Giao Trinh TATE, Module 1

7/27/2019 Giao Trinh TATE, Module 1

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PRIMARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

How Children Learn

Module 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Aim: By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- explore your own images and understandings about children’s learning

- deepen your own understanding about children’s learning

- think how the ideas about how children learn can be applied in the PELT

classroom

Section 1: HUMAN BRAIN & CHILDREN’S LEARNING

Task 1: Look at the picture of human brain and complete the blanks with some

important parts of the brain below.

brain stem cerebellum cerebrum (cortex)

limbic system midbrain

Task 2: Match the parts of human brain with their functions.

1

1

3 2

4

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How Children Learn

Parts of brain Functions

1. cerebrum e

2. brain stem a

3. cerebellum d

4. limbic system c

5. midbrain b

a. controlling most basic life activities,

including breathing, blood pressure and

heartbeat

b. controlling motor activities, appetite and

sleep

c. controlling emotions, behavior, body

temperature and long-term memory

d. coordinating movement and balance

e. regulating speech, vision, hearing,

decision- making and controlling

thinking, reasoning

Task 3: Amazing brain – Quick quiz

Choose the correct answer for the following questions.

1. At birth, a baby’s brain has:

A. one million brain neurons

B. ten thousand brain neurons

C. one hundred billion brain neurons

2. How fast does a child’s brain grow in the early years? By age three, a child’s

brain…

A. has tripled in weight

B. has doubled in weight

C. is the same weight as at birth

3. Which of the following statements is accurate?

A. After birth, the brain does not change.

B. The experiences that we have in our lives help to shape the brain.

C. The brain is already fully developed at birth.

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How Children Learn

4. Which of the following statements is accurate?

A. You can continue to learn new things/ new skills at any age.

B. The brain is like a sponge.

C. Your genes are your destiny.

Task 4: Children as active learners

Read the following statements about the brain and how children learn. Predict if

the statements are True or False:

1. _______ The structure of some parts of the brain can change depending on the

way they are used.

2. _______ There is no relationship between a child’ brain development & his

early experiences.

3. _______ Children tend to remember what arouses strong emotion easily.

4. _______ Feelings, positive or negative, can facilitate children’s learning.

5. _______ Children’s experiences (visual, audio…) can be all stored in the same

part of the brain.

6. _______ Children are unable to “reconstruct” different parts of their

experiences back together.

7. _______ The brain takes in every experience no matter how boring or

interesting it is.

8. _______ Children like to do activities/ tasks which are relevant and meaningful

to them.

Task 5 : Read the text and check your predictions

A. Experience shapes the brain

We used to believe that the brain you were born with was the one you had for the

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How Children Learn

rest of your life. But, in fact, our brains use our experiences in life to build

themselves. So some studies show how the structure of some parts of the brain can

change depending on the way they are used. Taxi drivers in London were given

brain scans by scientists. The scientists found that parts of taxi drivers’ brains were

different from non-taxi drivers. The part of the brain associated with finding their

way around the streets (navigation) was much larger in taxi drivers. So the brain

had actually changed its structure to cope with the huge amount of finding their

way around the streets that taxi drivers do. Children can help to lay the

foundations of the way their brains will develop through the early experiences they

have with music, art, maths, language learning and other types of learning. All the

experiences we have and all that we do help to shape our brains.

B. Emotions and learning

Brain research shows that the emotions shape what we remember and how we

remember. These guide our future responses. We have positive experiences which

we find very interesting, very relevant, exciting. On the other hand, we may have

negative experiences which are very unpleasant, embarrassing, or which cause us

anxiety. These experiences are stored as memories together with the emotions

associated with those experiences. We remember experiences with strong

emotional content more easily than those which do not arouse strong emotions.

When we recall those experiences, we also recall the feelings associated with those

experiences. Children may have positive feelings about a particular experience e.g.

learning football, or learning a language. This means they are likely to have a positive attitude towards such experiences again in the future which stimulates

further learning. On the other hand, children may have a negative experience at

school in some lessons or associate a type of learning activity with negative

feelings or anxiety. Perhaps, a child failed in his English language test or he/she

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How Children Learn

felt very embarrassed in having to do a role play in front of the class. These

feelings may create a block for future learning when similar experiences or

activities are involved.

C. Memory is multi-sensory

When an experience enters the brain (e.g. a visit to the zoo, an art lesson), it is

“broken down” and stored in different parts of the brain. For example, the

emotional content of an experience is stored in one part, visual images in another,

where we had the experience in another and so on. When we try and remember

information about that experience, you have to put all these parts back together

again, to “reconstruct” it. So the more ways in which learners have the information

represented in the brain (through hearing, seeing, doing, smelling etc) the more

ways they have for reconstructing and recalling the information. For example, if

children learn some new vocabulary by hearing the words, writing them,

illustrating them, acting them out, they have used many senses and so will create

more vivid and richer memories. This will make it easier to recall those words

later.

D. Making sense is essential for learning

The brain is naturally designed to look for experiences which are meaningful i.e. it

can make sense of them. It rejects things which are not meaningful. Many school

activities are not meaningful to children since they do not understand why they are

doing them or what their purpose and relevance are. For example, copying thingsfrom the blackboard is a very common activity for children but few can see any

purpose in copying, a part of obeying teacher’s order. However, if the teacher asks

them to choose which words to copy down because they will use them on a bingo

sheet, the copying begins to make sense to children. There is an interesting reason

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How Children Learn

for doing so. If a child finds an activity boring and cannot find any meaningful

purpose in it, her brain may have difficulty in connecting the information to

existing information already stored. So the information may be quickly forgotten

or may be difficult to remember on another occasion. The conclusion is that

children need relevant and meaningful experiences in order to make sense and

learn.References

Smilkstein, R 2003. We’re Born to Learn, CA: USA: Corwin Press

Smith, A. 2004. The Brain’s behind it. Stafford: network Educational Press.

http://www.brainconnection.com/content/160-5

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs.4356.htm

Task 6 : What do ideas about the brain mean for PELT teaching?

Complete the following sentences with your own words.

1. Children need experiences and learning activities in which they can see the

________________ and purpose. (meaning)

2. Children need varied, rich and _______________ experiences to help the

brain grow. (stimulating)

3. Teachers need to create a ______________, caring and stimulating

environment in which children are appropriately challenged and feel free to

take risks. (child-friendly)

4. Children need to learn using a variety of activities and _____________ to

maximize the chances of remembering. (senses)

5. Children need plenty of _____________ with learning activities they find

meaningful and many opportunities to use ________________ they have

learned. (practice/ information or skills)

Task 7 : The young language learners

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How Children Learn

Section 2: CHILDREN & ADULT LEARNING

Aim: By the end of the session, you will be able to

• become more aware of the way how adults and children learn foreign

language.

• reflect on your own beliefs about children’s first and foreign language

learning.

• apply your understanding of children’s second/foreign language to

analysing conditions for effective foreign language learning.

Task 1: Discuss in groups about the question, “How do adults learn?” Make

some notes on Ao paper.

Task 2: Think – Pair – Share about the question, “What are children like?”

With a partner, brainstorm all the characteristics which make them different from

older learners/adults. Then read the following statements about how children

learn a foreign language. Consider if you AGREE, DISAGREE, or NOT SURE

with the statements. Write your opinions before the statements.

1. _____________ Children have their own reasons for learning another

language.

2. _____________ Children learn languages more easily than teenagers or

adults do, so they should start learning early.

3. _____________ Children can initially be motivated by the teacher they likeand interesting activities.

4. _____________ Children never lose interest in the lesson. They try their

best to be engaged.

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5. _____________ If a child does not like the activity, he or she can say so to

the teacher.

6. _____________ Children are able to control their behaviour and feelings.

7. _____________ Children tend to focus more on the meaning of a situation

than the words used to express the message.

8. _____________ Children have very good “ears”, so initial teaching should

focus on developing good pronunciation and intonation.

9. _____________ Children can only work out the rules of the new language

with the teacher’s help.

10. _____________ Children are more likely to acquire vocabulary and

grammatical points when involved in playful or communicative activities.

11. _____________ Children learn a language only by imitation.

12. _____________ Children tend to pick up ready-made phrases or chunks of

language.

Task 3: Read the text below and check your opinion in task 2

How children learn a foreign/ second language

1. Children have no reason for learning English

Children do not have their own reasons for learning English. The decision to

learn English is taken for children by a local education authority or by parents

on behalf of children. The child may not know what language learning means.By contrast, adults know what it means to learn a language. They usually have

very clear reasons and a need for learning a language. Thus, with children, the

teacher has to motivate them so that they are willing to try and use the new

language. Children are initially motivated to learn English because they like

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their teacher or because of interesting activities. As children get older (9

onwards), they become more aware of the importance of English and begin to

find their own reasons for learning English.

2. Miss I am bored! Children are still developing their ability to manage

their own behavior.

Children tend to lose interest in things they are doing in unpredictable ways.

One minute they seem engaged and then suddenly they seem to have lost

interest. This makes them different from teenagers/ adults. Children will

quickly let the teacher know they are bored through their actions: they become

restless, move around in their seats, distract other children, and so on. Very

young children may innocently announce to the teacher, “ I don’t want to do

this activity anymore”, without feeling any embarrassment. Adults may also

feel bored or frustrated with aspects of their language learning class but

because they have chosen to learn English, they will usually keep trying and

hide their feelings. Children are not quite clear why they are in school and they

have not chosen to be there. Therefore, they will need to be managed far more

carefully than adults when they are carrying out activities in pairs or groups.

They do not yet know how to manage their own behaviour. However, as they

go through school, they will gradually learn how to regulate themselves.

3. Children give priority to meaning, not words

Children tend to focus on meaning of a situation rather than the words to

express the message. They are very quick to work out what is happening byusing situational or context clues and knowledge of people’s intentions. The

general tendency in children is – to give less attention to the words themselves.

Teachers need to build on children’s instinct for meaning as it is very useful for

language learning- children can work out what is going on before they have

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How Children Learn

acquired very much language. Once they understand what is happening then it

is easier for them to begin to associate certain words with the meanings in that

situation. Teachers need to respond positively to children’s attempts to make

sense of things even if this is expressed inaccurately. Accuracy is important but

can be dealt with later once children are familiar with the meaning.

4. Children can learn from direct experience and activity

Children have strong urge or instinct from birth to explore and interact with

their environment. Young children like to touch and play with things. If they

see a puddle, they will jump over it or splash in it. If they see switches or buttons, they want to press them. This strong tendency enables them to learn

about the world and build up their understanding of the world they live in.

When children are engaged in doing activities, the language is closely related

to the physical actions. So they can get clues about the meaning of the words

from the physical activity and the context. Through their involvement in such

activities they pick up some of the language associated with the activity quite

unconsciously. Children are much more likely to learn/ acquire key

grammatical points when involved in playful or communicative activities. In

such situations, the particular grammatical structures naturally arise out of

doing the activity; there is no deliberate focus on the grammatical forms.

Task 4: Conditions to support L1 & L2 Look at the picture and the dialogue between a mother and a son who is getting

dressed. Discuss in groups conditions to support L1

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• Conversation :

- Mother: Now we’re nearly dressed…Ok, good boy. Where are your shoes?

- Child: Sus…

- Mother: Yes, your shoes. Where are they? ( Both look around for the

shoes.)

- Mother: Oh there. Look.. Your shoes…on the chair.

- Child: Sus. Sus.

- Mother: Yes shoes.

Task 5 :

Most normal human beings successfully acquire the first language but not all

successfully acquire/ learn the second language. If we look at the conditions for

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L1 learning and compare them with the typical school situation where children

learn English, we may understand why.

1. In groups, compare the conditions for L1 learning with L2 learning, using

your knowledge of YL classrooms.

2. Make notes of differences or similarities in the chart below.

Conditions supportive of L1 learning Do these apply to L2 learning?

1. Plenty of exposure. Child is

surrounded by the language.2. Rich input: children are exposed to

many different varieties/ uses of

language

3. Plenty of repetition. There is routine

in a child’s life so language gets

repeated naturally in similar situations.

4. Friendly warm environment: Both

mother and child are interested in each

other

5. Children are motivated to talk based

on desire and need to communicate with

others.

6. Language is used for communicative

purposes not for learning about

grammar 7. Unlimited time available for learning

the language

Task 6 : DVD watching

OBSERVATION SHEET

Conditions to support effective FL learning

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Extract 1: Analysing classroom materials for learning English

Watch the video and tick the teaching aids and visual techniques you can spot in

this extract

Picture flashcards

Word flashcards

Number flashcards

Songs

Chants

Music

Rhythm sticks

Board games

puzzles

PuppetsModels & dolls

Posters for vocabularyPosters of students’ work

Posters of pictures

Big books and readers

Videos/ DVD Chalkboards

whiteboards

Masks

Role-play/ drama

Clothing/ costumes

Mime/ gestures

computer Toys

dice

Reference reading

CONDITIONS TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE FOREIGN/ SECOND

LANGUAGE LEARNING

• create a real need and desire to use English

• provide sufficient time for English

• provide exposure to varied and meaningful input with a focus on

communication

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• provide opportunities for children to experiment with new language

• provide plenty of opportunities to practice and use the language in different

contexts

• create a friendly atmosphere in which they can take risks and enjoy their

learning

• provide feedback on learning

• help children notice the underlying pattern in language

Moon J. (2000). Children Learning English. Macmillan, p.10

Extract 2: Creating the right environment for language learning to take place

Watch the video and tick the conditions you can spot (Yes/ No) in this extract

Yes No Comment

1. Does this activity create everyday, real

situations within classroom?

2. Does it have real interaction and

communicative activities?

3. Does it use topics that are related to

everyday situations and routines which

are relevant to learners?

4. Does it support and extend children’s

learning as “caretakers” (scaffolding)?

5. Does it create a stress-free, interesting

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and supportive environment for

learners?

6. Does it recycle input in a variety of

different contexts?

Reference reading

CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING TO TAKE

PLACE

• create everyday, real situations within the classroom in which one of the

only new aspects of the interaction is the foreign language

• have a continued exchange of meaning in our activities in the classroom

through real interaction and communicative activities

• use topics that are related to everyday situations and routines which are

relevant to our learners

• support and extend children’s learning as “caretakers” (adult helpers)

• encourage the learner to be a thinker and problem solver and to respond to

and develop through challenge

• create a stress-free, interesting and supportive environment for our learners

• recycle input in a variety of different contexts which will create a highly

meaningful and purposeful learning environment

Adapted from Hughes, A. (2001) The Teaching of language to Young Learners (p.

21)

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Section 3: MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Task 1: Put the following people in order with the most intelligent person first.

- David Beckham

- Michael Jackson

- Leonardo da Vinci

- Issac Newton

- Wolfgang Amadous Mozart

- Martin Luther King

Task 2: Look at the diagram of the theory “Multiple Intelligences” by Howard

Gardner. Fill in the gaps with kinds of the intelligences.

1. linguistic

2. visual/ spatial

3. logical/ mathematical

4. bodily/ kinesthetic

5. musical

6. intrapersonal

7. interpersona

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Task 3: Match the types of intelligences with their abilities and skills they are

good at.

MIs Abilities Skills

Verbal/ Linguistic

intelligence

i. understanding the visual

world and responding well toit

a. singing, playing musical

instruments, composingmusic, remembering

melodies, understanding the

structure and rhythm of

music.

Logical/ mathematical ii. controlling the body and b. recognizing their strengths

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intelligence handling the objects and weaknesses, reflecting

and analyzing themselves,

understanding their roles in

relationship with others.

Spatial/ Visual

intelligence

iii. being sensitive to words

and sounds and the use of

language

c. seeing things from other

perspectives, listening,

communicating both verbally

and non-verbally.

Bodily-kinaesthetic

intelligence

iv. being sensitive to feeling

of others and responding

well

d. problem solving,

classification, and

categorizing information,

performing complex

mathematical calculations,

working with geometric

shapes…

Musical intelligence v. understanding our own

feelings and controlling our

own behaviour

e. listening, speaking, story

telling, analyzing language

usage…

Interpersonal

intelligence

vi. seeing number patterns

and following an argument

f . reading, writing,

understanding charts and

graphs, sketching, painting,

designing practical objects….

Intrapersonal

intelligence

vii. hearing and making

sounds and rhythm in music

g. dancing, sports, using body

language, crafts, acting,

miming, expressing emotions

through the body…

Task 4: Where does your true intelligence lie? This quiz will tell you where you

stand and what to do about it. Read each statement. If it expresses some

characteristics of yours and sounds true for the most part, jot down “T ”. If it

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doesn’t, mark “F ”. If the statement is sometimes true, sometimes false, leave it

blank.

1. _________ I’d rather draw a map than give someone verbal directions.

2. _________ I can play (or used to play) a musical instrument.

3. _________ I can associate music with my moods.

4. _________ I can add or multiply in my head.

5. _________ I like to work with calculators and computers.

6. _________ I pick up new dance steps fast.

7. _________ It’s easy for me to say what I think in an argument or debate.

8. _________ I enjoy a good lecture, speech and sermon.

9. _________ I always know north from south no matter where I am.

10. _________ Life seems empty without music.

11. _________ I always understand the directions that come with new gadgets

or appliances.

12. _________ I like to work puzzles and play games.

13. _________ Learning to ride a bike (or skates) was easy.

14. _________ I am irritated when I hear an argument or statement that sounds

illogical.

15. _________ My sense of balance and coordination is good.

16._________ I often see patterns and relationships between numbers faster

and easier than others.

17. _________ I enjoy building models (or sculpting).18. _________ I’m good at finding the fine points of word meaning.

19. _________ I can look at an object one way and see it sideways or

backwards just as easily.

20. _________ I often connect a piece of music with some event in my life.

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21. _________ I like to work numbers and figures.

22. _________ Just looking at shapes of buildings and structures is pleasurable

to me.

23. _________ I like to hum, whistle and sing in the shower or when I’m alone.

24. _________ I’m good at athletics.

25. _________ I’d like to study the structure and logic of languages.

26. _________ I’m usually aware of the expression on my face.

27. _________ I’m sensitive to the expressions on other people’s faces.

28. _________ I stay “in touch” with my moods. I have no trouble identifying

them.

29. _________ I am sensitive to the moods of others.

30. _________ I have a good sense of what others think of me.

Task 5: Put a tick (√) by the item you marked as “True” in MIs test. Add up your

total. A total of four in any of the categories A-E indicates strong ability. In

categories F & G, a score of one or more means you have abilities as well.

A B C D E F

Linguisti

c

Logical-

Mathemat

ical

Musical Spatial/

Visual

Bodily-

kinaesthet

ic

Intrapersonal Inte

so

7. ______

8. ______

14. _____ 18. _____

25. _____

4. _______

5. _______

12. ______ 16. ______

21. ______

2. _____

3. _____

10. ____ 20. ____

23. ____

1. ______

9. ______

11. _____ 19. _____

22. _____

6. _______

13. ______

15. ______ 17. ______

24. ______

26. _____

28. _____

27.

____

29. ____

30.

____

Totals: ________ ________ _______ ________ _________ ________

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Task 6 : Move around and ask your peers if you and your peers belong to the sametype of intelligence. Give specific examples about the abilities or skills that both of

you can do.

Task 7 : DVD watching

Watch the three extracts from classroom around the world and answer the

questions:

1. What is the aim of the activity?

2. What type of multiple intelligences is involved?

3. List the teaching techniques the teacher uses to develop the children’s MIs.

Extract 1 Extract 2 Extract 3

Aim

Type of MIs

Teaching

techniques

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Task 8: Reflect on MIs session Recall what you have learned and done in this session. Write the types of intelligences

that the trainer used to develop trainees’ MIs

Activities MIs

I. Warm-up (crossword puzzle)

II. Who is the most intelligent?

III. Matching the types of intelligences

from the diagram

IV. Matching titles, descriptions and

skills

V. MI quiz

VI. DVD watching

REFERENCE READING ON MIs

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References:

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

New York

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching

(2nd Edition), Oxford University Press

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