olea – enfantsdazur

Is Creative Multilingualism The Answer To 21st Century Readiness? Olea Education Says “Oui, 是的”.

hgrattan — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 13:15:00 +0000

Is Creative Multilingualism The Answer To 21st Century Readiness? Olea Education Says “Oui, 是的”.

By Olivia Halsall, OLEA Education

This is the last of our four articles in Enfants D’Azur, and wow what a year it’s been. Since December 2022, Olea has undergone a 180-degree pivot; we have realigned our values, spoken to hundreds of teachers, students, and parents about their concerns for the future, and thus consolidated our niche skill set and passion into one avenue of direction.

That direction is this: Olea’s mission is to ensure every learner is brought into the 21st century fully multilingual. For learners in Europe (and indeed most non-anglophone countries), multilingualism is the norm, and monolingual nations are an exception. Even though 36% of Brits only speak one language, in London today, as a result of the arrival of migrants and refugees in the second half of the last century, it is estimated that approximately 300 languages are spoken.

But for countries where multilingualism is already the norm, is this really enough? Is it enough to speak three languages fluently, or can we do better?

We think so, yes. Multilingualism is brilliant, however maximising the ability to speak numerous languages isn’t capitalised on enough. Much research has been done on creativity and multilingualism, but it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Does being creative help you to learn foreign languages, or does learning a foreign language make you more creative?

Either way, what’s important here is the positive correlation between foreign language learning and creativity. Why is creativity so fundamental in order to be 21st century ready?

Because creative individuals are characterised by their ability to think outside the box and come up with novel solutions to complex problems. They have a capacity for original and divergent thinking, which allows them to generate unique and unconventional ideas. They are also able to see connections and relationships between seemingly disparate ideas and concepts, which allows them to synthesise new and innovative solutions. In a rapidly, ever-changing world, creative souls will save us.

When we mix this altogether - creativity, learning foreign languages, and the 21st century - we start to paint a pretty visceral picture of what the future of multilingual education might look like, and it’s exciting stuff. In November, I published an article in EdTech Digest entitled, “Poetry: An Alternative Answer To Onboarding The Next Generation Onto Web3”.

In this I explained, “So what does Web3 have to do with poetry, a form of literature that has historically been wholly humanities-focused? The answer, or rather, the common denominator is this: an upward trajectory, human connectivity and transparency. … The intersection of poetry with natural language processing (a form of artificial intelligence) is a significant area of potential to safely educate the next generation about Web3. There is something so very human about the need for poetry, and we need to preserve our most human instincts as we approach Web3.”

Multilingual poetry, for example, is a highly creative way to engage learners in what the languages of the 21st century might look like. It also so happens to have been the topic of my master’s research at the University of Cambridge. By inspiring learners to express, explore and elicit their multilingual identity through creative outlets (such as poetry), we can empower learners to capitalise upon their multilingualism.

How? Imagina a workshop on personal branding. Imagine daily exercises cementing confidence in who you are and where you are going in life. Imagine a summer school on the importance of storytelling. The list is endless, and we are here to educate and inspire learners around the world to not just speak numerous languages, but to become multilingual, and adopt it as part of their identity.

After all, when we mix creativity, learning foreign languages, and the 21st century altogether in one big pot, the creative potential to inspire the next generation’s creative potential is breathtaking. We won’t stop until every learner is multilingual; that is our promise to the world.

Author: Olea Education is a British EdTech venture on a mission to bring every learner into the 21st century multilingual. Why? Because speaking numerous languages will be necessary to remain competitive in the 21st century landscape. How do we do this? Through creativity! We organise Olea Createathons for schools and corporates, igniting (linguistic) creativity and equipping them with the skills to better problem solve. Our pedagogy is rooted in academic research from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. We won’t stop until every learner is multilingual; that is our promise to the world. For weekly updates, subscribe to our newsletter.

Six Simple Ideas to Enrich your Teens’ Intelligence and Prepare Them for the 21st Century.

hgrattan — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 14:09:20 +0000

Six Simple Ideas to Enrich your Teens’ Intelligence and Prepare Them for the 21st Century.

By Olivia at OLEA Education

Modern education isn’t equipping students with the skills they will need to thrive in the 21st century. With Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) more concerned about getting good grades as opposed to drinking or unplanned pregnancies (according to the Economist), an unfortunate combination of a pandemic, excessive screen time and excessive competition is stunting intellectual development. The following ideas seek to enrich your teens’ intelligence, and can be implemented without much effort from parents. They are incremental changes that will encourage teens to feel more confident in themselves as well as curious about the world around them. I would suggest selecting at least one that you could do today, and another to do next week so as to stimulate a positive habit. Let’s dive in!

Intellectual Dinner Chats.

Engaging the entire family in an intellectual discussion can be a riveting experience, if done correctly. It is important to actively listen to what each member of the family has to say, whether they are 5 or 95 years of age. There is never going to be a “correct” answer to these questions, and some are more bonkers than others, but regardless, I can guarantee that they will lead to a more than interesting family dinner.

By ‘intellectual’, I don’t mean “let’s all debunk Einstein’s theorem”. I mean questions that require creative, critical and curious insight. Questions such as 1) What colour is happiness? 2) What country would you like to explore and why? 3) What shape is the sky? 4) Tell us about the last time you thought to yourself “Wow, what was that?” 5) If the family pet could speak, what would it say to us all right now?

2. Encourage Reading Beyond the Curriculum.

At the age of 16, I picked up Economics. I adored the subject, and found that I was finally learning something that would be of tangible use for when I entered the real world. Noticing this, my teacher encouraged me to subscribe to the Economist, which at the time had a brilliant offer of 12 magazines over 12 months for just 12 GBP. Nevertheless, it took me a while to enjoy the articles; initially, the economic jargon prevented me from grabbing the full body of a story and I felt frustrated. Each month, my copy of the Economist reassembled a child’s colouring book. I highlighted words I didn’t recognise and made notes in the margin that related to subjects we were covering at school.

Little by little, things clicked into place and my interest in Economics broadened so far beyond the curriculum that my A Level grades jumped from a D to an A within 10 months. Encouraging your teen to read beyond the curriculum is a must. Just laying a magazine on their bed when they get home from school is enough.

3. Model Emotional Intelligence.

Something that concerns me as a private educator is the lack of awareness about emotional intelligence within the mainstream curriculum. I highly recommend familiarising yourself with Daniel Goleman’s research.“If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”

Modelling to your teen how you effectively engage in (different) relationships can be an insightful experience for all involved. Invite them to your dinner party. Invite them to your work event where they can get a better understanding of what you do. Invite them to your coffee with an old friend. Teenagers ought to be treated as adults with their own valid opinions, and their own unique insights. This is where they flourish.

4. Mirror a Growth Mindset. Nothing is impossible.

Carol Dweck’s research into Growth Mindset is iconic. She found that those with a growth mindset thrive when presented with new challenges. They don’t recognise failure conventionally, but rather see it as a springboard for growth. I recommend watching Dweck’s TED Talk on Growth Mindset with your teen first, and then getting in touch with Olea Education to explore our Growth Mindset Module for teens.

Lifelong learning is an aspect of growth mindset, and of paramount importance as industries chop and change in response to accelerated technological advancement. Mirroring a growth mindset to your teen in the face of new challenges will help to alleviate the fear of failure, and help them realise their potential. Reinforcing statements such as “I can improve my skills with effort and practice” , “Failure makes you smarter” and “Effort is exercise for your brain” can go a long way.

5. Seek the Support of a Professional Mentor.

Olea is at the forefront of cutting edge mentorship, eliciting students’ holistic intelligence and preparing them for the challenges of the 21st century. Inspired by my postgraduate research at the University of Cambridge, our unique curriculum is stuffed with ideas including but not limited to the above, and is personalised to each and every individual, according to their academic and personal interests.

With a team of Oxbridgde-educated mentors (all of whom hold an enhanced DBS check, at least three years of experience and a postgraduate degree), we work collaboratively to ensure each Olea student is intellectually challenged. Thinking nerds in suits? That’s not us; we position ourselves between your teens’ teacher, elder sibling and wise old grandma. Don’t just take our word for it, browse through the testimonials on our website.

6. Lightly Nudge their Interests.

The majority of my students are from China, where education is valued above all else. As such, I have unfortunately witnessed a child’s initial interest for a hobby or academic subject be squished before it has even had time to fly. Parents are willing to go extreme lengths to ensure that their child has an edge, yet while it can be incredible to see such support, it can also be to the detriment of teenagers who simply want to mess around, explore and play.

If your teen has recently expressed an interest in something, it is important to ensure they have control over their learning, and that as a parent, you acknowledge your support in whatever their interests are. Afterall, psychologist Jean Coté once said, “Shortcutting the stage of relaxed, playful interest, discovery and development has dire consequences.”

Author: OLEA Education Ltd is an elite education establishment that enhances 21st century skills through OLEA’s Foundational Pillars of IQ, EQ, AQ, SQ and CQ. Founded by Olivia A. Halsall (MPhil, Cantab), students aged 8-11 start with our weekly Sunday workshops (OLEA’s Electi), before moving onto our teenage academic mentorship program (OLEA’s Oraculti) for ages 12-18. All our OLEA Mentors are educated from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, are specialists in their respective fields, and exhibit OLEA values of empathy, ambition and intercultural awareness.