Abstract:
The incorporation of the twenty- first century skills in education is highly needed. Yet, sometimes teachers’ practices and the challenges they face in classes limit their incorporation. This study investigates the incorporation of the twenty-first century skills in cycle two ESL private and public school classes and explores the challenges that face those ESL teachers in Lebanon. A qualitative exploratory design was adopted. Data were collected by administering questionnaires to 16 ESL teachers, conducting interviews with 9 ESL teachers following the snowballing technique and analyzing 9 school books used in private and public schools in Lebanon. Results showed differences in teachers’ practices and in challenges they face. Those challenges pertain to a rigid curriculum, outdated textbooks, time constraints, and teachers’ lack of professionalism. These challenges differed for private and public school teachers as the former demonstrated flexibility in adopting the twenty-first century skills while some public school teachers are still using a traditional approach to teaching. Further recommendations are suggested for better practices to surpass the challenges.
