EFL can take learning outside the classrooms

Many schools in the UK use CLIL approach to learn and use this effective method of learning for young pupils and older students too. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) could take place more outside and students would not only experience new things, they would also learn in an innovative and interactive, fun way. Whether students are building a raft or working in an international team to orientate their way across the forest, there is a need to listen and to communicate therefore learn the language.

The modern outdoor education movement can be considered to have a connection back to times when Kurt Hahn, a German educator, believed that children should experience triumph and defeat and be given opportunities for self-discovery.

There are different approaches to learning outside the classroom in different countries such as the forest nursery schools of Denmark, the summer camps in NorthAmerica and the French holiday experiences run by professional activity leaders for cultural and leisure activities.

Outdoor education has become connected with the independent school sector in the UK where Hahn himself worked.

An example is UKEDA which has developed unique language workshops for high school students. Their method is based on movement, touch, sight, hearing, voice, and emotion to ensure that the students will retain for life what they have learned. These lessons are based on active learning where students are immersed in an environment where learning of the language takes place. These are carefully planned workshops where the teachers interact with students making the lessons dynamic, fun, and for a lot of students more interesting. The students take the lessons of Art, Science, History, Literature and so on in museums and/or theatre (CLIL-Literature). All lessons are adapted according to the level of students.

Another example is the Concord College, an academic school which is one of the schools with excellent exam results in the country organizes yearly trips to outdoor centres and the college owns and runs its own ‘ropes course’ for new students during which the learners solve physical challenges of different obstacles. The college’s belief is in challenging students by physical and mental activities in an environment outside the formal academic curriculum. They adopted this approach in its English language summer schools, where leisure activities include caving and white water rafting.

There is an increasing trend towards language education outdoor as evidenced by EFL summer courses run by activity centre specialists like PGL, and the language awareness courses for activity leaders pioneered by Broadstairs English Centre.

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