Integrating

Active Learning
Approaches in
Language
Learning
Lesson Outcomes:
At the end of the module, the students should be able to:
• discuss the concepts of the different learning approaches in
language teaching and learning; discuss how information and
communication technologies will help develop and present
language lessons using the different active learning approaches;
• brainstorm on the possible products or outputs that will serve as
an evidence of learning of the developed learning outcomes of
the learning plan using Inquiry-Based Learning, Problem-Based
Learning and Project-Based Learning; and
• integrate active learning activities in the development of language
learning plans.
 Language learning encompasses the
development of the macro skills such as
reading, writing, listening, speaking, and
viewing.
Active learning approaches are
characterized by learners’ engagement in
activities that are geared towards the
generation of new knowledge or making
meaning to an existing knowledge while
developing other 21st century skills (such
Four active learning
approaches:

Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL)

Research-based Learning
Problem-based Learning
Project-Based Learning (PBL).
 Central to active learning approaches
is the construction of framing questions
that will guide the learners in their
investigation either on a specific topic or
unit. Investigations become more
meaningful when these are related to real
life experiences or real world issues or
problems.
 Inquiry-Based
Learning and
Research-Based
Learning
Step 1: The KWL Chart
KWL CHART

Familiarize Language Topic:

yourself with the
concept of KWL Big Question:

chart. Analyze the

contents of the What I Know What I Want
to Know
What I
Learned
charts and think of
how you can use this
chart in facilitating
your language
lessons.
Step 2: Starting with an Essential or Big Question
KWL CHART
Since inquiry-based learning usually
starts with essential or big questions that Language Topic:
elicit varied answers from the respondents,
think of a question that you would like to Big Question:
ask your students relevant to a specific
lesson in your language class. Some What I What I What I
Know Want to Learned
example questions may be: Know
a. Why do we need to learn how to listen?
b. Why is there a need to be engaged in
public speaking?
c. How do children with special learning
needs communicate?
Write your big question on the KWL chart.
Step 3: Finding Out What We Know
KWL CHART

Eliciting from your

Language Topic:
collective lived
experiences as group Big Question:
mates, provide an answer
to the big question you What I Know What I Want
to Know
What I
Learned
identified. Record your
answers through filling in
the first column of the
KWL Chart.
Step 4: Finding Out What We Want to Know
KWL CHART

To allow you to freely

Language Topic:
explore about what is in
store in the world around
Big Question:
you, fill-in the second
column of the KWL chart. By What I Know What I Want What I
answering the second to Know Learned

column, you will be able to

think of other possible
information that is beyond
the knowledge that you have
about the big question.
Step 5: Finding Out the Answer from Experts
KWL CHART

To be able to ‘learn better

Language Topic:
about the topic and big
question, get on searching
Big Question:
for an answer to the
questions from reliable What I Know What I Want What I
sources. Sources may refer to Know Learned

to your language teachers or

from the library resources
(digital or printed).
Step 6: Finding Out
KWL CHART
What We Have Learned
Language Topic:

Finally, organize
Big Question:
the results of your
gathered data and What I Know What I Want
to Know
What I
Learned

write your answer in

Column 3 of your KWL
chart.
 Nature of
Inquiry-Based
Learning
 Inquiry is a process of asking
questions.
According to the Future of Jobs
Report during the World Economic
Forum, the top three of the ten skills
needed in this age are complex problem
solving, critical thinking and creativity
(Gray, 2016) which all start from the
process of asking.
 Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) as an approach
essentially involves tasks requiring learners’
active participation in finding answers to
curricular questions. The questions can run from
very specific simple questions to more complex
questions in relation to the curriculum.
When to Use
Chisholm and Godley (2011) purport that
inquiry-based instruction (IBI) offers an
especially appropriate approach to learning
about language variation, identity, and power
since IBI can provide students with
opportunities to learn about current issues in
sociolinguistics through sharing and debating
on a personal experience with language from
multiple perspectives.
Types of Inquiry
VIU (2020) presented four types ‘of inquiry that can be used
in facilitating classes. These are:
1. Structured Inquiry — This lets the students follow the lead of
the teacher as the entire class engages in one inquiry together.
2. Controlled Inquiry — The teacher chooses topics and identifies
the resources that the students will use to answer questions.
3. Guided Inquiry — The teacher chooses topics or questions and
students design the product or solution.
4. Free Inquiry — Students are allowed to choose their own topics
without any reference to a prescribed outcome.
Role of the Teacher
The success of IBL largely depends on
the careful planning of the teacher in
relation to the curriculum. The language
teacher needs to look into the learning
competencies that can be satisfied by a
simple inquiry or more complex inquiry.
He/she controls and prepares the topic for
investigation and guides the learners by
setting the questions to be explored.
 When designing an IBL, the teacher
has to consider the following fields
proposed by Avsec and Kocijncic (2016):
[Link] knowledge and capacity
[Link] — Learners require meaning from
experience.
[Link] and learning materials
[Link]
[Link] of reactions and behavior
[Link] outcomes
Role of Technology
Due to the vastness of sources of
information from the WWW, any language
teacher who is using IBL has the
responsibility to direct learners to websites
that provide the proper information. The
technology tools that are made available for
the learners, whether online or offline,
should support the object of inquiry which is
aligned to the learning competencies in the
K to 12 Language Curriculum.
Research-
Based
Learning
“Give a person a fish and he will eat
for a day; teach a person to fish and
she will eat for a lifetime.”
-Unknown
What is Research-Based Learning?
Research-based learning (RBL) consists of a
framework that helps to prepare students to be
lifelong inquirers and learners. The term
“research,” which often conjures up a picture of
students writing research reports, is here defined
as a way of thinking about teaching and learning, a
perspective, a paradigm. It is a specific approach
to classroom teaching that places less emphasis
on teacher-centered learning of content and facts
and greater emphasis on students as active
researchers.
 In a research-based learning approach, students
actively search for and then use multiple resources,
materials, and texts in order to explore important, relevant,
and interesting questions and challenges.
In the five stages of research-based learning,
students:
a. Identify and clarify issues, questions, challenges,
and puzzles.
b. Find and process information.
c. Think critically and creatively.
d. Apply knowledge and ideas and draw conclusions.
e. Communicate results.
 The Teacher’s Role
A teacher provides a climate that supports
student curiosity and questioning. Teachers enable
students to ask questions and pose problems. Students
are invited to ask and answer questions. The classroom
climate is conducive to using higher-order thinking and
problem-solving skills to apply knowledge to solve
problems. Teachers attempt to build ways for students to
take ownership of their learning, to create a value and a
purpose for learning.
 Student Outcomes
Thinking skills are developed as students classify,
organize, and synthesize information. “Habits of mind,” such as
perseverance and resilience are strengthened through long-
term projects. Writing skills are developed through note-taking,
reflection activities, and many different types of writing tasks.
Finally, students are able to learn the difference between
reliable and unreliable information, ideas, and resources, a key
need in today’s world with so much misleading and erroneous
information.