7/25/2019 Unit2_section3 Focus on the Learner http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/unit2section3-focus-on-the-learner 1/23 The Distance Delta Unit 2 Section 3- 1 -Focus on the Learner NB: A copy of this document appears in both the course materials and Module 3 for ease of reference. Summary The information in this document will be useful for all three modules. In Module 1, you may well be tested on terminology connected to the learner. In Module 2, you will be referring to learner styles/ needs in the profile in your plans. But above all, you will be using the information from these materials when you write Module 3. In Part 2 you are required to show an understanding of learner styles, needs and motivation. In this section we will spend time considering some of the characteristics of learners that may affect their success in language learning. Some of these features are related to their cultural background or to the context in which they are learning. Others relate very much to the individual him or herself. We will consider learner beliefs, motivation, and learning styles, which are all very important factors affecting learning. We will then look at learning strategies - things that learners can be trained to do to help themselves learn. We then look briefly at intelligence, personality and aptitude, and finally consider if it is possible to describe the characteristics of a good language learner. Objectives By the end of this section you will be able to: •Demonstrate some knowledge of the different attitudes and aspirations with which speakers of other languages approach the learning of English. •Notice and describe differences between adult learners in terms of their belief systems, motivation, learning styles and preferences, and so on. •Find ways of enhancing the motivation and learning opportunities for your adult learners taking account of their cognitive and affective needs. •Get further insight into learners for your specialism if you are doing Module 3
NB: A copy of this document appears in both the course materials and Module 3 forease of reference.
Summary
The information in this document will be useful for all three modules.
In Module 1, you may well be tested on terminology connected to the learner.
In Module 2, you will be referring to learner styles/ needs in the profile in your plans.
But above all, you will be using the information from these materials when you writeModule 3. In Part 2 you are required to show an understanding of learner styles,needs and motivation.
In this section we will spend time considering some of the characteristics of learnersthat may affect their success in language learning. Some of these features arerelated to their cultural background or to the context in which they are learning.
Others relate very much to the individual him or herself. We will consider learnerbeliefs, motivation, and learning styles, which are all very important factors affectinglearning. We will then look at learning strategies - things that learners can be trainedto do to help themselves learn. We then look briefly at intelligence, personality andaptitude, and finally consider if it is possible to describe the characteristics of a goodlanguage learner.
Objectives
By the end of this section you will be able to:
• Demonstrate some knowledge of the different attitudes and aspirations with
which speakers of other languages approach the learning of English.
• Notice and describe differences between adult learners in terms of their beliefsystems, motivation, learning styles and preferences, and so on.
• Find ways of enhancing the motivation and learning opportunities for your adultlearners taking account of their cognitive and affective needs.
• Get further insight into learners for your specialism if you are doing Module 3
‘There are a large number of potential factors which might affect anindividual’s success in learning a language. Some of these might relate
to the individual learner , some to the learning context (includinginstitutional, methodological and affective factors) and some to thelanguage being learnt’.
If we consider the language being learnt, factors come into play such as:
• Similarity to /difference to L1 (form, lexis, pronunciation, script etc.)
• Opportunities for and types of exposure
• Relationships/attitudes among speakers of L1 and L2 towards each other
• Learners’ beliefs about the language (e.g. the grammar is difficult)
If we consider the learning context, we raise issues such as:
• The role of the target language and culture in the learner’s own culture
• Whether the learner is learning the language as a second language (i.e. to use inthat country) or as a foreign language
• Number of years of study, method of study, amount and type of exposure to thelanguage
• Teaching methods (and how they match with individuals’ learning styles)
• Affective factors such as attitudes and relationships to teachers, peers andspeakers of the target language, self esteem, perceived relevance of what islearnt, etc.
You will have already thought about the importance of some of these factors if youconducted your initial interviews/questionnaires with your chosen group for theModule 3 extended assignment.
In this section we will focus on the individual learner in more detail. This section willbe particularly useful when you are writing up Part two of your Module 3 assignmentand when you are writing the course profile on your lesson plans for Module 2. Youmay also be tested on the terminology in this section in Module 1.
Read chapter 3 of How Languages are Learned by Lightbown and Spada onfactors affecting second language learning if you have not aleady done so.
• How much do you remember? What are some of the characteristics ofthe learner that may affect his or her success in second languagelearning?
• After thinking, and possibly making some notes, skim read the chapteragain to remind yourself.
The factors mentioned in fact are intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation andattitudes, learner preferences, learner beliefs and age.
In this section we will explore some of these factors in a little more in depth:
2. Learner belief systems
Lightbown and Spada restrict their discussion of learner beliefs to beliefs aboutteaching methods. However, it can include more than that:
‘’Learners’ beliefs are influenced by the social context of learning andcan influence both their attitudes towards the language itself as well astowards language learning in general (Tumposky 1991). Learners’ beliefsystems cover a wide range of issues and can influence learners’motivation to learn, their expectations about language learning, theirperceptions about what is easy or difficult about a language as well asthe kind of learning strategies they favour”.
Richards, J. C. & Lockhart, C. J. 1994 Reflective Teaching in SecondLanguage Classrooms Cambridge University Press p52
TASK 2: Reading and Discussion with Colleagues (45mins)
Read Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms chapter 3, thesection on Learner Belief Systems (pages 52 – 59) and make some notes on thedifferent belief systems that are described.
With a colleague or a group of colleagues, do questions 1 and 2 of the ‘Discussion’
task on page 59.
3. Motivation
Motivation is generally identified as a crucial factor in the learning process and moststudies report a high correlation between motivation and achievement. Whether
motivation leads to success or success leads to motivation is less clear but it seemsthe two are closely linked.
Defining motivation is a complex issue:
‘It is important to emphasise that motivation involves more than simplyarousing interest; it also involves making a decision to act, sustaining the
interest, and deciding how much effort to put in’.
Williams, M. 1999 Motivation in Language Learning ETP Issue 13
Traditionally a distinction has been made between integrative and instrumentalmotivation (Gardner and Lambert).
If a learner is instrumentally motivated, it means that they have a practical goal intheir language learning, in terms of their study or work. Perhaps they have to take anexam in the foreign language or they need to use it in their job. If, on the other hand,a learner is integratively motivated it means that they want to learn for reasons ofpersonal growth or cultural enrichment. Perhaps they are lovers of that language andculture, they like to visit the country where it is spoken and/or they have friends there.
Research suggests that integratively motivated learners tend to do better than thosewho are instrumentally motivated. This may well depend on the context, however.Learners who are living in the target language culture may do better if they areintegratively motivated, but in other situations where the target language is beinglearnt as a foreign language, instrumental motivation may be more important.
Another distinction, perhaps more useful, is made by cognitive psychologistsbetween extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation leads you to dosomething because of some external pressure such as a reward or punishment ofsome kind, whereas if you are intrinsically motivated you carry out the task for itsown sake. Research seems to indicate that while extrinsic motivation may be usefulas well, it is intrinsic motivation that leads better to long-term learning.
Motivation, however, is really much more complex than either of these dichotomiessuggest. It is most certainly influenced by a range of factors, both internal andexternal to the learner, and it is also not a static thing as the instrumental/integrativelabelling might suggest. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation could work together ratherthan be seen as opposite ends of a continuum.
Williams and Burden also point out the importance of the perceived value of theactivity as a crucial factor affecting motivation:
‘The greater the value that individuals attach to the accomplishment of orinvolvement in an activity, the more highly motivated they will be both toengage in it initially, and later to put sustained effort into succeeding inthe activity. This would appear to be true whether they are influenced byintrinsic or extrinsic reasons.’
Williams, M. & Burden, R. L. 1997 Psychology for Language Teachers Cambridge University Press p125
What do you think are the different factors that may affect a learner’s motivation?Think about a learner who is learning in a classroom situation. For example:
• The learner’s relationship with his or her classmates
• The level of material (if the learner thinks it’s too easy or too difficult or justright)
Make a list of the factors you come up with.
Is it possible for you as the teacher to influence any of these things? How?
For example, the teacher can try to ensure a good relationship among learners bypersonalising, by encouraging students to use each other’s names, by gettingstudents to work with each other etc.
See Appendix 1.
For more about motivation, read:
Nunan, D. & Lamb, C. 1996 The Self Directed Teacher Cambridge University Presschapter 7
Richards, J C 1980 Motivation. English Teaching Perspectives. Longman pp75-77
Williams, M. October 1999 Motivation in Language Learning ETP Issue 13
Williams, M. & Burden, R. L. 1997 Psychology for Language Teachers CambridgeUniversity Press chapter 6
4. Learning Styles
Another important aspect of individual differences is in learning style. A lot has beenwritten about this in recent years. You may have heard the terms VAK, VAKOG ormultiple intelligences for example.
‘Learners have clear preferences for how they go about learning newmaterial. The term ‘learning style’ has been used to describe anindividual’s natural, habitual and preferred way of absorbing processingand retaining new information and skills (Reid 1995)‘.
Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. op cit p58
Exactly how many different kinds of learning style there are is another debatableissue, although attempts have been made to categorise learners into types.
Read Wingate, J. 1996 Multiple Intelligences ETP Issue 1
Then answer these questions:
1. Which ‘intelligences’ does he list?
2. Which ones are traditionally valued and tested in school learning situations?
3. What kind of learning tasks in an ELT context might suit each kind of learner?
See Appendix 2.
Some ELT practitioners influenced by Neuro-linguistic programming have talkedabout different sensory styles (VAK refers to visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and –OGto olfactory and gustatory).
‘The systems we use to experience the world are called our primaryrepresentational systems. Depending to some extent on context, mostpeople naturally tend to use one system more than the other two, or onesystem before the others, either when noticing things around them orwhen learning something new’.
Revell, J. & Norman, S. 1997 In Your Hands Saffire Press p31
A quiz about sensory styles appears in that book on page 29 and more on VAKOG ifyou are interested. It is very appealing in theory and has attractively practicalrelevance for the teacher. Please beware, however, of making too many rash judgements about your learners on limited evidence! (For example, if a learner sayshe likes using pictures in class, it may be tempting to label him as a visual learner.
However, it would be difficult to find learners who don’t find pictures helpful.) SeeRevell and Norman’s other book, Handing Over for more classroom ideas.
Elsewhere (based on Knowles’ categories and referred to in books by Willing,Richards and Lockhart, and Skehan), other distinctions have been made in terms oflearning style, or cognitive style, and the following types identified:
• Concrete learning style
• Analytical learning style
• Communicative learning style
• Authority-oriented learning style
‘Learners with a concrete learning style use active and direct means oftaking in and processing information. They are interested in informationthat has immediate value. They are curious, spontaneous and willing totake risks. They like variety and a constant change of pace. They dislikeroutine learning and written work, and prefer verbal or visualexperiences. They like to be entertained and like to be physicallyinvolved in learning’.
‘Learners with an analytical style are independent, like to solve problemsand enjoy tracking down ideas and developing principles on their own.
Such learners prefer a logical, systematic presentation of new learningmaterial with opportunities for learners to follow up on their own. Analytical learners are serious, push themselves hard, and arevulnerable to failure.’
‘Learners with a communicative learning style prefer a social approach tolearning. They need personal feedback and interaction, and learn well
from discussion and group activities. They thrive in a democratically runclass.’
‘Learners with an authority-oriented style are said to be responsible anddependable. They like and need structure and sequential progression.They relate well to a traditional classroom. They prefer the teacher as anauthority figure. They like to have clear instructions and to know exactlywhat they are doing; they are not comfortable with consensus-buildingdiscussion’.
Richards, J. C & Lockhart, C. Reflective Teaching in SecondLanguage Classrooms chapter 3 p60
TASK 5: Reflecting on Learning Styles (20mins)
Think about one of your groups of learners. Just from your observations of theclass at work, can you actually identify any of the types of learner describedabove? Are there any predominant types of styles in within your group? Do thesedescriptions reflect reality in your opinion?
(You will be asked to find out more information about your group if you are doingthe Module 3 Extended Assignment).
From reading the descriptions above it is clear that learning style will affect alearner’s preferences for particular activities or approaches in the classroom. Forexample, authority-oriented style learners will probably like teacher-led activities andlots of teacher explanation. Analytical learners on the other hand may like workingthings out for themselves (e.g. working out grammar rules from examples).
Devise an activity to find out about your learners’ learning preferences (that is whatthey like doing and consider useful in class). If you are doing Module 3, it would bea good idea to do this activity on your chosen specialism group so that you can
use the information in the Extended Assignment too. For ideas, look at:
• Willing Teaching how to learn
• Richards & Lockhart Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms
• Nunan & Lamb The Self-directed Teacher chapter 7
• Porter-Ladousse Language Issues pages 4 & 5
• Ellis & Sinclair Learning to learn English pages 8 & 9
• Hadfield Classroom Dynamics Chapter 2
Are there any general preferences? Do you think you cater for these adequately?How do you or could you cater for individual preferences?
Another distinction that has often been referred to when talking about learning style isthat of field dependence and field independence.
‘This refers to whether an individual tends to separate details from the generalbackground or to see things more holistically’.
Lightbown P. & Spada, N. 1999 How Languages are Learned OxfordUniversity Press p58
However, this is a rather more difficult factor to analyse with any degree of certainty.
Williams and Burden in Psychology for Language Teachers point out many of theproblems of designing tests to measure factors such as this.
It is important to remember that all these different learning styles are labels that havebeen ‘invented’ to apply to the ‘reality’ of how different people learn, or prefer tolearn. They cannot therefore be absolutely clearly defined categories. We shouldavoid accepting them as black and white distinctions between types of learners;rather they may represent tendencies. For you as a language teacher, it is interestingto notice – and find out about - such tendencies in your learners since it may helpyou see why learners respond as they do to certain types of activities. It should alsohelp you in consciously extending your repertoire of teaching techniques andapproaches to try and ensure you cater for all types of learner. There can be atendency for us to teach in the way that we favour as learners.
On this topic Willing writes:
‘There is not much doubt that teachers’ styles of teaching are greatlyinfluenced by their own individual learning styles. For one thing there isalways the temptation to do in class those sorts of activities which onepersonally enjoys (and indeed why not?). So the analytical teacher isnaturally more interested in structure; formal correctness, getting atrules by deduction or discovery and in pointedly organised classprocedures. The concrete teacher is more sensitive to social interaction,
and tends to favour activities in which learners are given plenty ofexposure to the language in communicative contexts (e.g. in roleplays,group projects, practice and discussion)’.
Willing, K. Teaching How to Learn (A Teachers Guide) NationalCentre for English Language Teaching and Research, MacquarieUniversity, Sydney 1989
TASK 7: Reflecting on Your Learning / Teaching Style (45mins-1hr)
Think about the following:
• How would you describe yourself as a learner? (Think about recentexperiences you’ve had in the classroom, perhaps learning a language, etc.).
• As a teacher, what kind of classroom activities do you like doing best? Arethere any you dislike or feel less comfortable doing (or maybe you don’t dothem)?
• Does your teaching approach reflect your learning style? Are there activitieswhich you do a lot because YOU like them (rather than the students)?Conversely, are there any that you avoid (because YOU don’t like them) whichcould benefit your students who have different learning styles?
In addition to your reflection, look at Wingate’s quiz in Multiple Intelligences andthen read Multiple Intelligences and Lesson Planning.
Write a brief summary of your thoughts on the Discussion Forum on the website(not more than 200 words). Write a short response to questions 1 and 2, then theconclusion that you reached in 3. Mention any action you would like to take tochange your current practice.
5. Learning Strategies
Strategies can be defined as procedures that learners use in relation to the task oflearning a foreign language. They are things that can be learnt or changed unlikelearning style which is normally considered a relatively stable characteristic.
They include:
• Memory strategies, which help students to store and retrieve information.
• Cognitive strategies, which enable learners to understand and produce newlanguage.
• Compensation strategies, which allow learners to communicate despitedeficiencies in their language knowledge.
• Metacognitive strategies, which allow learners to control their own learningthrough organising, planning and evaluating.
• Affective strategies, which help learners gain control over their emotions,attitudes, motivations and values.
• Social strategies, which help learners interact with other people.
[Based on Oxford, R. 1990 Language Learning Strategies: What every teachershould know New York: Newbury House, quoted in Richards and Lockhart
Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, page 63 to 65]
(Note that other writers use different categories: once again, these are labels appliedto ‘reality’ and so interpretations can vary).
TASK 8: Classifying Learning Strategies (25mins)
Read Richards & Lockhart Reflective Teaching in Second LanguageClassrooms, pages 63 to 65.
Here are some examples of learning strategies. Can you classify them according to
the above six types of learning strategies?
1. Labelling things in your room with post-its so that every time you go in there youcan read the labels.
2. Filling in a learning checklist, saying how confident you feel in each area.
3. Seeking out native speakers of the language to talk to.
4. Paraphrasing when you don’t know the word you want when speaking.
5. Playing a positive role in groupwork tasks.
6. Ignoring unknown lexical items when you are reading.
7. Setting goals and time aside for language learning.
8. Looking at notes taken in class and rewriting them.
9. Reading signs and notices in public places and trying to work out what theymean.
10. Making notes before carrying out a writing task.
11. Getting to know your classmates.
12. Relaxing by listening to songs in the target language.
See Appendix 3.
Learners who have not been in a learning situation for some time or who were not‘good’ learners at school may in particular benefit from some work on learningstrategies. This means raising awareness of different ways of learning andsuggesting useful strategies. People learn in different ways and therefore you reallyshouldn’t be too authoritarian about how they should go about it. If learners have arange of strategies available, though, they can choose what suits them. Somelearners of course may already have very clear ideas about what learning a languageentails and the kind of activities that should be done in the process. For example a lot
of students want to be corrected more than a lot of native speaker teachers actuallydo, or they want to write everything down (or not write anything down!) even if youhave a different idea about the nature of the activity. You may therefore find it usefulto discuss the rationale behind certain procedures and activities that you use andbear you learners’ feedback in mind!
TASK 9: Helping Learners to Adopt Useful Learning Strategies
Look at the materials in Appendix 4. What kind of learning strategies do they aim topromote?
The suggested answers also appear in the key to Appendix 4.
If you are interested in reading more about learning strategies, read Williams andBurden, Psychology for the Language Teacher , chapter 7.
6. Personality
Various attempts have been made to link certain personality types with success (orlack of it) in language learning. For example, it has been claimed that extroverts andrisk takers are better language learners. However, there are difficulties in measuringthese factors and it also would seem to depend on what aspect of language learningis being focussed on. Even intuitively there doesn’t seem to be any reason why beingan extrovert would help you learn grammar rules or write an essay although it maymean you are more willing to practise speaking in front of others. It may therefore notbe a very useful factor to consider for most teachers, beyond making sensitive judgements about personality and learning preferences (e.g. you know that Susana
is shy so you don’t ask her to stand up in front of the class and do the first mime inthe hotel receptionist game).
7. Intelligence
Measuring intelligence raises problems since it is unclear what exactly it is we aremeasuring. IQ tests measure one type of intelligence but, although there may besome link between this and success in language learning in traditional classrooms(e.g. with the learning of grammar rules, reading, vocabulary) it may not be linked tothe development of communication and interaction skills, such as speaking.
As Lightbown and Spada point out:
’It is important to keep in mind that intelligence is complex and thatindividuals have many kinds of abilities and strengths, not all of whichare measured by traditional IQ tests. In our experience, many studentswhose academic performance has been weak have experiencedconsiderable success in language learning’.
Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. 1999 How Languages are learned OxfordUniversity Press p53
It may be more useful to think in terms of multiple intelligences, which you read aboutin the Wingate article (see Task 3 above).
8. Aptitude
Some people seem to have a ‘gift’ for languages. This means that they haveexceptional aptitude for language learning. You may have met people like this who atleast appear to learn pretty effortlessly and manage to reach a very high level ofproficiency - including excellent pronunciation, perfect grammar and a wide range ofentirely appropriate lexis - in a relatively short time. An English teacher I knew had ahard time convincing Italians that he wasn’t actually Italian (he certainly didn’t lookItalian) and he’d only lived there for about five years and had no previous ‘Italianbackground’!
Psychologists have devised language aptitude tests. These can be used to find outthe language learning abilities of an individual or group of individuals, usually to seeto what extent they would benefit from a language course. This may be particularlyuseful where potential students have no previous foreign language learning
experience, or where a company for instance wishes to send the employees who willbenefit most from an intensive course.
The best known of these tests are the Modern Language Aptitude Test and thePimsleur Language Aptitude Battery, developed in the 1950s.
‘Both tests are based on the view that aptitude is composed of differenttypes of abilities:
• The ability to identify and memorise new sounds.
• The ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences.
• The ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples; and
• Memory for new words’.
Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. op cit p53
Early research showed that there was a link between these factors and success inlanguage learning, at least when learners were instructed via a grammar translationor audio-lingual method. Whether these same factors would lead to success underother circumstances, e.g. in informal settings (not in classrooms) or incommunicative, task based classrooms, it is less clear. You might like to think aboutthis.
There is a ‘light-hearted’ aptitude quiz in Soars, J. and L. Headway Advanced Oxford University Press (1989) p6 – 7 (NB This is only in this edition and not themore recent ones).
9. The Good Language Learner
Other researchers have tried to draw up a profile of a ‘Good Language Learner’which includes a wider range of factors, some relating to aptitude, some topersonality and some to learning strategies. For example:
• Good language learners are willing and accurate guessers.
• Good language learners have a strong drive to communicate, or to learn fromcommunication. They are willing to do many things to get their message across.
• Good language learners are often not inhibited. They are willing to makemistakes in order to learn and to communicate. They are willing to live with acertain amount of vagueness.
• In addition to focussing on communication, good language learners are preparedto attend to form. Good language learners are constantly looking for patterns inthe language.
• Good language learners practise.
• Good language learners monitor their own and the speech of others. That is theyare constantly paying attention to how well their speech is being received andwhether their performance meets the standards they have learnt.
• Good language learners attend to meaning. They know that in order tounderstand the message, it is not sufficient to pay attention to the grammar of thelanguage or to the surface form of the speech.
(Adapted from Rubin 1975)
From Willing, K. Teaching How to Learn (A Teachers Guide) op cit p11.
TASK 10: Reflecting on the Good Language Learner (20mins)
Think about someone you know well: yourself or another person. Do you considerthis person to be a good language learner? Why or why not? Do any of the abovefactors seem to be important or not?
Can you draw up your own list of characteristics of the good language learner?
10. Conclusion
Every student who comes to your language classes is different and experience willhave shown you that different learners learn different things, at different rates and indifferent ways. It is worth taking the time to find out about learners as individuals andthinking about how you can cater for them best as individuals, because it is likelythen that the whole group learning situation will also be enhanced.
3. Attitudes towards the target language and culture
4. Attitude towards/relationship with the teacher
5. Attitudes towards/relationship with peers
6. Attitudes towards the learning materials and tasks, perceived relevance
7. Perception of self as a language learner
8. Enjoyment of the learning process
9. Events in their lives, feelings, tiredness, etc.Some of these relate to long-term states or attitudes, others may be transitory,related to a particular class or learning activity.
How the teacher can help (numbers refer to the numbers above):
1. Encourage students to set goals in their learning, preferably related to the realworld or at least to the course syllabus, create a need for the language in theclassroom, choose materials that will interest the students, be aware of theirneeds and interests, provide opportunities for individualisation.
2. Try to make the work you do success oriented – ensure your learners experiencesuccess (e.g. procedures to help ‘weaker learners’), ensure students get
feedback on their learning, through counselling, marking; give praise where it’sdue; remember the value of positive feedback as well as constructive criticism.
3. Some of these things may be deep-rooted and difficult to affect. The teacher cantry to dispel any negative stereotypes, and s/he should be aware of her/his roleas a ‘real example’ of someone from that culture. Find out what the learners’ viewon the language is, what they perceive to be easy/difficult.
4. Find out about students’ expectations, some students may have quite differentideas from yours about what the teacher’s role is, what constitutes good teaching,(they may also be very reluctant to criticise the teacher in any way). In somecases it may be good to be friendly with your students but be careful you don’tstep over any cultural boundaries. Bear in mind that:
‘Learners from different cultures may have different beliefs about whatconstitutes good teaching’.
Richards, J. C. & Lockhart, C. Reflective Teaching in SecondLanguage Classrooms op cit p55
5. Try to create a good relationship between students: getting to know each other’snames, something about each other, working with different people but ultimatelyrespecting their preferences. See Hadfield, Classroom Dynamics for lots ofideas
6. Find out about the students’ needs; let them have a say in the work you cover;find out about their learning preferences; cater for everyone not just the mostvociferous members of the group; get feedback from them on what they’ve liked,found useful, not liked, not found useful and so on.
7. This is also something deep rooted – people may have decided a long time agothat they were no good at languages, for example. Positive feedback from you
(where deserved), catering for different types of learner, or rather, mixed abilitymay help increase self-esteem. You may also have the opposite problem ofpeople who think they are better than they are. Raise awareness of differenttypes of intelligence (see Wingate Multiple Intelligences).
8. A lot of adult learners spend their free time and a lot of money studying inlanguage classes. If it can become a pleasure rather than a chore, that’s good!What constitutes a pleasure? Humour, (but not all the time), variety, interestingcontent and materials (authentic?), the right amount of challenge, the sense thatspending the time there was really worthwhile and something was learned, thesense of involvement and progress. Find out what your learners want, like, need.
9. Taking a (tactful) interest in students as people, (i.e. the maxim ‘A problem
shared is a ...’), providing a variety of activities, including short activities whenlearners are tired, getting them to move around (mingles, standing up role-plays),being flexible enough to respond to their ‘mood’.
This activity encourages learners to share their positive impressions of the targetlanguage or learning the language.
Hadfield writes:
‘A positive attitude towards oneself as a learner, towards the learningprocess, and towards the language and culture being studied areobviously essential if any progress is to be made. If you have little faith inyour own ability to learn, little enjoyment of or feeling for the language,and feel alienated by and resentful of the culture you will not be highlymotivated to learn’.
Hadfield, J. 1992 Classroom Dynamics Oxford University Press p86
This activity concerns affective strategies.
Excerpt 2
The aim here is that students learn grammar rules by looking at correct and incorrectexamples of the language, discussing them with a partner and reading about the rule.The activity therefore focuses on developing appropriate cognitive strategies.
Excerpt 3
This activity encourages learners to think about the strategies they can adopt to helpthemselves learn and remember lexis. It therefore concerns developing appropriatememory strategies.
Excerpt 4
This activity encourages learners to reflect on their learning in terms of their learning
goals and whether they have achieved them. It therefore concerns metacognitivestrategies.
