Aycan Demir Ayaz & Öznur Demirkaya

Hi, I am Dr. Aycan Demir Ayaz who worked at METU English Language Teaching Department for many years as a research assistant and for one year as a practicum course instructor. As a practicum supervisor for many years at METU, I constantly encouraged my student teachers to embrace innovative and effective pedagogical approaches. One such approach, and the focus of this resource, is the integration of the 4Cs – Criticality, Creativity, Communicativeness, and Contextuality – into English language teaching. Initially, I heard about 4Cs from Dr. Yasemin Tezgiden-Cakcak while assisting in her practicum courses and then adopted the approach while teaching my classes.

Hello, I am Öznur Demirkaya, an English instructor and a PhD candidate in the field of English language teaching. I was first introduced to the concept of 4Cs while doing the Critical Pedagogy course by Dr. Yasemin Tezgiden-Cakcak, who inspired me to critically reassess and restructure my teaching in alignment with this approach. Additionally, insightful discussions with Dr. Tezgiden-Cakcak and Dr. Demir Ayaz played a significant role in shaping my research interests, particularly in exploring critical pedagogy in the context of material development.

In this introduction, we will explore the 4C lesson plan framework, discussing its importance and impact on language instruction. Our insights will be drawn from both our own practical experiences and research in the field.

What are 4Cs?

Criticality in language education involves the integration of relevant and often complex social issues into the classes. This approach entails incorporating discussions and explorations of topics such as social justice, inequality, environmental concerns, power dynamics, and cultural identity directly into the language learning process to help raise learners’ critical consciousness of the impacts of social, cultural, economic and political factors on their lives. The inclusion of these critical social issues is essential for developing informed, responsible, and transformative individuals. Through pedagogical activities developed with such a purpose in mind such as discussions, debates, role-plays, interviews, and journaling, learners can have various opportunities to discuss and develop strategies to resist social and cultural norms, prevalent power structures, educational practices, and ideologies that work towards the perpetuation of the unequal, unjust and oppressive social, political, and cultural structures. This pedagogical approach, in turn, cultivates critical thinking skills, fosters social awareness, enhances language acquisition through meaningful engagement, and empowers learners to become active agents of change within their communities and globally.

Contextuality in language education emphasizes the importance of grounding language learning in real-world situations and relevant social, cultural, and historical contexts. It moves beyond teaching language as a set of isolated rules and vocabulary, instead focusing on how language is used in authentic communication. Presenting activities with real-life scenarios in class serves to contextualize target forms in authentic or imaginary situations and engage learners in meaningful tasks rather than exercises focusing on linguistic forms. When tasks are contextualized, they enable learners to draw on their prior knowledge and experience, which in turn, helps them actively engage in learning, retain knowledge, develop critical thinking skills and have higher cultural and situational awareness. These functions can be effectively demonstrated through inclusion of thematic units, authentic materials, role plays, visual aids, local contexts, personalization and the practice of functional language within the context of such scenarios as complaining at a store, writing social media posts, making reservations, preparing a poster and attending a festival.

Creativity in language education refers to the ability to use language in novel and imaginative ways, to think outside the box, and to express oneself uniquely. It’s about fostering an environment where learners feel comfortable taking risks, experimenting with language, and generating original ideas. This goes beyond simply following grammatical rules; it involves playing with language, exploring different forms of expression, and making language learning a dynamic and engaging process. It entails boosting students’ creative thinking skills not only in using language but also imagining a different world. This part may involve writing a short story, composing a new song, writing a poem, designing a poster, advocating for a campaign, imagining a free world, creating a new school, etc.

The creativity component can assist teachers in effectively addressing the different learning styles of students. When learners are provided with choices under manageable conditions in a flexible program, they are more motivated to learn. Even though they may feel challenged at first, designing something of their own creation collaboratively engages them in the task so much that they do not even go out for the break. It works especially well with problem-solving activities in which students are required to think through a problem, evaluate the input given, contemplate alternative solutions to problems, come up with novel ideas, and create quality work. It also works with problem-posing activities in which students name the problems in their surroundings first and then suggest solutions for the issues relevant to their lives.

Communicativeness focuses on authentic interaction and real-world communication. It is about shifting the focus from rote memorization and grammar drills to using the language to exchange information, express ideas, and negotiate meaning in multicultural and multilingual contexts. For example, activities like simulations, role-plays, project work, and discussions based on authentic materials can foster communicative competence. When learners are presented with meaningful tasks and real-life scenarios in which they are mainly concerned with attaining the goal of the task rather than the correct use of linguistic forms, learners can achieve meaningful and purposeful communication. Essentially, communicativeness is about making the language classroom a place where learners can actively use the language to communicate, just like they would in real-life situations.

Why do we aim to achieve 4Cs in English language classes?

The 4Cs are not just buzzwords in education; they are essential skills that students need to succeed in the 21st century. By incorporating the 4Cs into English language classes, educators can help students develop not only language proficiency but also critical thinking, creativity, communication, and contextual learning skills they need to thrive in a complex and ever-changing world.

The very first attempts of incorporating these 21st-century skills into every lesson plan were met with some understandable apprehension by the student-teachers since it seemed like a challenging task to weave these complex elements into already packed curricula. However, as the practicum progressed, the benefits of the 4C framework became undeniably clear. Once hesitant, students discovered the power of integrating critical issues into classes, the joy of creative expression, the effectiveness of clear communication, and the support of contextual learning.

Criticality was the greatest challenge since initially it was not fully comprehended by many student-teachers. Some institutional challenges and constraints regarding the education system, school culture, classroom dynamics, and the parties involved in the system also led to hesitation for them. At some points, their initiatives could not go further than being “public service announcements” due to time restrictions as well. However, with increased investment in the target by student teachers as well as constant guidance and feedback from the supervisors, the purpose was recognized and practiced more effectively in the end. Sharing good examples of previous years and discussing their implications in class also helped them understand the aim more clearly and practice it more effectively. This collection of exemplary materials and practices is disseminated through this initiative to serve as a resource for similar endeavors and contribute to the ongoing evolution of English language instruction to transform English language classes.

Finally, this website is a testament to the student teachers’ hard work and a celebration of their success in implementing the 4Cs. It offers a collection of lesson plans and materials designed to inspire and guide fellow educators in nurturing these essential skills in their classrooms. We hope that by exploring these resources, you too will discover the transformative potential of the 4Cs in English language teaching.