Integrating Active

Learning Approaches
in Language Learning
 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 as collaboration,
media literacy, critical thinking) in the process.
Four of the recent active learning approaches
introduced to enhance the teaching learning
process are:
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.
 As learners become active participants in the
process of generating new knowledge,
technology whether digital or non-digital, plays
an important role in the utilization of these
active learning approaches. With the ubiquity
of technology tools that learners are exposed to,
it is the teacher’s role to ensure the
appropriateness and relevance of such tools in
the development of learning competencies.
Inquiry-Based Learning
and
Research-Based Learning
Step 1: The KWL Chart
KWL CHART
Familiarize yourself with
the concept of KWL chart. Language Topic:

Analyze the contents of the

charts and think of how you Big Question:

can use this chart in

facilitating your language What I Know What I Want
to Know
What I
Learned
lessons.
Step 2: Starting with an Essential or Big Question
Since inquiry-based learning usually KWL CHART
starts with essential or big questions that
elicit varied answers from the respondents,
Language Topic:
think of a question that you would like to
ask your students relevant to a specific
lesson in your language class. Do this in a Big Question:
group with five (5) members. Some example
questions may be: What I Know What I Want What I
to Know Learned
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
Eliciting from your collective lived KWL CHART
experiences as group mates, provide
an answer to the big question you Language Topic:
identified. Record your answers
through filling in the first column of Big Question:
the KWL Chart. In this step, each
member to expect to actively What I Know What I Want What I
to Know Learned
participate to fully answer the KWL
chart: As you do the activity, writing
and speaking skills can be observed to
be demonstrated by each member.
This activity can be done at any level
in your language classes in the future.
Step 4: Finding Out What We Want to Know
To allow you to freely explore KWL CHART
about what is in store in the world
around you, fill-in the second Language Topic:

column of the KWL chart. By

answering the second column, you Big Question:

will be able to think of other

What I Know What I Want What I
possible information that is beyond to Know Learned
the knowledge that you have about
the big question. This activity
contributes to the development of
inquisitiveness of students.
Step 5: Finding Out the Answer from Experts
To be able to ‘learn better about the KWL CHART
topic and big question, get on
searching for an answer to the Language Topic:
questions from reliable sources.
Sources may refer to your language Big Question:
teachers or from the library resources
(digital or printed). Conduct interview What I Know What I Want What I
to Know Learned
with some teachers or other human
resources who may give an answer to
the question or get information from
your library resources. Record your
interview data or literature review
data.
Step 6: Finding Out What
We Have Learned KWL CHART

Language Topic:

Finally, organize the

Big Question:
results of your gathered
data and write your answer What I Know What I Want
to Know
What I
Learned

in Column 3 of your KWL

chart.
 Nature of
Inquiry-Based
Learning
 Inquiry is a process of asking questions.
In the classroom, the process of inquiry is a
basic learning activity that every teacher is
expected to facilitate.
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.
Learners are given opportunities to engage in self-regulated activities
as they pursue their investigation. Using this in the language
classroom can facilitate the development of communication skills as
it involves activities such as writing questions, deliberating on ways
of finding answers to curricular questions, and presenting outputs as
evidence of inquiry among others. This approach encourages
students to work together in accomplishing their task. The process of
inquiry starts from positing a question aligned to a content standard
in the K to 12 Curriculum for English.
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. Learners are allowed to
design their own way of investigation and present their
outputs using technology tools that are afforded to them.
When technology is coupled with IBL, a gateway to information is
opened and students can have access to information at anytime
and anywhere. It is assumed that the teacher is knowledgeable of
the sources of information and whether the learners have access
to these sources.
 When designing an IBL, the teacher has to
consider the following fields proposed by Avsec
and Kocijncic (2016):
1.Prior knowledge and capacity
2.Context — Learners require meaning from experience.
3.Content and learning materials
4.Process
5.Strategy of reactions and behavior
6.Course outcomes
Role of Technology
The internet or the World Wide Web offers lots of platforms for
mining information. It has become the most sought out source of
information because of the variety of tools that abound. Language
is no longer a barrier in one’s search for information. Depending
on the unit of study in a language curriculum, there are many free
educational websites that are available for the language teachers
and learners. 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.
Role of Technology
It should be noted that the use of technology in IBL is
just one of the many other sources information in the
process of inquiry. This does not exclude the other
resources, human and non-human, in gathering
information. However, learners are undeniably familiar
and probably more adept in exploring the internet.
Guiding them in locating online resources that are
relevant in developing their research and
communication skills will let them learn the importance
of using educational resources in an explicit and
implicit way.
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
Teachers play a key role in the success of research-based
instruction by engaging and involving students in information
gathering and processing. While teachers might occasionally
provide information through lectures, and textbooks are used as a
source of information, there is an emphasis placed on students
learning how to seek out and process resources themselves. 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
 Student Outcomes
Significant outcomes occur when this approach is utilized over
time. Learning how to search for and find reliable information and
resources is a skill that is important for a lifetime of learning.
Reading many different kinds of texts strengthens reading skills
and builds vocabulary. 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.
Questions
1. What is a role of the teacher in Inquiry-
Based Learning?
2. What is the importance of Research-
Based Learning to development of the
learners?