Open Source ESL/EFL Curriculum for Young Learners

Discussion about Vision – Part I

This post discusses the Immersion Quest Vision Document.

In his TED talk on the myth of violence, Steven Pinker points out that despite the widespread belief that in the modern age humanity is becoming more violent, when compared to what is known about human behavior over history, the opposite is in fact demonstrably true: “…that today we are probably living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.”

One of the explanations he puts forward as to why this is happening is the concept of the “positive-sum game” where, to put it simply, the interactions between two parties lead to tangible benefits for both. What technology has enabled humanity as a whole to do is engage in “the trade of goods, services and ideas over longer distances and among larger groups of people. The result is that other people become more valuable alive than dead, and violence declines for selfish reasons.”  That technology, especially the internet, creates exponentially more opportunities for positive-sum interactions is a critically important aspect of the vision I am outlining for Immersion Quest. I’ll come back to it in a moment.

According to Internet World Stats, as of December 31st, 2009 there were approximately 1.8 billion internet users out of an estimated total global population of 6.7 billion people. Assuming the data is accurate, this represents an almost 400% increase in absolute number of internet users over the last ten years. Put in relative terms, 26.6% of the world’s population are internet users whereas in 2000 only 6% were.

Either way, these are great-looking numbers. However, the distinction between absolute and relative measurements highlights the need for context to understand what is actually being expressed when we use statistics. For example, the growth rate of internet users over the last ten years in Africa- 1800%- has been the highest in the world, but that simply represents an increase to 8% of Africa’s total population. North America experienced the slowest growth rate at “only” 140%, but 76% of the population are internet users. There were 764.5 million internet users in Asia at the end of 2009, easily more than double the population of the United States, but only 20% of Asia’s total population. When looking at the trends, do we take satisfaction in the healthy growth rates, or do we feel a sense of urgency about the developing opportunity gaps that the statistical picture is painting in terms of who is gaining access to the “positive-sum games” the internet engenders?

Like access to the internet, the ability to speak English is another area where the concept of the “positive-sum game” is applicable. Since English is the global medium for functional communication in almost all fields, the inability to speak the language translates into lost opportunities. This is hardly an original observation, but goes a long way in explaining the massive investments of resources governments, organizations and individuals around the world are making in English education.

COMING SOON: PART II – TESOL, ELL/ELT Publishing, and Open Educational Resources.

THE IMMERSION QUEST PROJECT v1.0 (5/6/10)

The ability to effectively communicate through English is one of the keys to the promise and opportunities of the 21st century. We believe it is a matter of social justice that every child in the world is deserving of a high quality standards-based English education. While acknowledging the enormous complexity of the challenge of achieving this goal, it is a “quest” that begins with the first steps of creating a scalable and adaptable framework.

It is Immersion Quest’s vision to work with other interested parties to create and maintain an open-source, comprehensive, robust and validated standards-based curriculum for young learners of English. The term “curriculum” is to be understood as defined by the Center for Applied Special Technology to include four basic components: goals, methods, materials and assessment. The primary audience for what is developed are the large number of organizations, schools, teachers, tutors, parents and children around the world who otherwise realistically lack easy access to such a resource. The target price point for the IQ Curriculum will be free.

The IQ Curriculum will be based on the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards. Development for all four curriculum components will guided by Universal Design for Learning principles. The curriculum will initially be implemented and shared in four ways:

1) The Immersion Quest Project – www.immersionquest.org*     Priority: IMMEDIATE

The IQ Project will initially serve as the umbrella clearinghouse for all information, feedback and discussion related to Immersion Quest’s set of component websites. It is envisioned that as the project grows and distinct communities evolve, these entities will be served by unique forums.

2) Immersion Quest Curriculum – curriculum.immersionquest.org *    Priority: NEAR TERM

This will be a public wiki-style repository for the curriculum maintained by Immersion Quest. Subject to the to-be-determined appropriate Creative Commons license,  the curriculum will be freely available for individuals and organizations to use or adapt as  they see fit.

3) Immersion Quest – www. immersionquest.net*     Priority: NEAR TERM

This will be a public content-focused website providing interactive multimedia resources and activities developed to support the IQ Curriculum. Any original content will be made available under the appropriate to-be-determined Creative Commons license.

4) Immersion Quest Academy – school.immersionquest.net*     Priority: MID-TERM

This will be a moodle-based online English program focusing on the language domains of speaking and writing. Although IQ Academy will serve as a demonstration site, it will also be a functioning virtual learning environment with live students. As such, the safety and privacy of those students will be paramount.

* .org denotes organizational functions, while .net is for learner-facing resources.

NEXT POSTS: Commentary about the Vision Document, and The WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards. (Both ETA next couple of days.)