3.

1 Motivation (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.
A massive proportion of learners need to be motivated to learn.
Learner motivation makes learning, as well as teaching, immeasurably easier and more pleasant and more
productive.
Theories of motivation are sometimes of value but are unlikely to add much to your practical learning at this
stage. You can delve into these theories if you wish.
You know what motivation is, and you know that sometimes you are highly enthused and driven. At other
times, you don’t quite feel the same drive, or you’re bereft of any drive at all. Of course, your learners are no
different.
When you are motivated, there’s some inspiration and eagerness to succeed in what you are doing. If you
apply this awareness to your learners, you can identify the motivated learner. This is a learner who is willing
and eager to invest significant effort and substantial time in language learning and is driven to make progress.
Instead of digging into the numerous theories, let’s consider some different types of motivation and how
knowledge of motivation will be of great practical use in your role.

3.1.1. Different Types Of Motivation

The types of learner motivation in Point 1 below are the best known and most talked about:
1. Intrinsic motivation v Extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic Motivation
This is the urge to engage in a learning activity for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, or the feelings
of accomplishment it evokes. This type of learner is driven by personal achievement.

Extrinsic Motivation
This comes from external incentives and reward and success, e.g., a qualification, need for a high proficiency
score (e.g., to gain entry to an English-speaking university). Or, perhaps, the desire for higher pay (where
language proficiency offers that).
Whether one type of motivated learner is more motivated than another is up for grabs. There is not enough
conclusive research. Give thought to this when meeting up with your new class, particularly adults.
Ask them why they have decided to take your course (and note the reasons why). This will benefit you when
you are teaching them or when you happen to mingle with them during some other school activity.
2. Integrative motivation v Instrumental motivation
Let’s have a look at another two types of motivation.

Integrative Motivation
A learner who is integratively motivated wants to learn another language because he wants to get to know
and better understand the people who speak that other language. He is also interested in the culture
associated with that language. For example, a learner may have a significant relationship with a person or
persons in another country and wants to learn their language and learn about their culture.
Instrumental Motivation
A learner who is instrumentally motivated wants to learn another language for practical reasons, e.g., getting
into college, achieving a salary increase, securing a post overseas, etc.

3.1.2. Key Elements Of Motivation

Here are some key elements of motivation, drawn from our wide-ranging TEFL and Learning and
Development experience of over many years:

1. You Need To Be Motivated To Motivate Them

You must be motivated before you can motivate your learners. Don’t expect your learners to be motivated if
you are not.
Yes, there will be occasions when you find it challenging to overcome a temporary lacklustre feeling.
Tough though this is, you will need to get out of it, or your learners will quickly become deflated.

2. Most Learners Can Be Driven In Some Way Or Another

There may be the odd learner who appears to lack motivation but, generally, most learners can be motivated in
some way or another.
Perhaps there are cultural considerations. For example, he may not like you taking up his learning time when
the class is involved in fun activities. Alternatively, he may be finding the work too hard. Or, perhaps, he’s not
convinced by the whole communicative approach.
Therefore, you need to find out as much as possible about your learners from Day 1.
What are their likes and dislikes? How have they previously been taught? Did they communicate with you
during the lesson or were your lessons wholly teacher-centred?
If you cannot identify a reason for the drop in drive, make up some reason to meet with the learner after class
(away from his classmates). Try and determine the reason for his lack of, or decline in, motivation. It is
incredible how a little chat can help.
Once you trace the reason why, you can work out ways to help build up his motivation.

3. Motivation Should Be Multi-Directional

When you take up your teaching role, remember that motivation should be multi-directional. Don’t just think
that your purpose is only to motivate learners. You can also help to stimulate a colleague when she is feeling
down. You will reap the rewards from this in the future when she helps you when you are a bit lacklustre.

4. Motivation Doesn’t Last

Motivation doesn’t last. You need to keep at it all the time. Motivating others is a strenuous activity, but it’s
also rewarding. You cannot give up when you, your learners or any of your peers are feeling down. Dig into
your reserves and help as much as you can.
Remember this, again! The whole person comes to school, be it learners or teachers. They come with
all their personal baggage, e.g., worrying about a sick parent/caregiver, or upset due to a breakdown
in some special relationship.
So, the motivated person yesterday may not be the motivated person today. Help and show empathy
wherever you can.

3.1.3. The Relationship Between Motivation And

Language Learning
As research has shown, and as your learning and any teaching experiences probably confirm, motivation is
very strongly related to achievement in language learning. You will be in a position to strongly influence your
learners’ motivation to learn their new language.
You will need to ensure, for example, that your lessons have clear objectives and clear goals and that your
activities are varied and personalised for your learners. Also, ensure that you give feedback and assess on an
ongoing basis.
By doing so, you will be able to foster, stimulate, or even rekindle your learners’ motivation to learn.
If you can accomplish this, learning will happen regardless of whether your learners’ motivation is extrinsic or
intrinsic.
There’s little doubt about it.
Remember this: The most successful learners are not necessarily those who naturally find language learning
easy. It is often those who have specific motivational and attitudinal characteristics, for example:

 the need for achievement

 goal orientation
 perseverance
 tolerance of ambiguity

3.1.4. Recognising A Motivated Learner

What do you think are the characteristics of a motivated learner? How will you identify a motivated learner?
Think of motivated learners you have observed in the past. You may have thought: She’s always on the go,
wanting to learn. How does she do it? What traits and qualities did she have?
Or, perhaps, you have always been a motivated learner. What motivation traits and qualities do you have?
Reflect on this.
Time to reflect
Focus on a motivated learner you know – past or present. It could be yourself.
What traits and qualities does/did this person have?
Try and do this without looking at the next Section.
Take some time out to make a drink or sandwich and reflect on this question.
Then you can return to check your thoughts with what we think below.
Well done!
Research has shown that the motivated learner will typically display most or all of the following
characteristics:

 Perseverance; a ‘never-give-up attitude’.

 The learner is willing to face tasks and challenges and has confidence in her success.
 The learner finds it essential to succeed in learning, to maintain and promote her positive self-image.
 The learner needs to achieve, to overcome difficulties and succeed in what she sets out to do.
 The learner is ambitious, goes for demanding challenges, high proficiency, and top grades.
 The learner is acutely aware of the goals of learning, or specific learning activities, and directs her
efforts towards achieving them.
 The learner consistently invests a high level of effort in learning and is not discouraged by setbacks or
apparent lack of progress.
 The learner is not bothered or frustrated by situations involving a temporary lack of understanding or
confusion; she can live with these patiently, confident that understanding will come later. In essence,
she has a tolerance for ambiguity.

3.1.5. How To Influence And Drive Learner

Motivation
Always focus on practical ways in which you can influence and drive motivation.
Here’s what to do:

1. Personalisation
Learners are more likely to be interested in tasks that relate to themselves or their interests. Ask learners to
share their opinions, tastes, experiences and suggestions. This can be very motivating because they’re
connecting the learning material to their personal life experience and context.
We have taught boys-only classes in the Far East where the English Premier Soccer League was king, as was
David Beckham at the time. Every single boy in the class was passionate about football (soccer) and anything
to do with football, e.g., magazines, strips, soccer cards with their favourite player’s picture on the front and
details about him on the back, etc.
There was no need to motivate them when a lesson was built around, for example: What are the three
questions you would ask David Beckham if you met him? OR Draw your own football strip and tell your group
why you chose the patterns and colours on the strip and badge.

2. Realia
Your learners will be much more engaged when you use realia: real-life, authentic language materials.
Authentic materials are materials which are unscripted and unedited and are not explicitly developed for
language learning purposes. These could be, for example:

 Restaurant menus
 Extracts from newspapers, magasines: photos, advertisements, classifieds, crosswords, horoscopes,
features, etc.
 Travel tickets
 Recordings of casual conversations amongst native speakers
 Radio and TV news and weather broadcasts

Realia material can help to bring the language classroom to life.

3. Gamification
Gamification is where a teacher adds in game elements to motivate her learners. Some teachers have been
doing this for many years.
As learners now grow up with video and computer games as part of their everyday life, the concept of
gamification is becoming more prevalent in the classroom.
In general, it mirrors several elements found in the video/computer games context:

 the excitement when participating, individually or in a team

 a fast pace
 rewards, and sometimes ‘punishments’
 time limits, often with a visible countdown (a big alarm clock)

For example, the teacher might set up a lexical recycling activity (re-meeting lexis they have learned
recently), where the groups of learners need to look at pictures and complete the gaps in sentences with the
correct recently learned word. The rules of the game could be:

 a countdown period for completion

 points for finishing earlier than others (but answers must be correct)
 marks for correct sentences
 points not given (or deducted) for incorrect sentences
 possible additional points added by the teacher for observed group organisation, e.g., the group
appoints a ‘checker’ to check the answers before they say they have finished

Generate a bit of tension and challenge, now and again.

4. Choice
Occasionally, let your learners choose what they want to do or how they want to do it. When they have
choices, they have a feeling of autonomy.
An example of autonomy would be to allow learners to pick from a list of topics to debate. Or you can let
learners choose partners with whom they would like to team up with for a specific activity or game.

5. Projects With Tangible Results

Projects are very motivational. Everyone can contribute. There can be many tangible results.
For example, the short and simple storybook, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, can be extended into a very
motivational project. Here are some of the many tangible results:

 The life cycle of a butterfly – mapping the stages, making drawings, making wire butterflies and
hanging them up in the room, raising butterflies from caterpillars in the classroom, observing and
noting their growth, identifying differences in the butterflies
 Learning strategies such as predicting, guessing, hypothesising, sequencing (putting the days of the
week in order or the life cycle steps in order), memorising (what he ate on Tuesday), researching (what
caterpillars eat and drink), etc.
 Art and design: making cardboard or cloth models of caterpillars, and making patterns and colouring
 Music, drama, and movement: singing butterfly songs and rhymes, reciting poetry and taking part in
performances for an audience, and moving like a caterpillar and butterfly

6. Warmers
When you engage your learners and inspire their interest at the start of a lesson, you are using a ‘warmer’.
This is very important; more than likely they’ll have just come from classes and situations where they have
been using their native language. So, a warmer will get them swiftly engaged and participating, and into the
‘English mode’ immediately.
Always try to make the warmer related to what they have already been learning or what you are about
to teach. That is, don’t use an unrelated warmer just for fun.
We have included several warmer examples in Module 7. Here is an example of a warmer with a
purpose:

Example
In the previous lesson, they have learned the structure: Would you prefer to…?
For the start of their next lesson, make up some two-set fun choices, headed up with: Would you prefer to …
The options could be anything:

 be a lion/be an elephant
 eat popcorn all the time/eat potatoes all the time
 be stranded alone on a deserted island/be stranded on a deserted island with someone who plays the
trumpet all day and all night

Then, the learners choose, and you can encourage them to tell the class why they chose one of the options.

7. Make Them Aware Of Their Success

An effective way to motivate your learners is to make sure that they are aware of their success. You can
convey this message by a nod, a tick on the page, or a smile. But a sense of pride and satisfaction may, of
course, also be enhanced by explicit praise or approval, or by a comment in the learner’s answer book.

8. Vary Classroom Topics And Tasks

Topics and tasks should be selected carefully to be as inspiring as possible. However, there are very few single
types of activities that interest everyone, so you should use a wide range of different ones over time. Even
within a lesson, you can organise a series of tasks that have learners doing different things to keep them
engaged.
For example, get your learners to listen to a dialogue about ‘School Routines’. Then ask them to complete a
worksheet and get them to compare their answers with a partner. Next, then have learners partner up to
create an original dialogue on the same topic. Variety is a primary key to success.

9. Create A Fun And Friendly Atmosphere

Entertainment produces enjoyment, which in turn adds motivation. Entertainment can be teacher produced,
such as jokes, stories, mimes, songs, or even dramatic presentations. It can be recorded, such as movies,
video clips, or television documentaries.
Other activities such as role-play and simulations that use the imagination and put learners in different
situations can be very motivating.
It is important to note, however, that some learners are inhibited and may find such activities intimidating at
first. As such, you especially want to avoid running learners up to the front of the class to ‘perform’
spontaneously.

10. Create Open-Ended Exercises

A cue that invites several possible responses is usually much more stimulating than one with only one right
answer. By aiming for this, the participants’ contributions become more unpredictable. They are also more
likely to be insightful, original, or even humorous. For example, If I won a million yuan, I would …
3.2 How to Identify an Effective Learner in
your Class (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

3.2.1. Techniques
Here are some practical techniques that effective learners apply. This will help you to reflect on the
traits and attributes you want to nurture in learners who are lacking in some areas.
Look out for those who:

1. They know and understand their learning preferences.

These learners are self-aware. They know themselves. They know how they prefer to learn and choose
learning approaches that suit their way of learning.
2. They take responsibility for the learning.
They take responsibility for their learning. In addition to learning in class, they create opportunities to
learn the language elsewhere, e.g., films with English sub-titles, watching CNN or the BBC. They know
that practice is critical.
3. They grasp all opportunities to keep learning.
They grasp all opportunities for speaking the target language (L2) and actively take part in the learning
process. They are keen to experiment.

They will also use different ways of communicating to overcome gaps in linguistic knowledge. For
example, when a word is not known, the effective learner will try to describe the object or its function,
e.g., for scissors: They’re made of metal, and you use them to cut paper. Or she will find another word
approximate to the meaning of the word she is looking for, e.g., pot for saucepan or she will make up
an innovative word, e.g. foot-finger for toe.
4. They try to work out how the English language works.
They aim to come to grips with the language as a system. They pay close attention to form and look for
patterns in the language.

They are good guessers, continually monitoring the context of the conversation or text and then
revising expectations when necessary. They use clues from the situation to help them guess the
meaning of unknown words and phrases rather than giving up.

For example, once an effective learner grasps the idea of the infinitive form made up from to plus the
verb stem, e.g., to go, to eat, to sleep, he will likely grasp that it is the base form of a verb (verb stem)
which will complete the blank in the following sentence:

John likes to __________ .

So, he will likely complete it with swim, play, run, paint, etc. and not with, for example, a gerund
(swimming), a noun (football), or adverb (quickly), etc.
5. They know that language is used to communicate, and they take risks.
They pay attention to meaning. They have effective techniques for practising listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. In the initial stages of their language learning, they do not worry about making
mistakes. They take risks and are not embarrassed when they get it wrong.

They speak to achieve the goal of becoming fluent. They seek out opportunities to talk with native
speakers. They realise that language learning is not merely an academic subject but is also a means of
communication.
6. They study like detectives.
They are always inquisitive, looking for evidence and clues that will help them to grasp how the
language works. They guess and ask people to correct them if they are wrong. They compare what
they say with what others say.

They keep a record of what they have learned and reflect on it. They monitor themselves. They keep a
careful eye on the forms of the language to discover patterns that will aid learning.
7. They use the language outside the classroom.
Effective learners create opportunities to try out what they have learned and do not merely complete
the homework. They are not content only with the exposure to the language that the classroom can
provide but like to find opportunities outside.

Remember this! You’ll know effective learners when you see them. Be wise. Use them to help others
achieve in the classroom. Don’t single them out in front of others. Just ensure that your pairs and
groups are strengthened by an effective learner so that some of their skills and attributes can brush off
on others.

And, use the list above as a reminder to nurture learners who are lacking in some of these areas.
3.3 Learners Learning Preferences (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

3.3.1. What Exactly Is A Learning

Preference?
A learning preference is how a person better perceives, conceptualises, organises and recalls information.
This could be a preference for learning through visual activities as opposed to, for example, audio activity. For
example, one learner may prefer to look at graphs while another may prefer to listen to the information on a
podcast.
There are other preferences, as we will see below. Proponents say that learning preferences are influenced by
the individual’s genetic make-up, previous learning experiences, culture, and society.

3.3.2. Identification Of Learning

Preference – Useful Or Not?
There are different views as to the relevance of the identification and usage of learning preferences in the
classroom. Unfortunately, many of the views from either side of the debate lack real or scientific proof as
learning preference methodologies remain unproven.
However, our opinion based on our experience is that learner preference identification is useful and is pretty
successful, particularly with adult learners.
Many teachers and educators see the benefit of using learning preferences approaches. Remember, though, that
there is likely to be usage which is appropriate and other usages which are not.
So, especially if you are working with young people, use methodologies with care. It is wrong to apply any
methodology blindly and unquestioningly, and wrong not to review and assess the effectiveness of methods
used.
In any case, we feel it’s vital that you are aware of learning preferences, no matter whether you end up being in
favour of them or not.

3.3.4 The VAK Approach

There are many different approaches used to determine an individual’s learning preference(s).
We will focus on one of these: The VAK Approach. We’ll also summarise some other approaches/methods

1. The VAK Approach

This is our preferred approach. It’s simple and easy to administer.
The VAK analysis identifies three learning preferences: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic.
Sometimes kinesthetic is said to include tactile learning, and sometimes this is added as a separate learning
preference.
Key points underlying this approach:
Any individual will operate in all three modalities, but with a preference for one or two.
Visual learners are likely to prefer mind-maps, diagrams, graphic language, flow charts, use of colour, white
space on the page, etc.
Auditory learners are likely to prefer discussion, explaining things to others, using a recording machine, and
teaching linked to anecdotes/jokes, etc.
Kinesthetic learners are likely to prefer group work, using models/objects in describing things, walking around
while learning, hands-on activities, role-plays, books with strong plots, etc.
When doing a learning preferences analysis with learners, the learners should be made aware of their individual
preferences.
Some research has shown that learners can perform better in tests if they change their study habits to fit their
learning preferences.
For example, visual-learning learners will sometimes have difficulty during written exams, because they can’t
recall test material that was spoken in class. However, by using a visual aid when studying, e.g. outlining
materials in colour, they may absorb more. For these learners, visual tools may improve their ability to recall
information more thoroughly.
Key characteristics of the visual, audio and kinaesthetic learning preferences based on the VAK
approach
Visual learner characteristics
Visual learners learn best by seeing things. A visual learner:

 is likely to be good at spelling but may forget names

 needs quiet study time
 has to think and reflect for some time before understanding a lecture
 likes colours and fashion
 dreams in colour
 understands and likes charts
 is good with sign language

Use these types of resources to capitalise on the visual learning preference when using warmers and doing
activities:

 A map of events or timeline, when reading a story

 Lots of whiteboard activity: colour coded words, matchstick drawings, games
 Flashcards
 Making coloured markings of everything: using highlighters, circling words, underlining
 Comics and cartoons. Erase the existing speech in the bubbles and get them to put in their own story.
 Copying what’s on the board, and then colour coding them (into nouns, verbs, etc.)
 Illustrated reading: using books with lots of illustrations
 Word puzzles, e.g., crosswords, word searches
 Making a diagram/sketch/flowchart/mind map
 Making lists
 Watching videos: identifying key actions
  Pictionary, but you may have to adapt it to suit your learners’ level
 Graphic organisers
 Multimedia, e.g., PowerPoint

Auditory learner characteristics

Auditory learners learn best through hearing. An auditory learner:

 likes to read to self out loud

 is not afraid to speak in class
 likes oral reports
 is good at explaining
 remembers names
 notices sound effects in movies
 enjoys music
 is good at grammar and foreign languages
 reads slowly
 follows spoken directions well
 can’t keep quiet for extended periods
 enjoys acting and being on stage
 is good in study groups

Use these types of resources to capitalise on the auditory learning preference when using warmers and
doing activities:

 Participating in group discussions, e.g., discussing the learning materials

 Phonetic reading: using rhyming and word games
 Using word association to remember facts and lines
 Listening to lectures and recording lectures
 Listening to others reading aloud and learner reading aloud
 Oral presentations
 Watching videos – identifying specific dialogue, words, and phrases
 Memorising and repeating facts and spelling (often with eyes closed)
 Using audiotapes for language practice
 Books which have been recorded
 Taping notes after writing them
 For younger learners, use melodies, beats, and rhythms to reinforce the learning (e.g., pronunciation)

Kinesthetic learner characteristics

A kinesthetic learner is someone who:

 needs tomove, do and touch

 is good at sport
 can’t sit still for long
 is not great at spelling
 does not have great handwriting
 likes working in science labs
 studies with loud music on
 loves adventure books, movies
 likes role-playing
 takes breaks when studying
 builds models
 is involved in martial arts or dance
  is restless during lectures

Use these types of resources to capitalise on the kinesthetic learning preference when using warmers and
doing activities:

 Games with action, e.g., quickly finding someone who…, and running to the board to add/change some word
 Total Physical Response activities, e.g., songs with movement (Simon Says; Wheel on the Bus; Head, Shoulders,
Knees, and Toes)
 Use lots of realia: e.g., fruits, vegetables, clothes, tea set
 Craftwork, e.g., arising from a storybook read or a project based on a storybook
 Studying in short blocks
 Experiments, e.g., as part of a project on butterflies, looking after, watching and noting the growth of caterpillars
into butterflies
 Role-playing
 Taking field trips and visiting museums

Key points to consider when you start teaching:

To what extent does your teaching provide a range of activities to cater to the visual, audio and kinesthetic
learning preferences?
How can you enhance the range of activities in your classroom?
What learning preference do you have? Is it visual, audio or kinesthetic? Or is it a mix of two or more?
Some people find that their learning preference may be a blend of two or three preferences.
Naturally, it is not always practical or even possible to account for all learning preferences in a class.
But you may discover that an awareness of the various kinds of learning preferences will help you to create
more creative and appealing lessons. This, in turn, promotes more learner engagement, as learners will be
leveraging learning modes that match their strengths.
Your learners’ increased engagement and success in learning may also stimulate you to raise their expectations.
This initiates a powerful expectation-response cycle that can lead to higher achievement levels. This, in turn,
leads to increased motivation for your learners and you.
You can do your analysis of learners’ learning preferences through close observation, noting what you hear and
see.
There’s also a range of materials on the internet which will give you some ideas as to how to approach this. And
you can carry out a learning preferences analysis on yourself to find out what learning preferences you may
have if you are not aware of this already.
Please note that materials on the internet may be protected by copyright and you may be restricted to using
materials for your personal use. Check carefully.
The best route is always to carry out your analysis via your approach, by observing your learners closely and
noting what you hear and see.
Summary – the VAK approach
As with any learning approach, you need to decide whether this offers you any practical usage. The VAK
learning preferences approach has its proponents and detractors. Overall, however, we feel it serves as a useful
aid/for you when choosing appropriate learning activities:
1. Structure Learning Materials Around The Learners’
Strengths
If you have individuals or groups who have particular interests or strengths, e.g., sport, music, and you want
them to be involved and successful in their language learning, then structure your learning materials around
these interests and strengths.

2. Variety Brings Life To The Classroom

Providing a vibrant mix of learning activities derived from a blend of the different preferences will result in a
lively and engaging class for all your learners.

3. A Whole-Person Approach
Every individual uses all preferences to some degree or another. A multi-faceted teaching approach that appeals
to all preferences addresses the whole person in ways that more one-sided approaches do not.
The VAK approach helps to develop the whole person within each learner, which best serves the person’s
language learning requirements as well.
Give it a try – preferably with older learners.

3.3.5. Additional Learning Preferences

Here are two other learning preferences models, for your information:

1. Kolb Learning Preference Model

Four learning preferences:

1. Convergers (they do and think):

1. Learn by solving problems
2. Prefer doing technical tasks
3. Good at finding practical uses for ideas • Like concepts and experimenting with new ideas
2. Divergers (they feel and watch):
1. Learn by observation
2. Good at brainstorming and gathering information
3. Are imaginative and sensitive
4. Like practical experience and reflection

Assimilators (they observe and think):

 Prefer to put information in a concise, logical order

 Use reflective observation
 Like abstract modelling and concepts
 Like theoretical reasoning

Accommodators (they do and feel):

  Prefer a practical, experiential approach
 Rely on intuition rather than logic (‘gut instinct’)
 People-oriented
 Hands-on learners
 Rely on feeling more than logical analysis
 Like practical experience and active testing

2. Honey-Mumford Model
This is similar to Kolb’s model.
There are four learning preferences.
According to this approach:

 Activists like practical work such as labs, fieldwork, observation exercises and using visual source material for
information, etc.
 Reflectors like to learn by watching other people, taking time to consider observations of their own experience,
etc.
 Theorists like lectures, reading papers on topics, considering analogies, etc.
 Pragmatists like simulations, case studies, homework, etc.

Thus, the four types might approach learning a software programme in different ways:

 Activists might start using it and feel their way into it.
 Reflectors might have a go at using it and then take time to think about what they have just done.
 Theorists might begin by reading the manual.
 Pragmatists might start using the programme but make frequent references to the help files.

The four types of learning are viewed as cyclical stages through which a learner can progress
(Watch>>>Think>>>Feel>>>Do), as well as categorising specific kinds of learning experiences.
3.4 Different Learning Strategies (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

3.4.1. What Learning Strategies Did You

Use?
Reflecting on your own experiences is a powerful aid when teaching. You were a learner in the past. Consider
which learning strategies you used at school, college, university. If a strategy worked for you, it may likely
work for some of your learners.
But avoid limiting learning methods and techniques based on your learning preferences.
It’s paramount to experiment with a variety of activities that will in turn appeal to a range of learning
preferences.
Your learners will likely have a mix of learning preferences.

Example
Somewhere in the past, you may have picked up the idea of mind mapping. You even go the extra mile by
highlighting and colouring bits of your mind maps.
You believe that mind mapping is a potent tool which, of course, it is. So, when you take up your teaching
post, lots of the board work you do is based on mind mapping as this is second nature to you.
However, this technique is hardly likely to fully satisfy those learners who have a strong leaning towards
auditory or kinesthetic learning.
So, remember to vary your methods and techniques.
Remember: The ways your learners learn best can be different due to a range of factors, such as learning
preferences, age, prior learning experience, and so on.
Be aware of these differences and try and not to limit learners to think that they can only learn in one way.
Achieve this by ensuring that your lessons have elements that not only cater to the different learning
preferences of your learners but are also conducive to the various learning strategies of your learners.
You can influence and help to develop such strategies. Of course, it is not always feasible to meet the learning
characteristics of each learner all the time. However, you can try to vary how you teach across a series of
lessons or classes so that you can match the learning characteristics of a range of your learners most of the
time.
In short, being aware of your learners’ learning characteristics, preferences and learning strategies will go a
long way to ensuring that you can motivate them to learn.

Here Are Some Examples Of Effective Learning Strategies

You Can Encourage Your Learners To Use:
 Repeating new words in their heads until they remember them
 Experimenting/taking risks by using recently learned language in conversations
 Guessing the meaning of unknown words
 Asking you to offer feedback about their use of language
  Using the foreign language as much as possible without resorting to their native language
 Recording themselves speaking, then analysing and correcting their pronunciation
 Asking a speaker to repeat what she said
 Deciding what area of lexis they need to learn and then learning it
 Thinking about how to remember all the new words they learn in each lesson and then writing each
one on a separate card to review

Paraphrasing, or using language indirectly to say what they want to say

3.5 Learner Autonomy (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

3.5.1 Autonomy
We touched on autonomy previously. It’s a critical element in successful teaching, so let’s draw it all
together.
Effective learners generally take responsibility for their learning, both inside and outside the classroom.
Therefore, effective learners take steps to become autonomous.
Autonomous learners:

 are aware of learning strategies and learning preferences

 do not hold back from the learning task at hand
 are willing to take risks, i.e., to communicate in the target language at all costs
 are good guessers
 address the form and structure of the language as well as content; that is, accuracy and
appropriateness are both essential to them
 are willing to revise and reject hypotheses and rules that do not apply

Studies have shown that as learner autonomy increases, so does learner motivation. And, thus, so do learning
results.
While the competent teacher will always try to get his learners to become autonomous learners, learners can
also learn to become more autonomous on their own.
These days, in some schools, there are just as many learner resources available as there are classroom
materials. For example, learners can access grammar reference books, dictionaries, lexis exercise books, and
CD-ROMs that supplement the main textbook series. There are also endless online learning resources.
And, remember that there are also many ways for learners to get exposure to English outside the classroom,
even if they are living in a non-English speaking context.
Here are a variety of ways in which you can increase learner autonomy.

1. Learner Journals
Use journals for different purposes. Here are some examples:
Encourage your learners to keep a learning journal of new words and their meanings (with a sentence
showing the usage of the word), then learn these and later test them out in the classroom in pairs.
A dialogue journal is an ongoing written dialogue between the learner and you, akin to writing notes or short
letters to each other. It is used specifically for assessing writing ability, but it is also useful for gaining insight
into the learner’s views, goals, motivation, and attitude to learning.
An open-ended journal allows a place for learner reflection and commentary. The learner chooses what they
feel they should address in their learning, e.g., what they should read, questions to ask, how they might apply
the learning to their personal experience, etc.

2. Self-And Peer-Assessment
In self-assessment, the learners are asked to reflect and rate themselves on their performances.
In peer assessment, a learner assesses another learner’s work. Remember this: The youngest of learners,
though, are not able to give very detailed peer feedback because they are not yet ready to think in-depth.

3. Self-Access Centre (SAC)

A self-access centre is simply a place in your classroom or another designated room, where your learners can
work independently or in pairs at their own pace.

4. Outside-Classroom Activities
Allowing your learners to practise activities outside the classroom will enhance autonomy. For example, they
may discuss the route to the park or public library with their peers. They may say hello to passers-by or talk to
the librarian in the public library and ask for a book. Or they may discuss road signs amongst themselves, and
so on.

5. Strategy Training
We have already explored several strategies for better learning. The more learners use these strategies, the
more autonomous they will become.

6. Goal Setting
If you aim to get the best out of your learners, it’s important to remember that setting learning goals is not all
down to you.
You should encourage your learners to set their own goals in some areas. What do they want to be able to do?

7. (Online) Dictionaries And Resources

Demonstrate the value and benefits of utilising a good English language dictionary, in hard copy or online.
Then encourage them to use this resource independently – and frequently. The same applies to other
language resources.

8. Homework
Teachers have different opinions on the use of homework.
Our long experience tells us that it is a potent activity for increasing autonomy – and learning.
It needs to be issued regularly, and there should be open-ended pieces, allowing the learners to respond as
they wish to the content and length.
To get the best out of it, it needs to be well-planned and inspiring. And, wherever possible, it should involve
the learners’ parents or caregivers – even where the parents or caregivers do not speak English.
Here is an activity we have used on many occasions with young learners whose parents did not speak English.

1. We encouraged the parents/caregivers to supply their child with a memory stick. We ‘bought’ the
parents/caregivers into participating – merely listening to the child’s pronunciation of the
words/expressions on the stick and encouraging the child.
 2. For pronunciation practice, we recorded lots of relevant and practical words and short phrases onto
each stick. The content progressed from easy to hard.
3. The only ‘rule’ was that the learners needed to practise the words/expressions in order. There were no
‘rules’ as to how many they needed to practise and no timescale was set.
4. The results were remarkable. The class learned much more in a quicker timescale than classes where
this activity was not used. This kept us well ahead of the syllabus.

9. Learner ‘Experts’/ ‘Helpers’

You will increase your learners’ autonomy if you encourage them to be ‘experts’ and ‘helpers’.
An ‘expert’/’helper’ who has finished first could, for example, help others in her group who are struggling a bit.
Remember this! It’s essential to try and get everyone involved in a role. Don’t just choose the seemingly
higher achievers all the time. Learners have different attributes. The seemingly high achiever in listening and
speaking may not be so good at writing skills or pronunciation.
3.6 The Plateau Effect (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

3.6.1. What Is A Learning Plateau?

A learning plateau occurs when learning progress in learning a new skill seems to stop. These plateaux are
normal and commonly experienced periodically when learning a new language.
This also happens when learning to play a musical instrument or tackling some other complex discipline.
The plateau effect refers to the stage when learners reach a point, either real or perceived, where their
language learning ‘flattens out’. This only affects some learners. Others march on, unaffected.
At the beginner level, a learner’s progress (generally) tends to be quite rapid and evident.
But once some learners hit the intermediate level, their progress slows down and learning speed declines.
And, it gets increasingly challenging for you and your learner to measure that progress.
At the advanced stage, learning speed can decline even further for some learners and the length of the stage
increases again.
Some people used to think learning plateaux could not be overcome because a plateau represented the limit
of your genetic ability. They believed that no amount of exertion, practice or education would help to
overcome this ‘wall’.
However, psychologists have discovered that with the right approach and a few attitude
adjustments, most of us can break through our plateaux and reach higher.
So, what can you do to help get any of your learners off their plateaux and move onwards and upwards?
Here are some practical ideas:

1. Explain The Plateau Effect

Explaining to your learners that plateaux are a natural and expected occurrence in any learning process will
help ease concerns or anxieties about their progress. This will show them that the language learning process
is not a linear one.
It will help learners visualise where they might expect to experience the highs and lows of a typical language
learning curve.

2. Encourage Them To Take Risks

Growth and progress come when we stretch past our comfort zone. Instead of challenging ourselves to
develop further, we stick with routines that we know we can do effortlessly. This reluctance to risk is a recipe
for plateauing.

3. Get Them To Embrace Their Failure

Plateau learners must embrace their failure. To overcome their reluctance to take risks, learners have to
permit themselves to fail. Instead of avoiding the challenges, the achievers in the world specifically focus on
these challenges; they purposefully focus on the areas in which they make the most mistakes.
This keeps them from getting stuck and drives their performance. So, instead of focussing on failure as a
negative thing, plateaued learners should be helped to consider their failures as steps to success. If they
choose to learn from their failures, they can drive themselves closer to their goal.

4. Be An Honest Mentor
Another reason some learners reach a plateau is that everyone around them is telling them that everything is
OK. We often listen to people who tell us what we want to hear, not what we need to hear.
Be an honest mentor who doesn’t hold back and gives the learners the honest criticism they need to improve,
and guidance on how to achieve improvement. Yes, their ego will get bruised, but perhaps that’s the price one
must pay for personal and professional growth.

5. Get Them Back To Basics

Even when a learner has already reached an advanced stage, delving back into the basics of learning can give
her fresh insights that can help her progress even further.

6. Help Them To Think Long Term

When we think short-term, we tend to feel that plateaux are permanent walls we will never get past. But when
we take the big-picture view of things, we start to see plateaux as temporary hurdles that we will get over
with some extra work.
By thinking long-term, we give ourselves more space to take risks and fail, because we see that problems are
just momentary setbacks in the long journey of learning.
To help a plateaued learner cultivate this attitude, ask him to reflect on a time (any learning situation) where
he felt he had reached the end of his development in some area, only to later burst through the plateau. If it
was possible then, and it’s possible now.
Well done! Another one bites the dust. Module 3 completed. What you have learned here will help you
better understand your EFL learners and will have demonstrated what you should and shouldn’t do.
And there’s lots more excellent, practical stuff to come!

Time for a little break. Then, come back and have a go at Quiz 3.
It’s not too taxing. Good luck! After that, we’ll move on to Module 4, where we will focus on some
challenging English Language Elements. It may be some time since you studied these language
elements, so this will bring you up-to-date.
End of Module 3 (150)
Congratulations! You have passed this lesson's quiz achieving 87%
There is only one correct answer for each question. Select the correct answer.
Although you will not fail the whole course if you score below 40% in the End Of Module Quiz it will count
towards your final assessment. You will be able to retake this quiz. When you are finished be sure to look
over the questions again and take note of any errors and use this to learn, you may be asked similar questions
in your final assessment.

End of Module 3 (150) Quiz

Congratulations! You have passed this quiz achieving 87% NEXT LESSON

Which of the following approaches would fail to influence and drive learner motivation?1

 Generating tension and challenge

 Setting clear goals for the students

 Making the students aware of their own success

 Keeping to the same topics and tasks

Grade: 1
2. Give learner preferences a try: preferably with younger learners.1

 True

 False
Incorrect - Right Answer: False
3. In relation to the VAK approach, which type of learner is most likely to enjoy
participating most in role-plays?1

 Reflector learner

 Pragmatist learner

 Kinesthetic learner

 Auditory learner
Grade: 1
4. Asking a speaker to repeat what she said is an effective learning strategy.1

 True

 False
Grade: 1
5. The learning preferences approach we recommend excludes a category for:1
  visual learners

 kinesthetic learners

 activist learners

 auditory learners
Grade: 1
6. In relation to the learning plateau effect, which of the following statements is invalid?1

 The point where progress flattens out can be real or perceived.

 No amount of exertion will help a student to break through the plateau.

 The effect happens when forward progress seems to have stopped.

 These plateaux are natural and commonly experienced.

Grade: 1
7. Which of the following statements about effective learners is untrue?1

 They try to figure out how the language works.

 They take responsibility for the learning.

 They are unwilling to take risks.

 They find a learning preference or preferences that suit them.

Grade: 1
8. With regard to autonomous learners, which of the following is correct?1

 They take an active approach to the learning task in hand.

 An increase in autonomy does not lead to an increase in motivation.

 They cannot become more autonomous of their own volition.

 They are unwilling to take risks.

Grade: 1
9. A visual learner is likely to be good at spelling.1

 True

 False
Grade: 1
10. Intrinsic motivation is:1

 derived from external incentives and reward and success

  the same as extrinsic motivation

 the urge to engage in a learning activity for its own sake

 better than extrinsic motivation

Grade: 1
11. Some people find that their learning preference may be a blend of two or three
preferences.1

 True

 False
Grade: 1
12. A motivated learner gets frustrated by situations involving a temporary lack of
understanding or confusion.1

 True

 False
Grade: 1
13. In relation to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, it is clear which type of motivation
makes a learner more motivated.1

 True

 False
Incorrect - Right Answer: False
14. Which of the following statements about motivation is untrue?1

 Motivation should be multi-directional.

 Motivation lasts all of the time.

 You need to be motivated to motivate the students.

 Most learners can be motivated in some way or another.

Grade: 1
15. In relation to students’ different learning strategies, which of the following
statements is untrue?1

 You can influence and help to develop students’ learning strategies.

 Being aware of your students’ learning strategies will help you to motivate them to learn.

 The way learners learn best can be different.

 It is always feasible to meet the learning characteristics of each student every time.
Grade: 1