Post on 30-Jun-2015
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MOTIVATING LEARNERS: MAKING LANGUAGE LEARNING MORE AFFECTIVE AND EFFECTIVE
ECIS, Lisbon
November2011
Jane Arnold
arnold@us.es
Affect refers to a wide range of
phenomena that have to do with
emotions, moods, dispositions
and preferences.
(Oatley and Jenkins)
The attitudinal climate of the classroom is a major
factor in promoting or inhibiting learning.
In classes where the affective, attitudinal aspects
are taken into consideration, students:
miss fewer days of class
have a higher self-concept
achieve more academically
cause fewer discipline problems
use more higher order thinking
(Aspy and Roebuck)
The mind without affect
isn’t really mind at all.
(Joseph LeDoux)
The dinosaurs of the future will be
those who try to live and work only
from the head.
Dr. Robert K. Cooper
TEACHING:
The art of changing the brain.
(Zull)
Success in learning depends less on
materials and tecniques and more on
what goes on inside and between the
people in the classroom. (Earl Stevick)
Success in learning depends less on
things –and more on people – and the
affective side of learning
AFFECT IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Individual factors Relational factors
motivation
anxiety
learning styles
self-concept, self-esteem
between cultures
in the classroom
The existential competence (savoir-etre ) includes
Attitudes Motivation Values Believs Learning styles Personality factors
-self-confidence -self-esteem .....greatly affect not only the language users’/ learners’ roles in communicative acts but also their ability to learn CEFR
Technique is what the teacher uses….
until the real teacher is there. (Parker Palmer)
*****
“To know” and “to do” is part of being a good teacher….
but above all “to be”.
Lecturer
Teacher
Facilitator
knowledge of the language, of methods
….and of ways to create a psychological atmosphere conducive to high quality learning
It includes the consideration of what happens inside and between the people in the classroom.
(Adrian Underhill)
Between the people
Learning is first intermental – between
minds that interact – and only later does
it become intramental. (Vygotsky)
FACTORS THAT ENHANCE INTERGROUP ACCEPTANCE
•Learning about each other •Proximity, contact
•Interaction •Cooperation
•Satisfaction of completing whole-group tasks •Extracurricular activities
•Joint hardship •Common threat
•Intergroup competition •Teacher’s attitude, modelling
(Dörnyei and Murphey)
Teacher Confirmation
The process by which a teacher communicates to students that they are significant, valued individuals.
Research has shown an important
influence of teacher confirmation on students’ motivation and their affective and cognitive learning.
(Katherine Ellis) (K. Ellis)
Teacher confirmation and identity
Students are often striving to find out who
they are, where they fit in, whether they
can succeed…
The role of confirmation is to help individuals
discover and establish their identities and
personal significance as human beings.
(K. Ellis)
Confirming behaviour Transmit feelings of confidence in students
Give constructive feedback and praise
Smile, make eye-contact
Show interest in answering students’
questions
Take personal interest in students
Check for understanding
Listen to students
MOTIVATION
(Inmaculada León)
Inside the person
Motivation action success
(desire+energy)
Effect of motivation of
learning
The ideal self –
the attributes that I would like to have ***********
Zoltán Dörnyei (2009)
I consider the concept of the ideal self
to be the strongest and most versatile
mechanism of motivation. The image
of our ideal self can help us to
formulate goals for our future and to
reach them.
FIVE COMPONENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM
Security (I know I am safe)
Identity (I know who I am)
Belonging (I know others accept me)
Purpose (I know what I want to achieve)
Competence (I know I am capable)
(model of Robert Reasoner)
“I’m ok”
Language anxiety:
A feeling of tension and apprehension specifically associated with second language contexts, including speaking, listening and learning.
A good deal of research has suggested that anxiety causes cognitive interference in performing specific language learning tasks.
(MacIntyre and Gardner)
Anxiety inhibits learning
Input stage: With listening or
reading, the language doesn’t
“get in”.
Processing stage: limits the
cognitive work involved in
learning and thinking in the L2.
Output stage: With speaking
or writing the language doesn’t
“get out”.
(Tobías)
Using only the textbook greatly limits
your capacity to participate in
innovative and creative teaching.
Leo Van Lier
Students appreciate teachers who prepare
their classes and the use of your own
materials shows clear and tangible
evidence of preparation.
(David Block)
Multiple Intelligences. Multiple ways to learn.
cognitive
affective physical -------------------------------------------
Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence
Learning is also in the body
Physical movement and engagement of the body and senses are essential for learning. (Caine and Caine)
The human brain and the rest of the body constitute an unseparable organism… The whole organism interacts with the environment as one unit: the interaction is neither of the body alone nor of the brain alone.
(Antonio Damasio)
I consider images
the basis of
mind.
Antonio Damasio
( Prince of Asturias
Prize for science,
2005)
The image is the great instrument of
instruction… what learners get out of any
subject is merely the images they
themselves form in regard to it.
John Dewey (1897)
In language learning
work with mental imagery can:
Increase learner’s attention, cognitive skills and
creativity
Enable them to remember what they learn
Enhance their motivation
Strengthen their self-concept
Improve their reading and listening comprehension
Provide things they want to say when they speak or
write
Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory and second language learning
It is especially important to learn the second language in association with appropriate nonverbal referents –either visible or in imagery - which represent the knowledge of the world. (Alan Paivio)
If students don’t see mental images of what they read, it will be difficult for them to get a full understanding of the text and their experience of it will be fragmented and superficial.
(Brian Tomlinson)
If teachers are motivated to teach,
there is a good chance that their
students will be motivated to learn.
(Dörnyei y Ushioda)