November 4th Presentation

I have finished the final presentation for 2007. It was a presentation for English Teachers in Japan, Ehime, and can be viewed here:

ETJ Ehime

I am currently working on the next paper for my MA, about learner training, and how it doesn't work very well in my teaching situation.

Down to Business

I mentioned in the previous entry that I'd be giving a "slightly modified" version of September's presentation in October in Hiroshima. This has turned into a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT presentation altogether.

The details of the Hiroshima presentation can be found here:

ETJ Expo Hiroshima

This will be about how the first five minutes of class affects the rest of class time, based on half-hour interviews of 17 teachers of children.

My next paper for my MA will focus on learning strategies, and basically how they may benefit learners in some cultures, but from my experience in my conversation school, learners rarely want to lead themselves in this culture. They look for the teacher to guide them, and feel they aren't getting what they pay for if they are required to find ways to learn beyond what the teacher gives them.

Maybe some would think this is a harsh statement, and if so I strongly urge you to contact me or at least comment on this blog to make your point. Anyone with an opinion either way, may be able to influence my paper, so it would be in your interest to comment here.

Self-motivation/ Tooting my own horn

In July, I gave a presentation to JALT in Matsuyama. Sure, it was intimidating to speak in front of people who have been working in universities for many years, and have more experience than I do. But I survived, and have an after-glow.

The title of it was, "Motivation from Natural Resources: Genuine Communication Through Surveys" and can be found here: http://www.eltcalendar.com/events/details/3617

Mid-August held the week-long seminar by the University of Birmingham. This was very motivating, and expanded the worlds of all the students who attended.

In the course of the seminar, we were sectioned into groups to create a project. My group created ideas for the groundwork of a textbook. This got us thinking, and have decided to keep at it. We will work it through to completion, and publication. We have the motivation to work it into our busy schedules.

In September, I'll be giving a presentation for ETJ Ehime in Matsuyama. The title is, "Motivation? Chaos? A Study of Young Learners, Games, and Behavior" and the link for this one is here: http://www.eltcalendar.com/events/details/3727

In October I'll give a slightly modified version of the same presentation to the ELT Expo in Hiroshima.

All in all, I think I'm highly motivated... but I wonder how much of it can be attributed to procrastination from doing reading for my next Birmingham assignment...

Motivational Heroes

When talking about motivational research, there are a few people who need to be mentioned.

Zoltan Dornyei's book, Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom, is first on the list. It gives descriptions of motivational theories in history leading up to current research. Check out the chart on pages 10 and 11 in that book, and you can see the basic outlines of theories by Deci and Ryan (self-determination theory), Brophy (expectancy-value theories),Weiner's attribution theory, etc! I find it also important to note that Dornyei discusses the research of Robert Gardner, the guy famous for research in French/English immersion schools in Canada. In addition to all of this great background, there is a useful checklist in the back of the book, summarizing Dornyei's ideas given throughout the book, and shows motivational items which can be used in the classroom.

Dornyei and Otto's (1998) paper, Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation is interesting in that it proposes that motivation must be studied in relation to time, noting fluctuations.

Another author is John Keller, with his ARCS motivational model. ARCS is an acronym for Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. I have found the most of his research to apply to my students with the exception of students requiring equity (in the Satisfaction stage). This does apply to my adult students, but children tend to be satisfied by winning more than being treated fairly. Most of the games need to be rigged by the teacher (at least in my classroom) so that even if there is a weak student, there is the illusion of competition between all students. I alter point systems, change some rules, etc, to achieve a balance of strengths between all students during English language games. I find that if a child loses a game miserably, then their confidence is shattered (even if for just a short time).

REFERENCES

Dornyei, Z. and Otto, I. (1998) Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics [online], Thames Valley University, London, 4, 43-69. Available from: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/archive/00000039/ [Accessed 15 May 2007]

Dornyei, Z. (2001) Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Keller, J and Suzuki, K (2004) Learner motivation and E-learning design: a multinationally validated process. Learning, Media and Technology, 29/3, 229–239.
Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1358165042000283084
[Accessed 20 June 2007]

Keller, J (1999) Motivation in Cyber Learning Environments. Educational Technology International, 1/1, 7-30.

Clarification

My first paper has been submitted. Now there is a short time to think about other areas of life.

Looking back on the May 4th entry of this blog, I see how it could be seen differently than how it was intended. The "data" I talked about was my own diary data. If it was seen as anything other than that meaning, then I'm sorry. The tutors on the course are excellent.

The decision to re-invent my diary-keeping methods gave my entire paper an interesting perspective, and helped me examine which style is best.

Written discourse is very exciting to me these days. Without listening to tone-of-voice or being able to see visual clues from another person, the writer must make clear their intentions through words. It's something I struggle with as a native speaker of English, so how will I be able to teach it to non-native speakers when the time comes?

Motivation and Games

The second Motivational Journal is now complete. Now I can spend time thinking about the entries and make some observations.

The first thing I found was my insistence to use games in the children's classes. This is common practice, and it works to a great extent in the classes I've taught, and observed. But writing about it, recording the lessons I do and realizing how much we play games to coax students into learning English~ it just really makes me stop and think a moment.

Are children really that simple? Is it like the Pavlovian dogs with the bell, drooling because they associate English with games?

Games don't always work, by the way. And in some games, I found the students getting TOO excited. Here, the game is taking precedence over English. In my research I call it crossing the "Point of Disruption" (or PoD).

Using realia is another other option. Finding ways to make English "real" for the students can be motivating. We used real fruit last year for a Parent's Week lesson, and that worked well. Printing out pictures of sports stars and their favorite characters, and also having communication with people in English outside of the classroom, these are all ways to make the experience real for them. Unfortunately, there are limits to what we have access to, and to what a conversation school allows.

Total Physical Response (TPR) always gets them moving and excited. It has its uses, but it has its limits, too.

Role-reversal is fun, having the students be the teacher, but this can cause uncomfortable silences while one student is trying to come up with the language on their own. Even if everyone is patient in the classroom (including me), it still can only work for a short time.

So I guess the answer is balance. A little of this, and a little of that. Mix it together, and you have a motivated group of students learning English. That's the conclusion of my teaching journal, anyway.

Learning teachers teaching learning to learners

I'm not a polished teacher. I'm learning how to teach. Maybe this will be my future: Learning to teach/ Teaching to learn.
The other end~ students. Are they learning from the teacher? Are they apprentice English speakers? Are they learning how to take control of their own learning?
How do we teach learners how to learn things for themselves? If we figure this out, then teachers may become obsolete. Throughout the ages, there have been "Great Teachers." Socrates, Nadia Boulanger (music teacher of Aaron Copland, Quincy Jones, Philip Glass, etc), David Nunan... the list goes on and on. They are known for their teaching. Could teachers really become obsolete? Could, for instance, if one is given rules for how to learn on their own, they learn English without a teacher? Why would people need teachers if they are given the skills to teach themselves?
I'm rambling a bit. However, I'm thinking back to my music days. Could Aaron Copland have created music without the influence of Boulanger? Could Plato have come up with such amazing ideas without the guidance from Socrates? Could any of these people teach themselves sufficiently so as not to require a teacher at all?

I think the answer is "No." I believe it is important to give our students the power and skill to learn how to learn. However, I don't think it means that doing this will render the teacher useless.

On the contrary, once students begin to understand parts of the puzzle, it makes the missing pieces more evident. They may want to learn more techniques for learning the language; more ways to see the monster and quell the beast.

Yes, I've been awake too long. Hehehe. Time for sleep.