The CATESOL Journal

ELLs need to engage with topics and situations in the classroom that equip them with the social, professional and civic cultural skills to address real-life interactions for their present realities, as well as their future realities (American, 2009, Garett, 2005; Perez & Morrison, 2016). Teachers face the challenge of balancing conventional textbooks and curriculum, which are fixed and often limited to customary topics, not fully addressing the dynamic and changing realities of ELLs. This article describes how a post-methods teaching approach (Kumaravadivelu, 1994; Masouleh, 2012), which represents a self-designed flexible and pragmatic alternative to strict adherence to a singular method, can be tailored to ELLs’ needs and commonly-encountered relevant contexts to connect learning to real-life experiences. The discussion highlights the value of a multi-method approach, falling under the umbrella of Situated Learning, to provide real-life scenarios within which students can complete tasks, engage in projects, and/or study and learn from relevant content-based material. In doing so, ELLs’ language proficiency, as well as their world-readiness, are effectively developed.