Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

Language as Tool for a Global Education:
Bridging the Gap Between the Traditional and a Global Curriculum
Gladys N. Focho
Abstract
Students in developing countries such as Cameroon are being taught the hard facts of academics, oblivious of the
importance of a global education for global citizenship. Features of a global curriculum such as cross-cultural
awareness, global issues, universal values, critical thinking, and experiential learning are minimized in the official
curriculum. This paper sets out to identify what constitutes a global education curriculum and how it could be
integrated in English language teaching without jeopardizing the official curriculum. This is possible because
English is not subject specific, permitting the use of material from any subject area to teach language skills.
Key Words
Gglobal education, global curriculum, global citizenship, global issues, integrated learning, official curriculum,
content proper, content carrier
Introduction
The debate on global education is an ongoing one, and the benefits of such an education can
hardly be overemphasized. With the world becoming a global village and with high job mobility
across countries and continents, students who are the future generation should be global citizens
capable of living and working effectively anywhere in the world that is characterized by ethnic
diversity, cultural pluralism, and interdependence. Conversely, people must be able to accept and
tolerate people of other cultures in their midst. Furthermore, a global citizen should be conscious
of global issues important to the planet and not only one country or region and should be able to
see the interrelatedness between global and local issues and relate global issues to local contexts.
Such examination of issues and events from different perspectives (perspective consciousness, or
multiple images of the world) helps people understand how the world really works and how their
actions affect others far away and vice versa.
It is also vital for students to be able to examine their own values and attitudes and
develop knowledge and skills to fight prejudice and discrimination and to participate actively in
a global community both at the local and international levels (Osler & Starkey, 2005; Roux,
2001). Therefore, it becomes imperative for students to be educated to become global citizens
with regard to cross-cultural sensitivity, awareness of global issues, cultivation of universal
values, development of critical thinking skills, and experiential learning. This is the essence of
global education. It is the education of the whole child with special emphasis on the affective
domain often minimized in the regular curriculum. Students need to develop empathic
understanding for people of other cultures and concern for what is happening around the world.
In the introduction to her book, Suarez-Orozco (2007) underlines the gap between what is taught
in schools and the realities of the world. A global approach to education is an attempt to bridge
this gap.
What, then, are the implications of a global education Why do teachers not include it in
their teaching programs, and how can it be integrated in the school curriculum
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