EFL Teachers' Attitudes Towards Teaching Cross-Curricular Topics

Abstract

Cross-curricular topics have been in the Estonian National curriculum for many years now; including them in lessons has evoked controversial opinions among teachers. Teaching cross-curricular topics in EFL classrooms is a good way to include them in lessons because languages can be means for learning different subjects. Cross-curricular topics help to make learning the language more relevant and offer a chance to include topics that prepare students for real life experiences. There are various different ways how to teach cross-curricular topics and everything does not have to be done in a classroom, a lot can be done outside lessons and through extracurricular activities. The present thesis looks into teaching cross-curricular topics in English classes. It gives an overview of the cross-curricular topics in the Estonian National Curriculum, the methods and materials used for teaching cross-curricular topics and the attitudes teachers’ have towards teaching cross-curricular topics. A survey was conducted among EFL teachers of Estonia to see what ate the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching cross-curricular topics and how they teach the topics. Chapter one is based on secondary sources and gives an overview of crosscurricular topics, their development throughout history and their presentation in different educational documents. Various methods for teaching cross-curricular topics and for including them in schools’ environment are discussed. Chapter two introduces the procedure and the results of a research conducted among Estonian EFL teachers. Sample of 90 EFL teachers from different schools in Estonia were questioned. The main aim of the research was to see what the EFL teachers’ attitudes towards teaching cross-curricular topics are and to compare the results with other researches done on this topic.