, students practise critical thinking by identifying problems (‘What goes
PRIMARY wrong with this?’ in exercise 3) and coming up with solutions (‘What can fix
this?’ in exercise 4). This involves students evaluating the options that are
presented to come to a decision as to which one is best in each case.

‘What’s
‘Wh
‘Wh this?’ asked Phoebe, looking at a machine that looked like a big
eg
egg. ‘That’s my amazing hairdressing machine,’ said the professor.
‘Choose any style or colour, then sit under it and in five seconds
the machine will do your hair for you. Give it a go. You’ll love it!’
‘Erm, no thanks,’ answered Phoebe. ‘I like my hair the way it is.’
‘Hey, professor??
What happens
if I pull this?’
asked Patrick,
w
who was standing
next to another
next
inve
invent
ntio
io ‘Don’t touch
invention.
that!’ shouted the professor. ‘That machine isn’t
finished yet.’ Too late! The lever was already
down. A yellow light started glowing by the
machine. ‘Now that’s strange,’ said the
professor. ‘I’ve no idea what that is.’
‘But we know what it is,’ said Phoebe.
‘Goodbye, professor.’ The children
walked into the light. They were gone
in a flash.

3 Look at the pictures and answer the questions. 4 Think! What tool does the
professor need to fix
these problems?
1 2

1 What goes wrong 2 What goes wrong

with this? with this?

3 4
3 What goes wrong 4 Why doesn’t Phoebe
with this? want to use this?

5 Who pulls this lever? 6 What does this last

machine do?
Reading for pleasure 75

Super Minds Level 6, page 75,

16 ISBN 9781107458291
What is Learning to Learn ?
The rate of change for what we need to know and be able to do at work is accelerating, and it
is essential that we continue to learn new skills and knowledge throughout our working lives.
Even within schools, developing effective learning skills underpins our students’ success in all
subjects, and is critical to building their autonomy and self-direction. Education and training
needs to focus as much on the skills of learning as on the outputs of learning.

We have identified three Core Areas within Learning to Learn:

• Developing skills and strategies for learning includes important techniques such as
making notes, storing and retrieving information as well as techniques for learning and
remembering information. In an ELT context, learners also benefit from using strategies
to help them understand and communicate in English. There are various methods for
engaging in these techniques, and learners need to experiment and choose the one which
best suits their own personal style, needs and resources.

• Taking control of own learning implies developing self-regulatory strategies, becoming

autonomous, maintaining motivation, and staying focused on the task at hand in order
to achieve the best results. To accomplish this, learners need to be clear about their
learning goals.

• Reflecting on and evaluating own learning involves learners reflecting on their own
learning in order to assess what worked for them and what did not. This reflection can
inform decisions regarding whether to persevere with certain courses of action or to make
changes. As a result, learners are able to identify and use effective learning techniques
and strategies. In addition, learners who keep track of and evaluate their own progress in
learning are more able to continuously improve, helping them succeed in reaching their
learning goals.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

LEARNING TO Developing skills and Engaging in directed activities

LEARN strategies for learning
Using effective systems for finding, keeping and retrieving information

Using effective strategies for learning and retaining information

Using effective strategies for comprehension and production tasks

Taking control of own Setting goals and planning for learning

learning
Taking initiative to improve own learning

Managing the learning environment

Managing attitudes and emotions

Reflecting on and Keeping track of progress

evaluating own
learning Evaluating learning and progress

Using feedback to improve learning

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 Learning to Learn
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Developing skills Engaging in directed Follows instructions and class routines. Like this…?
and strategies for activities
learning

Using effective Asks simple questions to find out What’s this?

systems for finding, information.
keeping and retrieving
information

Using effective Engages with memorising tasks. There was a [ship/

strategies for learning flower/hat].
and retaining
information

Using effective Uses pictures to help understand He looks happy.

strategies for a story.
comprehension and
production tasks

Taking control of Setting goals and Chooses which activity to complete I’m going to [read this
own learning planning for learning when given a choice. book].

Taking initiative to Asks the teacher for help. What does … mean?
improve own learning

Managing the learning Organises learning equipment tidily so I usually put my

environment that it can be found when needed. [crayons/ruler/eraser]
in here.

Managing attitudes Regulates affective reactions (e.g.

and emotions disappointment, mood or conflicts
with other children).

Reflecting on and Keeping track of Uses basic checklists to show what tasks Done!
evaluating own progress they have completed.
learning

Evaluating learning Changes learning behaviour if it does Oops! It’s wrong to

and progress not seem to have the desired effect shout!
(e.g. starts putting hand up to answer a
question when they notice the teacher
does not pick them to give an answer
when they shout out).

Using feedback to Acts on language feedback from I’ll try again.

improve learning teachers or parents.

18
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Developing skills Engaging in directed Follows instructions to complete tasks I’ve finished!
and strategies for activities in class as required.
learning Using effective Searches for information on a specific I found out that…
systems for finding, topic when doing a project.
keeping and retrieving
information

Using effective Memorises and repeats key words I can remember it now.
strategies for learning and phrases.
and retaining
information

Using effective Looks at pictures, titles and subtitles to I think it’s about…
strategies for get the gist of a text before reading it.
comprehension and
production tasks

Taking control of Setting goals and Identifies the learning objectives for the We’re learning about/
own learning planning for learning lesson or task. to…

Taking initiative to Asks other children for help. Could you explain it
improve own learning to me?

Managing the learning Works productively with others without

environment becoming distracted.

Managing attitudes Regulates affective reactions (e.g.

and emotions anxiety, disappointment, mood or
conflicts with other children).

Reflecting on and Keeping track of Shows awareness of own progress in I’ve learnt how to…
evaluating own progress learning English (e.g. by using progress
checklists).
learning
Evaluating learning Reflects on what they did well in I’m getting better at…
and progress a lesson.

Using feedback to Listens and responds positively to

improve learning feedback, and understands why a
correction was given.

19
 Learning to Learn
in the classroom
PRIMARY

For learners at pre-primary to be able to begin their journey of developing Learning to

Learn skills, they will benefit from the teacher introducing and maintaining a range of
routines (through into primary):

• for starting a class, such as doing a chant;

• for carrying out activities, for example, electing learners to be in charge of handing out
or collecting worksheets or other learning tools;

• for transitioning between activities by using certain cues.

It will take time for these routines to become fixed and consistency is vital. In terms of
instructions, these need to be clear and include demonstrations, and learners will need the
time and experience to build strong links between instructions and expectations. Growing
familiarity with classroom task types and activities will help, as learners will become familiar
with the routines that these tasks and activities require. Once learners are comfortable
with a routine, they will be able to engage in activities without repeated instruction or
explanation, thus developing learner autonomy.

Reflecting on learning

As part of the beginning of their journey to becoming more autonomous, young learners
need to develop the reflective and evaluative skills required to monitor their progress
in learning. Teachers can scaffold this development by providing simple tools such as a
post-task self-feedback form in which learners evaluate their performance in a given task.
Learning materials increasingly include these, but even if they are not included, it is possible
for teachers to make one which can be adapted for use across a range of task types. Here is
an example:

MY PROGRESS
I followed all the instructions
I gave my opinion clearly
I asked my classmates for their
opinions
I agreed and disagreed with
my classmates politely
I helped my group to
summarise the discussion to
feed back to the whole class

20
Developing familiarity with what is expected is important. The process of reflection and
evaluation, and completing reflective tasks takes time to master and consistent use of
such tasks over a period of time will help learners become more competent at assessing
themselves in this way.

With the progress table example, the first couple of times it is used, teachers would need
to explain to or remind learners how to use it, i.e. if they think they have followed all
the instructions, they then colour in all the smiley faces; if they think they have followed
most of them, they then colour in four smiley faces, etc. Some of the sentences could be
used across tasks, while others would change according to the task type. Once learners
are accustomed to the procedure, they will need little prompting to carry out the task
effectively. These kinds of tasks also provide the scope for learners to compare their
performance over time for similar task types.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example strategies in this section and try it out with your class.
– Following the implementation of the strategy, reflect on what worked well and what
could be improved next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners
were able to develop their Learning to Learn skills.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be
using in your classes in the next week or so. Consider how you could use these activities
to develop your students’ Learning to Learn skills.

21
 Learning to Learn
in learning materials
Here, students develop skills and strategies for learning by following instructions
PRIMARY in directed activities (exercises 4 and 5). By making musical instruments
(exercise 6) and writing a music quiz based on their own research (see ‘mission’
box), they need to take initiative and control of their own learning.

3
Culture

4 Read the text. When and how do you listen to music?

What music do people in your family like? What festivals
with music are there in your country?

Music is all around us. We can hear it everywhere. Music is important in many cultures and different
We can also take it with us wherever we go, but musical instruments are typical in different
that wasn’t possible until the 1980s. Now we have places. In many countries the
our favourite music on our phones and on our drum is the most important
computers. Headphones let us listen to our music instrument and you can see
on the bus or in the car. We can hear it, but other them in different shapes
people can’t. This is good because not everyone and sizes. Music is also very
likes the same kind of music! There are many important at festival time in
styles of music. Some people like classical music many countries.
and others like folk, jazz or hip-hop.

5 2.06 Listen to Liliana talking about music at the Rio Carnival.

Read and choose the correct words.
1 Brazil celebrates carnival in February or March /
December or January.
2 Carnival happens only in Rio de Janeiro /
all over Brazil.
3 People celebrate carnival at home / in the streets.
4 Samba music came from Africa / America.
5 Samba musicians use guitars and trumpets /
drums.

6 Make your own Brazilian instruments.

Use materials that you have at home
or in class.

STAGE 3
Research a country’s music and write quiz questions.
Choose a country and research Write three quiz questions. Give
My
its music. three possible answers (only one
of which is correct).
Let’s find out about music in … diary
Good idea! Activity Book
page 30

Learn about Brazilian carnival music 37

Power Up Level 4, page 37,

22 ISBN 9781108414661
What is Communication ?
Communication is an essential professional and life skill, enabling us to share information
and ideas, as well as express feelings and arguments (Cenere et al., 2015). It is also an active
process influenced by the complexities of human behaviour in which elements such as
non-verbal behaviour and individual styles of interpreting and ascribing meaning to events
have significant influence. Mastering effective communication is more than just mastering the
core language resources of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. It’s about using those
resources for the desired effect – whether that is persuading someone of your argument,
apologising for a mistake, or making friends.

We have identified three Core Areas within Communication:

• Using appropriate language and register for context refers to a learner’s understanding
that there are formal, semi-formal and informal situations which require them to vary their
language and expressions and adapt their communication style. Learners can use language
for effect by employing a variety of language and rhetorical devices, for example, to
be more persuasive in an argument, to engage and catch attention or to add emphasis
or humour. It also refers to learners’ awareness of differences in communication styles
across cultures.

• Facilitating interactions is related to a learner’s ability to converse with others effectively

and efficiently by knowing how to initiate, maintain and end conversations appropriately.
Learners are aware of and use key communication strategies that can help them convey
their own messages as well as support others in communicating successfully.

• Participating with appropriate confidence and clarity refers to a learner’s ability to

communicate effectively with appropriate fluency, confidence and pace. This may include
using appropriate tonal and structural variation, facial expression and eye contact as well as
an ability to structure content to create coherent and cohesive texts.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

COMMUNICATION Using appropriate Using language appropriate for the situation

language and register
for context Using a variety of language and communication strategies
to achieve a desired effect

Adapting language use according to different cultures and

social groups

Facilitating Using communication strategies to facilitate conversations

interactions
Using strategies for overcoming language gaps and
communication breakdowns

Participating Structuring spoken and written texts effectively

with appropriate
confidence and clarity Using appropriate language and presentation styles with
confidence and fluency

23
 Communication
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Using appropriate Using language Uses simple, polite forms of greetings, Hello/Hi/Hey.
language and appropriate for the introductions and farewells.
situation
register for
context
Using a variety Changes sound levels and pitch
of language and of voice when doing drama to
communication communicate different emotions.
strategies to achieve
a desired effect

Adapting language use Adjusts language for playing different [A gold star for you!/
according to different roles (e.g. a teacher, an animal or a I’m a very hungry lion!].
cultures and social character from a story).
groups

Facilitating Using communication Takes turns when speaking. And you?

interactions strategies to facilitate
conversations

Using strategies Uses basic communication strategies, Pardon?

for overcoming such as asking for repetition.
language gaps and
communication
breakdowns

Participating Structuring spoken and Uses simple connectors to link groups …and/but…
with appropriate written texts effectively of words.
confidence and
clarity
Using appropriate Asks and answers simple questions with What’s your name?/It’s…
language and confidence.
presentation styles with
confidence and fluency

24
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Using appropriate Using language Responds appropriately to invitations, Good idea!

language and appropriate for the suggestions, apologies, etc.
situation
register for
context
Using a variety Uses intonation and gesture to I’m [a bit/really/so] sad.
of language and communicate different emotions during
communication a drama or role-play.
strategies to achieve
a desired effect

Adapting language use Adapts language according to the Excuse me, Mr/Mrs/
according to different social group (e.g. talking with teachers Miss/Ms…
cultures and social at school vs parents at home).
groups

Facilitating Using communication Interrupts others politely. Sorry,…

interactions strategies to facilitate
conversations

Using strategies Tries to use alternative words or I mean…

for overcoming expressions if they are not understood.
language gaps and
communication
breakdowns

Participating Structuring spoken and Uses connectors to add additional Also…

with appropriate written texts effectively points.
confidence and
clarity
Using appropriate Tells a story or describes something My story is…
language and clearly.
presentation styles with
confidence and fluency

25
 Communication in the classroom
PRIMARY

Communication skills are so inherently embedded within language teaching and learning;
the question is not so much whether they have a place in the language classroom, but
rather, the extent and ways in which teachers provide an overt focus on them.

Learners at this age tend to be more communicative generally – they can be confident
and motivated to speak – but often lack the skills to work more effectively together in
groups. Raising learners’ awareness of effective communication strategies, and engaging
in tasks that promote these skills, are key to supporting young learners in this area. Young
learners can be introduced explicitly to these communication strategies as outlined in the
Cambridge Life Competencies Framework. This could involve useful language and phrases
for different contexts.

Ground rules

An example is setting some ‘ground rules’ for classroom communication amongst peers or
between learners and teachers, such as:

Ground rules for classroom

communication
1. Speak clearly
2. Listen carefully
3. Ask questions
4. Show you’re interested – nod, smile, keep eye-contact
5. Say if you don’t understand something – use phrases like:
a. Sorry, could you please repeat that?
b. I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Could you explain, please?
c. Could you speak more slowly/loudly, please?
6. Wait for your turn to speak

These ‘ground rules’ can be made more meaningful to learners if they are
decided together as a whole class.

26
Storytelling

For promoting communication in the classroom, storytelling is a useful method that can be
exploited in numerous ways. For example, introducing young learners to greetings, making
polite requests or asking for permission. The context provided by a well-chosen story can
help convey the meaning of useful phrases. Further questions can establish the situations
in which they are used, supporting the child’s developing awareness of language function
and register.

Primary learners could also practise retelling the story to develop their communication
skills. By adding a self- and peer-assessment element to this activity, learners are more
motivated to retell the story accurately and clearly. This type of assessment can also help to
develop receptive skills and learner independence. The success of this approach depends
upon the establishment of clear, appropriate and achievable success criteria and the ability
to review learner output. The ability to record and listen back to their answers using digital
tools (e.g. tablets) can support this.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
– Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved
next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to
develop their communication skills.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be
using in your classes in the next week or so. Consider how you could adapt these
activities to have a greater focus on communication skills.

27
 Communication
in young learner learning materials
Here, students are practising communication skills by structuring texts using
PRIMARY connectors (exercise 2). This helps them to use language to express thought
processes with clarity. By working in a group (see ‘mission’ box), students
need to use communication strategies to facilitate interactions.

5
Language practice 2

1 2.34 Listen and choose the correct picture.

1 What clothes do George and Grandpa talk about?
A B C

2 What have George and his parents decided to do tomorrow?

A B C

2.35
Grammar spotlight

The weather’s really cold, so we have to wear warm clothes.

Today we couldn’t go skiing because it was foggy.

2 Match to make correct sentences. Write the sentences.

1 There was a bad storm, … a because there was a lot of snow.
2 They were wearing warm clothes … b so we could go sledging.
3 It snowed heavily, … c so we couldn’t play in the park.

STAGE 2
Draw a map with weather symbols.
In groups, draw a map of the country you chose.
Draw the weather symbols on your map for a day in winter. My
The weather in the north is foggy It’s snowy in the east because
and cold because it’s near the sea. there are mountains. diary
Activity Book
page 56

Conjunctions: so and because 61

Power Up Level 4, page 61,

ISBN 9781108414661
28
What is Collaboration ?
Collaboration is often described as a key skill for 21st century education (NRC, 2011).
Some advantages of collaboration over individual problem-solving are effective division of
labour; use of information from multiple sources, perspectives and experiences; higher levels
of creativity and better quality of solutions (OECD, 2013).

When people interact with each other, they are not simply sharing information but are
supporting each other in collective thinking. This collaborative interaction allows participants
to achieve more than they can alone.

We have identified four Core Areas within Collaboration:

• Taking personal responsibility for own contribution to a group task refers to a learner’s
ability to participate actively in group activities through taking on a variety of roles, to share
their own ideas freely with others and demonstrate a willingness to provide explanations
for their own contributions as required.

• Encouraging effective group interaction includes a learner’s ability to listen carefully

to others and to acknowledge their views, even when conflicting with their own. Learners
are thus able to take turns appropriately in a group task, provide constructive feedback
and also put forward their own solutions and ideas in a way that helps the group progress
towards completing it. It also involves groups establishing effective ways of working
together and offering mutual support to one another.

• Managing the sharing of tasks in a group activity refers to a learner’s ability to identify
tasks and sub-tasks in a group activity and to share them fairly amongst group members.

• Working towards task completion is related to a learner’s ability to ensure the group is
making progress towards their goals. This might include evaluating multiple options and
points of view during a group activity and recognising the most suitable solution for the
resolution of the task. It also involves effectively identifying and resolving issues that may
arise during the course of an activity.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

COLLABORATION Taking personal Actively contributing to a task

responsibility for own
contribution to a group task Taking on different roles

Encouraging effective group Listening and responding respectfully

interaction
Establishing ways of working together

Engaging and supporting others

Managing the sharing of Agreeing what needs to be done

tasks in a group activity
Managing the distribution of tasks

Working towards task Ensuring progress towards a goal

completion
Identifying issues and challenges

Resolving issues

29
 Collaboration
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Taking personal Actively contributing to Shares ideas about pictures, stories and Do you know the story
responsibility for a task experiences. about…?
own contribution
to a group task
Taking on different Identifies how they are going to I’ve got to [count].
roles contribute to the activity.

Encouraging Listening and Builds on others’ ideas (e.g. in a And he [lives]…

effective group responding respectfully role-play activity).
interaction

Establishing ways of Establishes the rules of a game. We take turns.

working together

Engaging and Makes sure everyone joins in by asking Do/did you like…?
supporting others them to share their ideas.

Managing the Agreeing what needs Explains the steps needed to complete We’re going to…
sharing of tasks in to be done an activity.
a group activity

Managing the Suggests roles for group members. Please can you…?
distribution of tasks

Working towards Ensuring progress Keeps the group focused on the goal Hurry up.
task completion towards a goal despite distractions or obstacles.

Identifying issues and Recognises if own or another child’s Don’t fight.

challenges behaviour is causing a problem.

Resolving issues Tries to resolve problems in the group Do you want to share?
(e.g. through finding a compromise).

30
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Taking personal Actively contributing to Shares ideas and suggestions about We could…
responsibility for a task familiar and unfamiliar topics during
tasks.
own contribution
to a group task
Taking on different Identifies how their own sub-task I’m going to…
roles contributes to the aim of the task.

Encouraging Listening and Interrupts politely at appropriate Please can I speak now?
effective group responding respectfully moments in group talk.
interaction

Establishing ways of Contributes to establishing group rules. Remember to…

working together

Engaging and Encourages other members of the Go on.

supporting others group who may be shy or less confident
in speaking English (e.g. by using
inclusive body language).

Managing the Agreeing what needs Incorporates others’ ideas about how Let’s do it [like Jane
sharing of tasks in to be done to organise and carry out an activity says].
when appropriate.
a group activity

Managing the Suggests roles for group members. [Name] writes well.
distribution of tasks Can he…?

Working towards Ensuring progress Keeps the group focused on the goal Hurry up.
task completion towards a goal despite distractions or obstacles.

Identifying issues and Recognises when there are problems She’s fighting [with…]
challenges between group members.

Resolving issues Decides how to work out problems so Why don’t we…?
that the group can achieve their task.

31
 Collaboration in the classroom
PRIMARY

Here are some strategies for making the classroom more collaborative:

• Tasks should have clear goals and steps.

• By using the Core Areas and Components when planning lessons, teachers can clearly
focus their activities to specific aims and therefore be more confident; teachers need to
select tasks which require collaboration and which will motivate their learners.

• The task should be at the appropriate level of challenge for the learners so that they do
not become demotivated by the task or complete it too quickly.

• It is crucial for teachers to explain and discuss the need for collaboration within each task
with their learners.

32
• Learners should understand the aim of what they are doing and how their own
contributions fit into the whole task – that the success of the task is the responsibility
of each member of the group.

• Teachers must monitor group work and give timely feedback. The teacher can also
encourage peer feedback.

• Learners should be encouraged to celebrate the success of the task by reflecting on

their own contributions and roles, as well as setting goals for improvement.

• Active listening skills should be taught (making eye contact, showing empathy and
understanding, not interrupting, summarising what the speaker has said, etc.) and the
language of turn-taking introduced.

• Tasks should allow choice so that learners can choose to work to their strengths
(for example, the best at drawing does the illustrating), or the opposite, in order
for learners to be able to try things they are not confident at to develop new skills.
Additionally, the learners that do have strengths in one particular area can coach others
and support general upskilling.

33
 Developing collaborative skills with young learners can be challenging as, in the early years,
children tend to be more egocentric and often do not find sharing natural. It is therefore
important to lay the foundations for collaboration, starting in pre-primary classes, by
creating positive class routines that steadily build up teamwork. Teachers can explain to
their learners the merits of collaboration (if necessary, using the learners’ mother tongue),
and model the behaviour and appropriate language for collaborative tasks.

The following are examples of effective tasks/strategies for building collaboration skills:

Shared tasks
With support from the teacher, the learners take on different roles and collaborate, so that
at the end they can see the result and understand that this was only achieved by working
together. An example of an activity that would work well would be building a castle which
will be used in a story-telling activity.

Games
Games require turn taking, paying attention to classmates and giving appropriate
responses like ‘well done’ or ’never mind’, which are all important aspects of collaboration.

34
 12
Choral work
3 5

CD4
Listen and point. Sing.
A good example of choral work would be action I’m writing a new song,
songs, where children have to follow not just the I’m writing a new song.
teacher, but also each other to be synchronised At the beach, at the beach.
and feel part of the whole class. Learners could be Suzy’s getting a lot of shells,
grouped to take on different roles within the song, Suzy’s getting a lot of shells.
and will be responsible for singing and doing the At the beach, at the beach.
actions at the relevant parts. Only by playing their
part can the class get through the whole song – this Scott’s swimming in the ocean,
can foster a sense of togetherness and responsibility Scott’s swimming in the ocean.
among the learners. An example of a song that could At the beach, at the beach.
work well is included here.
Dad’s walking on the sand,
Dad’s walking on the sand.
Throughout these activities, teachers can monitor
At the beach, at the beach.
and encourage good collaboration techniques, and
reward members of the group demonstrating these Mom’s reading in the sun,
skills. This could be done by taking photos or videos Mom’s reading in the sun.
of group activities to show to the learners at the end At the beach, at the beach...
of the task as evidence of their collaboration.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
– Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved
next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to
develop their collaboration skills.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be
using in your classes in the next week or so. Consider how you could make these
activities more collaborative.
4 Ask and answer.
What’s Sally doing? She’s writing a song.

85
beach mountain ocean sand shell sun

35
 Collaboration
in learning materials
Here, students practise collaboration skills by working in a group to prepare
PRIMARY some travel advice (see ‘mission’ box). The teacher could use this opportunity
to encourage effective group interaction through discussing ways of
working together.

5
Culture

4 2.38 Listen and read about the different seasons in Argentina.

Answer the questions.

Argentina is a very large Antarctica, so it’s very cold all year – cold enough
country in South America. It’s for penguins – because it’s never near the sun.
in the southern hemisphere, In many countries we can say, ‘I go skiing in winter
so winter begins in June and and I love swimming in the sea in summer.’ You can
summer begins in December. do those activities in Argentina, but in any season.
However, it isn’t cold in winter in Why? The Andes is the longest mountain range in
all of Argentina because it has the world and 4,000 kilometres of it is on the border
different climate zones. between Chile and Argentina. Argentina also has
Let’s look at two examples. The north of Argentina almost 5,000 kilometres of coast from north to
is near the equator and it has a tropical climate. south. It’s no problem to go skiing in summer and
There are lots of rainforests and there are high swim in the sea in winter. You only have to choose
temperatures all year, even in winter. The south the correct place!
of Argentina has a polar climate. It’s close to

1 Why are the seasons different 4 Can you only find penguins in winter?
in various parts of Argentina?

5 What’s special about the Andes?

2 Where are the rainforests?

6 Are the Andes in Argentina longer than

3 Where is the polar climate zone in the coast?
Argentina?

5 Make a poster about the seasons in your country.

Use your poster to describe the things you like
best about each season.
STAGE 3
Write some travel advice.
My
In your group, think about the weather and prepare travel advice.
It’s snowy in the mountains. You can go skiing! Be careful, there will be
diary
ice on the road.
Activity Book
page 56

Learn about climate in Argentina 63

Power Up Level 4, page 63,

36 ISBN 9781108414661
What are Learning to Learn
Social Responsibilities ?
How do we engage with other people in an increasingly globalised world? This competency
looks at how we can help people develop the skills to contribute better to the social groups
they engage with. As the groups they become part of change over time, they need to be able
to think about their roles within them, and how they contribute positively to them. They also
need to improve their ability to work and link up with people from very different backgrounds
and cultures to their own. There is, in addition, the need to step back and see their social
engagement from a more global perspective: what are the major issues affecting the world
and how do they relate to their own lives?

We have identified three Core Areas within Social Responsibilities:

• Understanding personal and social responsibilities as part of a social group refers to

identifying and perceiving the significance of personal and social responsibilities across
different levels, ranging from the local to the global. This involves learners fulfilling their
personal and social responsibilities as a member of a social group and/or as a global
citizen, and taking responsibility for their own actions.

• Showing intercultural awareness refers to a learner being able to describe and analyse
features of their own culture and of the culture of others, and to make comparisons in a
positive and respectful way. It also includes being able to collaborate with people from
other cultures. Culture in this context can relate to cultures of different countries or to
cultures of different groups and organisations, e.g. workplaces.

• Understanding global issues includes identifying, discussing and understanding a range

of perspectives on global issues, for example on topics related to health, human rights
and the environment. Learners will be able to understand how their own behaviours can
contribute positively or negatively to the identified issues.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

SOCIAL Understanding personal Understanding responsibilities within a social group

RESPONSIBILITIES responsibilities as part of
a social group Fulfilling responsibilities within a social group

Showing intercultural Understanding aspects of own culture

awareness
Understanding aspects of other cultures

Interacting with others across cultures

Understanding global Discussing a range of global issues

issues
Recognising personal impact on global issues

37
 Learning to Learn
Social Responsibilities
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Understanding Understanding Describes in basic terms roles and At school, I tidy my toys.
personal responsibilities within responsibilities they have at pre-
a social group school (e.g. tidying up toys, following
responsibilities directions and following playground
as part of a social rules).
group
Fulfilling Recognises when they are behaving I’m sorry.
responsibilities within badly and corrects their behaviour.
a social group

Showing Understanding aspects Identifies and can name familiar places This is my school.
intercultural of own culture and landmarks in their environment
(e.g. pre-school, playground,
awareness home, etc.)

Understanding aspects Compares food, festivals and music Our food/music is

of other cultures from different parts of the world. different.

Interacting with others Asks other children for their opinions. What do you think?
across cultures

Understanding Discussing a range of Identifies basic needs in human life We need food and
global issues global issues (e.g. shelter, food, water, etc.). water.

Recognising personal Describes ways they can safeguard Recycle bottles/plastic/

impact on global issues the environment (e.g. save water, paper.
recycle, etc.).

38
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Understanding Understanding Describes roles and responsibilities At home, I clean

personal responsibilities within they have as members of social groups my room.
a social group (e.g. family, friendship groups, school
responsibilities class etc.).
as part of a social
group Fulfilling Follows school rules and makes positive I must [put up my hand
responsibilities within choices about behaviours. in class/follow rules].
a social group

Showing Understanding aspects Describes basic information about In my country we often

intercultural of own culture their own culture (e.g. language, food, eat…
entertainment and pastimes).
awareness

Understanding aspects Identifies similarities and differences In my country we speak

of other cultures between own and other countries French. Also, people
(e.g. names, geographical location, speak French in…
languages etc.).

Interacting with others Identifies similarities and differences People bow when they
across cultures in the way people from their own and say hello in…
other cultures communicate.

Understanding Discussing a range of Describes common diseases and the Wash your hands before
global issues global issues importance of prevention (e.g. through you eat.
hygiene measures).

Recognising personal Demonstrates understanding of the We shouldn’t waste

impact on global issues need to share and protect resources. water.

39
 Learning to Learn
Social Responsibilities
in the classroom
PRIMARY

The Cambridge Life Competencies Framework offers a good starting point in ensuring that
young learners come away from a lesson better informed and equipped with new skills for
interacting with the world around them.

Role play

The following is an example of a role play activity that can be used to integrate the topic
of personal responsibilities in society into an English class. Learners could be introduced
to their roles through visual cues (brother or sister/son or daughter/classmate/friend/team
member) and match these to the responsibilities of each role (the responsibility to share, be
considerate of other’s feelings, be fair, respect others’ opinions, help the more vulnerable,
follow rules, etc.). Learners could work in pairs or groups to role-play a situation, such as
the following:

• A classmate at school or family member at home is not fulfilling their duties responsibly;

• Learners imagine they are leaders of their country and brainstorm a list of the roles and
responsibilities they would give to people in their country.

40
Comparing Cultures

Another area of Social Responsibilities that affords learners opportunities for exploration
and discussion is that of cultural awareness. A country that is a contrast to the learners’
own is a good starting point: for example, learners in Germany could focus on Bangladesh
and vice versa. The lesson could begin with learners adding details to a map of the focus
country (capital city, rivers, mountains, etc.) using online resources to help them. Learners
then read a short text about a child of a similar age, entitled ‘A day in the life of…’. This can
spark a number of creative activities such as:

• Writing a diary entry from the point of view of that child which might include his/her
thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future.

• Learners work in groups to look at pictures which show different problems that the child
faces in their everyday lives. Each group could discuss the problem (in their mother
tongue if necessary) and prepare a short presentation for the rest of the class on how
they would resolve it.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
– Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved
next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to
develop their skills related to Social Responsibilities.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities you may be using or
topics that you may be teaching in your classes in the next week or so. Consider how
you could use these to build on your students’ Social Responsibilities skills.

41
 Learning to Learn
Social Responsibilities
in learning materials
Here, students engage with Social Responsibilities by learning about ways of
PRIMARY protecting the environment. Thinking about their personal impact as well as
that of their social group, they are developing an understanding of the ways
in which personal and group behaviour can affect global issues.

Reuse and recycle Trevor’s values

3 3

CD2
Listen and say the number.
1 2

4
3

4 Ask and answer.

What’s this? It’s a flowerpot. What’s it It’s made from
made from? a boot.

5 What do you reuse at home?

I reuse ...
at home.

bottles paper plastic bags

Vocabulary
31
bottle flowerpot keyboard paper plastic bag

Kid’s Box American English Level 2 Student’s Book, page 31,

42 ISBN 9781316627013
What is Emotional Development ?
Emotional development is an important foundation for success at all ages and emotional skills
underpin and support both social and cognitive development in learners. Indeed, emotional
development impacts on academic and social success over and above the effect of cognitive
ability (Izard, 2002; Qualter et al., 2011). It affects our learning and our ability to carry out
tasks effectively at work or in education. It is distinct from the other areas of competency in
that the approach to supporting and evaluating emotional development is in most cases less
explicit or teacher-directed. Generally, the recommended approach is to support emotional
development by creating activities around other learning objectives that also give learners the
opportunity to develop their emotional skills.

We have identified three Core Areas within Emotional Development:

• Identifying and understanding emotions refers to a learner’s capacity to become aware

of, understand and express how they feel in different situations and contexts. It involves
understanding what may cause different emotions and the effects that these emotions
might have on behaviour. This could be achieved through reflection and self-appraisals of
their strengths and weaknesses, thinking about their emotions and verbalising them, and
identifying and describing their beliefs, values and actions.

• Managing own emotions relates to the ability to utilise emotions once they have been
identified in order to deploy coping mechanisms in emotional situations, to minimise
negative emotions and to enhance positive ones. Learners are able to adapt to aversive or
distressing emotions by using self-regulatory strategies that lead to emotional resilience.

• Empathy and relationship skills involve understanding others’ perspectives and being
able to empathise with and support others. This is important in building and maintaining
relationships and handling interpersonal problems such as conflict with respect and care.

Within these Core Areas we break things down further, defining the Components that make
up each Core Area:

EMOTIONAL Identifying and Recognising and describing emotions

DEVELOPMENT understanding
emotions Understanding emotions

Managing own Monitoring and reflecting on own emotions

emotions
Regulating emotions

Empathy and Establishing and maintaining positive relationships

relationship skills
Showing empathy for the feelings of others

Supporting others

43
 Emotional Development
Can Do Statements and
Example Language
PRE-PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Identifying and Recognising and Identifies core emotional states (e.g. [I’m] happy/sad/angry/
understanding describing emotions happy, sad, excited, bored, angry, excited/bored/scared.
scared or hurt).
emotions

Understanding Names things that make them feel [Dogs] scare me.
emotions good and/or things that make them
feel sad.

Managing own Monitoring and Verbalises what emotion they are [He] made me sad.
emotions reflecting on own currently experiencing.
emotions

Regulating emotions Attempts to control own impulses. It’s my turn now.

Empathy and Establishing and Starts to create friendships. Do you want to play with
relationship skills maintaining positive [us]?
relationships

Showing empathy for Begins to show understanding of It’s wrong to [tease

the feelings of others interactions that are hurtful or unfair people].
to others (e.g. lying, ignoring, teasing,
hitting, excluding, etc.)

Supporting others Consoles others (e.g. by hugging them Do you want a [hug/toy]?
or offering them a toy).

44
 PRIMARY

CORE AREAS COMPONENTS EXAMPLE CAN DO STATEMENTS EXAMPLE LANGUAGE

Identifying and Recognising and Describes different emotions. I feel really [bored/
understanding describing emotions excited].
emotions

Understanding Describes what makes them feel happy, [The sun] makes me
emotions sad or upset. happy.

Managing own Monitoring and Engages in self-talk and/or talk with I don’t understand
emotions reflecting on own others about their emotions. why…
emotions

Regulating emotions Uses strategies of controlling emotions When I’m angry, I count
when upset or stressed (e.g. breathing to ten.
techniques).

Empathy and Establishing and Identifies ways of making friends and Are you alone?
relationship skills maintaining positive being a good friend (e.g. sharing,
relationships listening, helping, respecting other
people’s belongings etc.)

Showing empathy for Shows concern and compassion for Are you OK/alright?
the feelings of others other children when they are hurt
or upset.

Supporting others Helps and comforts others where Let me help you.
necessary.

45
 Emotional Development
in the classroom
PRIMARY

Incorporate an individualised approach

• Acknowledge that all learners experience emotions in different ways; for a strategy to be
effective, it must fit the individual learner and the specific context.

• Coach learners in understanding and managing emotions and fostering effective

relationships with others.

Example activity: ‘Name it to tame it’

Simply put, naming feelings helps individuals understand them and develop an ‘emotion vocabulary’.
There are two ways of using this activity: dealing with negative emotions and understanding others’ feelings.

1. Dealing with negative emotions:

Teachers encourage learners to say silently or aloud, or write down, the negative emotion they are
experiencing – as they are experiencing it – in order to gain distance. If learners can recognise their
emotion, they do not have to accept it – they can consciously become aware of their bodies and
minds and disengage from the emotion.

2. Understanding others’ feelings:

Teachers use the idea of labelling emotions as a means of developing an understanding of the
emotions in play during interactions with other learners. Simply silently naming the emotion being
felt by the other, for example asking themselves ‘what is this person feeling right now?’ brings it to
consciousness and provides information necessary to respond more empathetically. Empathetic
teachers and learners understand and share the feelings of others, which first necessitates that they
can identify the emotion.

46
Minimise students’ anxiety

• Create the conditions to provoke positive reactions in your students. Some learners
may feel anxious in class which causes physical reactions, such as their heart racing.
Students should be supported in recognising these physical symptoms of their emotions
and re-directing this energy into enthusiasm. If students can recognise these reactions,
they can develop coping strategies when experiencing these situations.

• Create environments conducive to less anxiety, for example by reducing competition

between learners, or practising using the language in different ways.

Example activity: ‘Three good things’

Learners write down three things that went well during the day and briefly describe the reason.
The ‘reason’ step is critical as it requires more genuine thought than merely writing down events. This task
can help boost happiness and give the learner a sense of achievement whilst reducing negative emotions.
The following template can be used:

Three good things that happened today Reasons:

Raise awareness of how emotions can affect students

• Build positive self-beliefs amongst students and encourage them to adopt incremental
beliefs about intelligence.

• Support students in understanding how to regulate their emotions by changing their

perspective or situation to enable their emotions to shift.

Example activity: ‘Finding the silver lining’

Learners in this activity pay particular attention to problems – big and small – that arise in their classes
or lives outside of school. The aim is to engage the student in finding the positive side of a negative
situation by creating a habit of considering both the positive and negative consequences that the
situation may have.

Learners can use their language skills to verbalise their ‘silver linings’ of any situation to teachers and
classmates or document each episode in writing. Teachers need to challenge learners: every time they
encounter something problematic, the learner has to find at least one good thing about it. This could be
done using the following template:

Situation:

What is negative about this? What is a positive consequence of this?

47
 Encourage students to express their emotions

• Create opportunities for students to talk about their emotions with peers and
their teacher.

• Provide students with the language and communication skills they need to
express their emotions.

• Encourage mindfulness by showing students different techniques and activities

they can do to achieve this.

Example activity: ‘Savouring’

Savouring refers to being mindful of pleasant experiences and intentionally reminiscing,
experiencing them in detail and making them last. Learners concentrate attentively on a
particular experience, event or achievement to become totally immersed in the pleasure of the
moment. To develop savouring skills, teachers encourage learners to stop and notice something
enjoyable and use their language skills to share it with others. They could then be encouraged
to take something from the event, like a photo or memento to reminisce over and remember the
positive emotions they associate with the event.

For example, teachers can take learners on a ‘nature walk’ and ask them to find three things
that they would not have noticed before. Learners could touch them, smell them, and carefully
observe them so that when they get back to the classroom, they can share their savoured
experience with their peers. Teachers could challenge learners to make this a daily habit.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
– When planning the activity, you may find the guidance above helpful. You could
follow the instructions here or adapt the activity to suit your class.
– Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved
next time, particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to
recognise and express their emotions.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be
using in your classes in the next week or so.
– Consider how you could adapt these activities to raise awareness of emotional
development strategies and to encourage your students to think about their own
emotions.

48
 Emotional Development
in learning materials
Here, children learn about emotions by identifying characters’ feelings
PRIMARY (Tomás is sad, then excited in exercise 2A; Valentin is sorry, then happy
in exercise 2B). Through a role play activity (exercise 2) they are asked to
practise expressing emotions, showing empathy and consoling others.

When Tomás came back he was surprised to find

5
that El Viejo wasn’t there. ‘Where is he?’ he said.
‘Oh, he walked away down the hill,’ Valentín
answered. ‘I don’t know where he was going.’
Tomás started crying. ‘No!’ he said. ‘He can’t! El
Viejo! Come back!’ Before Valentín could stop him,
Tomás ran back to the house shouting, ‘Mummy!
Daddy! El Viejo has gone!’

When Valentín got home, he found his

brother sitting at the kitchen table. His mother
and father looked at him in that special way,
the one they used when they weren’t pleased
with him. Valentín said, ‘I’m sorry, Tomás,’
and then he asked his brother to go back to
the hill. ‘We’ll make another El Viejo,’ he
said, ‘lots of them.’ ‘Can we?’ Tomás asked.
‘Can we, Valentín?’ And that was what the
brothers did for the rest of the day. They
fi lled the hillside with snowmen. Valentín
was happy that his brother was excited and
he thought to himself, ‘Well, there’s always
tomorrow – I’ll go snowboarding then.’

2 Role play a conversation with a partner. Imagine you are Tomás

and Valentín.
A You are Tomás. You’re very sad about El Viejo. You were very excited when you made
him and you were very sad when you saw that El Viejo wasn’t there. Tell Valentín
how you feel.

I’m very sad, Valentín. I liked the snowman so much!

B You are Valentín. You’re sorry that you made Tomás sad. You only wanted to go
snowboarding. Say sorry to Tomás, tell him what happened and talk about the new
snowmen you can make together.

I’m very sorry, Tomás. I didn’t want you to be sad. Let’s make
lots more snowmen. They’ll be bigger and better than El Viejo.

Social and emotional skill: Showing remorse 65

Power Up Level 4, page 65,

ISBN 9781108414661 49
 Selected further reading
For more information on Life Competencies, please see:

Creative Thinking:
Dörnyei, Z., & Murphey, T. (2003). Group dynamics in the language
classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goldstein, B. (2008). Working with images. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kaufman, J., Glăveanu, V., & Baer, J. (Eds.). (2017), The Cambridge handbook of creativity across
domains. (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maley, A., & Peachey, N. (Eds.) (2015). Creativity in the English language
classroom. Available at: englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/
files/attachments/pub_f004_elt_creativity_final_v2_web-1.pdf
Sternberg, R.J. (2006). The nature of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18(1), 87–98.

Critical Thinking:
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing:
A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
Black, B. (2008). Critical thinking – a definition and taxonomy for Cambridge Assessment:
supporting validity arguments about critical thinking assessments administered
by Cambridge Assessment. Paper presented at 34th International Association of
Educational Assessment Annual Conference, 9th September 2008, Cambridge.
Butterworth, J., Thwaites, J., & Thwaites, G. (2008). Thinking
skills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ennis R.H. (2015) Critical thinking: A streamlined conception. In M. Davies & R. Barnett (Eds.)
The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in higher education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Fisher, A. (2011). Critical thinking: An introduction (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Learning to Learn:
Chamot, A. & Harris, V. (Eds.) (2019). Learning strategy instruction in the language
classroom: Issues and implementation. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). Psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in
second language acquisition. Mulwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Dörnyei, Z. & Ryan, S. (2015).
The psychology of the language learner revisited. London: Routledge.
Ellis, G. & Sinclair, B. (1994). Learning to learn English: A course in learner
training. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Griffiths, C. (2008). Lessons from good language learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Little, D., Dam, L. & Legenhausen, L. (2017). Language learner autonomy:
Theory, practice and research. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Oxford, R. (2017). Teaching and researching language learning strategies: Self-regulation
in context. New York: Routledge. Pawlak, M., Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A. & Bielak, J. (Eds.).
(2017). Autonomy in second language learning: Managing the resources. Berlin: Springer

Communication:
Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy.
In J. C. Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 2–27). London: Longman.
Celce-Murcia, M., Dornyei, Z., & Thurrell, S. (1995). Communicative competence: A pedagogically
motivated model with content specifications. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 5–35.
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Available at www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/home
Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language:
Definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning, 47(1), 173–210.
Kellerman, E. (1991). Compensatory strategies in second language research: A critique,
a revision, and some (non-) implications for the classroom, in R. Phillipson, E. Kellerman,
L. Selinker, M. Sharwood Smith, & M. Swain (Eds.), Foreign/second language pedagogy research:
A commemorative volume for Claus Færch, (Multilingual matters). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

50
Collaboration:
Hess, N. (2001). Teaching large multilevel classes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McCafferty, S., Jacobs, G. & DaSilva Iddings, A.C. (Eds). (2006). Cooperative learning
and second language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mercer, N. (2000). Words and minds: How we use language to think together. London: Routledge.
NRC – National Research Council (2011) Assessing 21st Century Skills: Summary of a
Workshop. J A Koenig, Rapporteur. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2017).
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2015 results (volume
V): Collaborative problem solving. Paris: PISA, OECD Publishing.

Social Responsibilities:
British Council. (2008). Global citizenship in the English language classroom. London: British Council.
Council of Europe. (2002). The Maastricht global education declaration: European strategy framework for
improving and increasing global education in Europe to the year 2015. Available at: rm.coe.int/168070e540
Corbett, J., & Thornbury, S. (2010). Intercultural language activities (Cambridge
handbooks for language teachers). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
OECD. (2016). Global competency for an inclusive world. Paris: OECD. Available at:
www.oecd.org/education/Global-competency-for-an-inclusive-world.pdf
Oxfam. (2015). Global citizenship in the classroom: a guide for teachers. Oxford: Oxfam GB. Available
at: www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/global-citizenship-in-the-classroom-a-guide-for-teachers
UNESCO. (2016). The ABCs of global citizenship education. Paris: UNESCO.
Available at: unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002482/248232e.pdf

Emotional Development:
Arnold, J. (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The psychology of the language learner revisited. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gregersen, T. MacIntyre, P.D. & MacMillan, N. (2019). The emotional rollercoaster of teaching
abroad: In search of silver linings in difficult times. In C. Gkonou, J.-M. Dewaele, & J. King
(Eds.), Language teaching: An emotional rollercoaster. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Lopes, P.N., Salovey, P., & Straus, R. (2003). Emotional intelligence, personality, and the perceived
quality of social relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(3), 641–658.
MacIntyre, P. D. & Gregersen, T. (2013). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive-broadening
emotional power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193–213.
Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion (7th ed.).
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Laura and Olivia

Language Research Team,
Cambridge University Press

51
You can find information about the other competencies in
the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework at
cambridge.org/clcf

✓ Creative Thinking
✓ Critical Thinking
✓ Learning to Learn
✓ Communication
✓ Collaboration
✓ Social Responsibilities
✓ Emotional Development

© Cambridge University Press 2020