The Future of Education

You’ve reached 10,000 steps - excellent! What’s your next goal? The learning content in foreign language classes often feels disconnected from learners’ everyday realities, causing a „gap between real world and classroom tasks“ (Ozverir & Herrington, 2011, p. 1427). In daily life, learners find motivation through challenges - whether it’s losing calories during sports, tracking likes on social media, or meeting study-related deadlines. Teachers can leverage this ‚challenging spirit‘ to enhance language learning and provide a more immersive learning experience. This article presents a series of real-world challenges targeting key language subskills, including reading, (creative) writing, listening, speaking as well as vocabulary and grammar. These challenges can be time-related (e.g., vocabulary practice through mastering a 30-day vocabulary challenge), thematic (e.g., interaction skills through uploading a social media post reflecting the class topic and gaining comments/likes), or creative (e.g., reading and writing competence through creating the most fitting hashtag for a discussed text). By incorporating these challenges into their routines, learners meet specific language learning goals stated by the teacher, enhance social interaction (e.g., by challenging one another), and produce creative content in the target language. Peer review and grading based on consistency and (amount and correctness of) language use foster collaboration, networking and accountability as essential future skills in academia and beyond (Akbari et al., 2016; Mondahl & Razmerita, 2014). The competitive element boosts motivation, encouraging active participation in a learning process. This article is intended for current and prospective foreign language teachers, curriculum developers, and other professionals shaping the future of education.