DEVELOPING THE SKILLS TO BE A GLOBAL LEARNER
THROUGH A MODEL UNITED NATIONSErin Frazier & Steven Asquith
Kanda University of International Studies
ABSTRACTIn this paper an EFL classroom unit designed for mixed ability, first year
university students and based upon the Model United Nations (MUN) Forum is
described and analysed using an action research approach. The unit is focussed
upon developing specific skills, such as: negotiation, debate, using authentic
materials, data analysis, audio visual analysis and written reporting, while
encouraging students to develop important learning behaviours such as
peer-support, self-analysis, and self-reflection. This utilizes a multiliteracies
approach centered upon the development of proficiency in key communication
processes. By critically appraising the administration of the unit, this paper
provides a practical guide to educators who may wish to adopt a similar such
pedagogical approach.
INTRODUCTION
The Model United Nations (MUN) is a program in which students become delegates for acountry to discuss and negotiate international issues. This format is an ideal vehicle tocomplement the Freshman English (FE) process curriculum used within the English
Language Institute (ELI). In this paper, first the context and the theoretical bases for theapplication of an MUN module to a FE curriculum is introduced. Then, the stages of the unit
are described and analyzed following an action research methodology involving bothteacher observation and student feedback. Finally, the unit as a whole is critically appraised
and suggestions for future development are provided.
BACKGROUND
Every year students and language learners across the globe take part in forums recreating
the processes that occur in the United Nations to debate, discuss, and collaborate about
the important issues of our time. These educational simulations, or MUN forums, provide
students the opportunity to not only understand the complexity of important topics, suchas global warming, immigration, or poverty, but also give an insight into decision making
processes. For language learners, they can provide valuable opportunities to develop
authentic communication skills such as negotiation, assimilation of ideas, and presentation
skills which might be easily transferred to the real world. By adapting the most applicableaspects of an MUN forum and shaping them into a 5-week unit, the authors have created a
program which fulfills the aims of the curriculum and is accessible to first year students.
The MUN Unit was designed to become a part of the FE curriculum. This curriculum wasdeveloped based upon the multiliteracies approach implemented in this learning context,2

and aims to provide students with the tools to become active and critical participants in themodern digital world, and members of the global community. The FE curriculum isdesigned based on six core processes, which expose students to various methods oflearning through analyzing, interpreting, and interacting with themed units (Johnson,
Lyddon, Nelson, Selman, & Worth, 2015). These six core processes (communication
strategies, problem solving, extended interaction, audio visual analysis, self-analysis, anddata analysis) not only provide learners tools to be more autonomous in their language
study, but also better enables instructors to tailor their lessons to students’ interests andneeds. This means that topics might be more deeply explored using multiple different
modalities than in other contexts constrained by text-based learning. Each unit utilizes
activities based upon the processes, before culminating in a final project tailored toconsolidate the learning based on a specific rhetoric type. This provides multiple
opportunities for learners to be supported in specific skills before completing the main
project. The MUN as a language learning tool may be considered a more authentic vehicle
for learners to practice the skills of augmentation than a more traditionally prepareddebate. As delegates representing a country debating concrete resolutions on global
warming, students must not only understand in detail each country’s position within the
global community, but also, fight to negotiate the best deal in terms of specific strategic,
economic and environmental factors. It is clear to see how such skills might be of practicalbenefit in learners’ lives and careers after graduation.
THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING
In developing this unit, the authors strove to fulfill the following criteria: 1) The unit would
adhere to the principles proposed in Johnson et al. (2015)’s description of a multiliteracies
curriculum; 2) It would foster peer-to-peer learning; 3) It would take advantage of the
motivational qualities of providing an authentic learning experience. These criteria aredescribed in more detail in the following section. Johnson et al. (2015) state that theJapanese tertiary education context requires a new direction in approach to curriculum
design as communicative language teaching (CLT) has become unable to meet thedemands of globalisation. The new approach they suggest should be founded upon thedevelopment of “awareness” or “the capacity to take control of one’s own learning”(Benson, 2011, p. 58), through “interaction”, or meaning making and applying language inuse, while utilizing a broad range of multiliteracies. As described by the New London Group(1996) there are two goals to the application of this pedagogy. The first is “to account forthe context of our culturally and linguistically diverse and increasingly globalized societies”.
The second is to account for “the burgeoning variety of text forms associated withinformation and multimedia technologies,” (p. 60) in order to develop a sophisticatedapproach to the creation and use of authentic multimodal texts. ​This approach should
provide a grounding for first year students to develop their skills during their subsequent
three years of university education. It also exploits the advantages of group project-basedlearning while encouraging learners to be more autonomous and engage with real texts.
In addition to being designed based upon the multiliteracies principles central to the FE
course, this unit aimed to also incorporate peer-to-peer learning. As Dale (1969) theorizedwith the Cone of Experience model, learners retain more information when they are“do[ing]”, rather than simply passive learning. This model, better known as “experiential
learning” or “action learning”, shown in ​Figure 1 b​ elow, complements the six processes

3used in the FE curriculum, by focusing on peer-to-peer interaction to create a rich learning
environment. This is achieved by creating opportunities for interaction between partners
assigned to the same country, and larger blocs of multiple countries during groupnegotiations. The unit designers aimed to develop self-confidence and self-knowledge
through scaffolding activities with a significant focus upon the development ofinterpersonal skills with learners from a different class. In this case, peers functioned as
support, helping learners to move towards greater autonomy and away from the type ofteacher-led activities which reinforce dependence on the educator, and neglect the type ofacademic communication skills required to develop as a more sophisticated user of English(Willis & Willis, 2009). This is especially important to first year students in the Japanesecontext who are usually exposed to form-based instruction throughout their years ofcompulsory education. Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) (1978) suggeststhat learners can move beyond their limitations through scaffolding and support. However,“To learn in the ZPD does not require that there be a designated teacher; whenever people
collaborate in an activity, each can assist the others, and each can learn from thecontributions of the others” (Wells, 1999, p.333). Peer-to-peer learning is therefore aneffective and supportive environment for shared discovery.

​Figure 1: ​The Cone of Experience model ​(D​ ale, 1969, p.109)
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The third aspect which was important to the development of this unit was use of authentic
materials and processes to foster motivation in students. This was achieved not only
through having students work with real sources of information, but also, by simulating theprocesses of the UN, learners were able to feel that they were engaged in activities rooted
in the real workings of a genuine institution. This conforms with Nunan’s notion ofproviding learners with an authentic task in which the task itself closely mirrors the realworld, leading to enhanced communicative behaviors. This incorporates the need tocomplete a task, which thus necessitates communicative practices that are essential tocompleting a similar such task outside of the classroom (Nunan, 1988; Nunan, 2004). The
discovery of a world issue, in this case global warming, through the varying cultural, social,and economic lenses of many different countries, provides analysis from multiple
perspectives. Furthermore, Dewey (1938) argues that teaching global issues may have amore positive influence than just another ​subject as the learners themselves have a hand inshaping a potential future. This focus on authenticity and critical analysis, combined withthe support structure provided by peers during carefully scaffolded group work, created aunit which was interesting, motivational, and encouraging for students.
METHODOLOGY
The study was conducted as action research on the curriculum materials. As one of thegoals of the unit was to expose learners to authentic materials of which they had little
experience, it was important to understand how students were able to interact with thesematerials. Throughout the unit, problematic materials and tasks were noted for further
evaluation and redesign. Burns (2010, p2) points out that the “​action part of action researchis to intervene in a deliberate way in the problematic situation in order to bring aboutchanges and, even better, improvements in practice.” To improve upon the unit, teachers
made observations while students were completing various tasks. In addition, students
were asked to write reflections after the unit was complete. Students were given a shortsurvey asking them to reflect on their unit as a whole. Their answers were categorized into
four general response types described as: 1). Enjoyment/ a sense of achievement 2).
Partnership, 3). Language, and 4). Real world awareness.
UNIT IMPLEMENTATIONThe unit was carried out with two separate classes of first year university students. The useof two separate classes, rather than one, was deemed preferable as this provided eachgroup the opportunity to move out of their comfort zones and collaborate with unfamiliar
peers. The first group was a mid-tier level class of 16 students (5-male and 11-female) andthe other group was comprised of a lower-tier level with a similar make-up of 16
participants (4-male and 12-female). As this unit was taught during the second semester,
students were accustomed to the structure of FE and its requirements. Students
understood that this unit would culminate in a debate type project, and that working
towards being able to participate fully was their goal.
Classroom stages

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The stages within this unit were designed based on the six core processes of FE:
self-analysis, data-analysis, extended interaction, communication strategies, problem
solving, and audio-visual analysis. These processes were utilized according to the unit
requirements and the needs of the learners. Each stage will be presented in the order they
were taught and the process or processes addressed will be highlighted.
Stage 1: Meet and greet problem-solving
This unit was designed to be used with two different classes. First, a good rapport between
the students in a low stress situation was established. This was achieved through a lesson ofcommunicative, problem-solving icebreakers which helped students to get accustomed to
one another. These games included: the evolution game (a rock, paper, scissors
conversation game in which students climb the evolutionary ladder); the perfect square (awhole class activity in which students must communicate effectively to move from being ina circle to a square whilst blindfolded); and the animal kingdom (a game in which students
form groups based upon animal species families before engaging in a shortteacher-prepared discussion).
During the final 15 minutes of the lesson the instructors explained that both classes would
be doing the upcoming unit together, and that pairs, one student from each class, would
represent a single country. The countries were chosen based upon two important criteria:
firstly, countries needed to fit roughly into four separate geographical blocs, for example,
Asia, The Americas, Europe etc.; and secondly there should be a variety of positions oneach issue presently. The countries chosen in this case were: Japan, the United States,
England, Germany, Russia, Canada, Colombia, Argentina, Sweden, Poland, Saudi Arabia,
Israel, Nigeria, South Africa, China, and India. In this case, students simply chose their own
partners with countries selected randomly. This, however, was not completely satisfactory.
Therefore, it would be better to use a more systematic approach based on students’abilities, characteristics, and the relative difficulties of researching the different countries, if
this were practical.
Stage 2: United Nations background research: Data analysis
To familiarize themselves with the workings of the UN, students researched its structure
and purpose using the UN.org website. This research was conducted in individual classes insmall groups of four students, and was an opportunity for the instructor to provide students
with help and strategies for finding information on authentic websites. Although this waschallenging for the students, it was essential scaffolding to provide preparation for
conducting online research in English later during the unit.
Stage 3: Learning about my country presentation: Data analysis and presentation
In order for students to become familiar with the political, economic, and world status of
the country they were representing, each pair, one student from each class together, were
tasked with creating a short mini-presentation of approximately 3-minutes. Students firstresearched individually, then came together to create the presentation. Each presentation
was given in a speed-dating format so that both members had the opportunity to view
multiple presentations on different countries. This was important as each group needed tounderstand all the other country’s positions in order to be able to negotiate successfully
later in the unit. This was also useful in training learners how to summarize and extract the6most relevant information. The slides and presentations were evaluated based upon thequality of the content and the delivery.
Stage 4: What is MUN? (Video) Audio-visual analysis and Problem solving
This activity was designed to be done on a day when the two classes would not meet. It
reviewed important vocabulary that students need for the unit. After reviewing vocabulary,the class watched a video explaining the MUN. This is a short 4-minute film with an easily
accessible explanation of the MUN’s aims. After watching the video, useful language fordiscussion and negotiation was introduced, leading into a problem-solving activity centered
upon an issue relevant to student life. This was the first step in scaffolding how to negotiate
for the MUN.
Stage 5: Communication language for negotiation: Communication strategies
Students organized a list of phrases according to the different types of strategies fornegotiation. Then, students were given an accessible issue which needed to be negotiated,
for instance, planning a class party. Students prepared a dialog using the phrases from thenegotiation language and then roleplayed it for the class.
Stage 6: Global Warming research and country statement: Data-analysis andSelf-analysis
In this stage it was essential for learners to work together to research and determine theposition of each country on the issue of global warming. Over the course of two classes,
students must research four themes: national policies, improving awareness, sustainable
development goals, and affordable solutions for their country. As this research was thebasis on which the subsequent debate would be founded, significant teacher support wasnecessary in the form of worksheets and/or graphic organizers to focus the student pairs on
the key elements of the country’s stance. One-on-one teacher/student guidance was alsoessential. This stage culminated in a 300-word written report in which each student had tosummarize their country’s stance.
Stage 7: Writing Resolutions: Problem solving
Using the knowledge acquired in the previous stages, students analyzed the situation,
context, and needs of their representative countries to write two resolutions to put forward
to the other blocs. Students needed to identify the overall issue and how to best address it.
Also, the student delegates must think how their solutions would affect the bloc. In
addition, students had to be aware of generalized statements (e.g. all countries ordeveloped countries), modal verbs, and grammar for percentages, so that they could
express their countries’ positions in a precise manner. Pairs formulated a first draft as ashared Google Doc, on which the instructor then provided detailed feedback. This wasdifficult for the students and required considerable guidance from the instructor.
Stage 8: Bloc Negotiation of resolutions: Extended interaction and problem solving
By this stage students had become well-versed in their countries’ positions on the issue.
Therefore, using all the knowledge and skills acquired in the earlier stages, learners
engaged in an extended discussion to negotiate three final resolutions decided by each blocof four countries. Student delegates first explained their country’s position before
presenting the resolutions to each other. During this discussion students selected,
negotiated and rewrote their original resolutions based upon the needs of individual

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countries and the goals of the bloc. By the end of the class period, students could share
their final resolutions with both classes using a shared Google doc. Students reviewed andconsidered the various merits and drawbacks of each resolution for homework.
Stage 9: UN voting on final resolutions and amendments: Extended interaction
Finally, the classes met as the whole MUN to discuss and make amendments to any of theresolutions they felt would be harmful to their country. Each resolution was presented tothe class, and then each country’s delegates proposed amendments. Once all theamendments had been made, all the countries’ delegates voted to pass or reject eachresolution and ratify it into law.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The student’s comments in the surveys were recorded, analyzed, and coded. Based upon
the researchers interpretations of comments, they were organized into four generalthemes and eleven sub-themes. The comments categorized under the partnership andlanguage themes were also organized according to whether they were deemed to bepositive or negative in tone. The coding seemed to provide a good indication of the varying
views of the students on the unit.
Table 1: Codification of student’s surveys
Main Theme

Sub-theme

instances

Sharing opinion

Class A: 2

Rise in confidence in skill (speaking)Class B: 23

LeadershipClass A
(+) 4
(-) 2

Enjoyment

Partnership (+, - )Group dynamic
Cooperation
Speaking
Research

Language (+, - )Level Awareness
Need for L1

Class B (+) 12(-) 7Class A(+) 2(-) 7Class B
(+) 6
(-) 5

New knowledge

Class A: 3

Functional knowledge

Class B: 9

Real World Topic*The + and – icons used in the Partnership and Language sections signify whether comments werecoded as being positive or negative in tone.

Enjoyment/ A Sense of Achievement
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The theme of enjoyment and a sense of achievement was commented on the most.
However, Class B, which was the more advanced class, seemed to comment more on thistheme. Students felt that sharing their opinions with another class was the key factor tothis enjoyment. Also, because the unit was conducted in the second semester, working withdifferent members of another class seemed to be motivating, and brought new life to theclassroom, as the comment E1 highlights. Furthermore, students reflected on their growth
as English learners from semester one to semester two, and were able to gain a strong
sense of achievement (E2). It is important to have this sense of enjoyment within theclassroom as “playful experimentation as a pathway to creativity” (Resnick & Robinson,
2018, p 17) may lead to more authentic language production and decreased anxiety. This
combined with the challenging nature of the unit meant that students could feel proud ofcompleting it. Two comments which illustrate this are provided below:
Enjoyment 1- Class A “Enjoyed work with the other class”
Enjoyment 2 - Class B “I felt that it was very fun for me. I could learn many things,
and I realize than my speaking skills is better than before first semester, so I
felt it was great for me”
Partnership
The students placed value in the partnerships developed between the classes. Learners
found that having a greater variation of input and opinions increased the depth of the
discussions as comment P2 addresses. As anticipated, students of the lower-level classwere slightly unsettled by the higher-level class students. This is highlighted in comment
P3. However, through partnerships these students felt they grew as learners. Tasks like theStage 1 ​(meet and greet) were a necessary step to build rapport with the learners so thatthese partnerships could take root naturally. However, some students did express
frustration stemming from an imbalance in the amount of effort made between partners. In
the future, this could be improved by having more checks of each individual’s work to holdthem responsible. In addition, having pairs collaboratively create a work plan and timetable
to complete each step would be particularly useful. Including an element of personal
planning and time management would be a great, practical addition to the unit.
Partnership 1- Class A “Partner kind clever than me, helped me.”Partnership 2- Class B “I think the benefits of working in groups is I could get many
new ideas and opinions that I did not come up with. Those ideas helped me
to think about our country.”
Partnership 3- Class A “At first nervous and thought couldn’t communicate withpartner but I was able to do this.”
Language
Students comments about language use in the unit were both positive and negative. Manyof the learners commented that they felt that their speaking ability was greatly improved asthey used it when negotiating. As with ​enjoyment​, the learners had a positive reaction tousing the negotiation language at various stages. However, both classes used the first
language, Japanese, excessively to complete several of the tasks within the unit. Students

9needed to focus on researching and communicating complex ideas so they had a reason towant to use their first language. However, learners’ were limited in their specialized
vocabulary on the topic of global warming and policy, and therefore student comments
highlighted the problems arising from this shortfall. A greater focus on language
scaffolding, and specifically the specialized vocabulary needed, would be beneficial to thefurther development of this unit.
Language 1- Class A “Searching in English is very difficult, They tried to do all the
research in English”
Language 2- Class B “I want to fix it by speaking English it caused
misunderstandings, and I didn’t know how to fix it without using Japanese.”
Real World AwarenessAs the unit progressed students learned about real world problems that in the near future
may have a direct impact on their lives. Learners seemed to feel this information enrichedthem as it gave them a wider view of the world as a whole, as R1 and R2 demonstrate.
Dewey (1938) argues that teaching global issues may have a more positive influence thanjust a ​subject, as the learner themselves have a hand in shaping a potential future. This unit
allows for the learners to have the same type of experience as doing real world research, in
addition to developing negotiation and problem-solving skills. It was also clear that many
learners gained a better understanding of other issues occurring around the world as shownin the following examples.
Real World Awareness 1- Class B “[This country] has a little information except oil
but I learned women’s rights and how it struggles against global warming
and I was surprised every time I found these information.”
Real World Awareness 2- Class B “My travel unit was also Poland. At that time, I
searched about sightseeing. However, this time was to search Poland’s
problems. I didn’t know how hard Poland is. The most impressive thing was
refusing refugees and thinking about dropping out [of the] EU.”
Unit Reflection
Throughout the unit the tasks promoted real world learning opportunities for the students
by using authentic materials and processes. Furthermore, the MUN was a way of packaging
a critical and academic topic in an engaging way. During the unit, the first stage (​The meetand greet) was necessary to build rapport between classes. Stage 2 (​United Nations
background research) w​ as more difficult as the students had to navigate the actual United
Nations’ website (un.org) to find the information to complete their worksheets. This wasinvaluable in introduce students to working with authentic materials using skimming andscanning for relevant content. These skills were integral to Stage 6 (​Global Warming
research and country statement) a​ nd an even greater focus upon building these skills might
be preferable​. In contrast, Stage 3 (​Learning about my country presentation) w​ as importantfor confidence building as this task (research and presentations) was similar to tasks
students had previously completed many times.

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The students’ reflections provided insights that would help to develop improved materials.
First, the ​communication language for negotiation (Stage 5) needed to be simplified. Thiswas because there was a large number of new phrases and it was difficult for the
lower-level class to apply this somewhat abstract language in a natural way. Therefore,
more controlled practice in which learners produced scripted roleplays was an effective
method of gaining familiarity with the new material. Also, a larger degree of teacher
modeling for this task would be beneficial for students to better understand the use of thelanguage within context. Additionally, more scaffolding of the amendments (Stage 9)ought to be added to help students to understand the importance of precise language to
avoid ambiguity. For this, it would be useful for students to have more time to analyze theresolutions before the whole class meet to discuss the changes. The students were able tocomplete this task within a single class period with coaching, but to make the stage more
effective and to get a broader range of possible changes to the resolutions, a task in whichlearners recorded and discussed possible changes using a Google Doc in class would be auseful addition to the unit.
CONCLUSION
This unit, founded on problem-solving through peer-to-peer engagement and criticalanalysis of international issues through interaction, negotiation, and cooperation, isbeneficial for the development of global citizens. The curriculum design of Freshman
English’s six processes allows for the freedom to immerse learners in real world issues frommultiple perspectives. In some respects the unit might be further adapted to better meetvarious learners’ needs and this action research project has provided insight into how thismight be achieved. Many of the greatest benefits of this unit resulted from collaboration
between two classes, and the authors would encourage other educators to try this forthemselves. Learners saw the value in creating peer-to-peer partnerships to overcome thedifficulties of a demanding and authentic unit. Furthermore, students could develop
practical skills to become more autonomous when researching and critically appraising a
topic. Even though this unit was a challenge, the learners excelled beyond their individual
abilities by supporting each other. Overcoming adversity through student collaboration
was the most important achievement of this unit.

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