Learner-centeredness: treating adults as adults.

How we view learning will dictate how we practice teaching.

You can’t expect a group of young adults to just do as they are told without questioning it. The proposition which states that teachers view of learning dictates how they will teach, or how they were taught will contribute to this view is true for learners as well. They have their own way of viewing how learning a language happens if they have given some thought to it. Even the most passive learner is passive because they believe that is the way to be taught. So they embrace this role and do not dare to question the teacher as he/she is the expert and the authority.

I support the notion that a classroom should be a community of learners who get together to support and help each other understand and use language more effectively. The teacher is part of this community and act as a more competent user of the language who monitors, guide and offer feedback and corrections, but who is not the only one able to help learners achieve their goals.  As a language learner myself who learned to speak two languages without the help of experts but the community around me, I find that creating this kind of environment for adults important to develop confidence, foster autonomy and promote awareness about their own learning journey. Hence helping them become longlife learners too.

Not formally, but informally these three stages are present in what happens in my classroom. I’m quite aware though that by the end of a semester or year, not all learners will have achieved this level of understanding of a community of learning as it depends of how education had tamed them and we can all agree that changing habits is really hard. But at least they have a chance to contribute with their own experiences and ideas,  experiment with new ones and think about them.

Diagnostic stage: What do I know?

Where they have time to assess themselves through practical activities.

Thinking ahead: What do I need to know/do/learn/? and How?

Where they can set goals and are not just told what to do to achieve someone’s else goals and objectives so motivation is intrisically, not external to them.

Assessing goals and objectives: What am I able to do now?

Where they have the time to reassess and establish new goals for themselves. None of these are done formally and learners are not asked to share those. Each person knows what they want and what I want to promote is the mindset of a lifelong learner who constantly think and reinvent oneself. The process is ongoing and personal.

In our current system where a syllabus is imposed on English learners, shifting paradigms is not easy. I’ve thought long and hard by comparing what I was trained to do and what happens in the classroom to the experiences I’ve had in life as a language learner. Did I ever use grammar books and dictionaries, sure thing! Not saying that understanding the language doesn’t have a place, but presenting it in a super controlled way kills natural communication and students desire to communicate and take risks.

What they think counts, and a lot!

If a learner thinks he only becomes fluent by speaking with a Native Speaker or if he/she takes an exchange program, this will affect his view of classroom interaction and preferences. Because of that, a way I found useful to overcome this is to create a community of sharing and learning where expectations are put on the table, data collected through speaking and writing, and feedback/correction based on samples of what learners do. After all they are adults or adults to be and they deserve this much.

Learners Beliefs & Attitudes #1

Learners Beliefs & Attitudes #2

Although I don’t follow andragogy principles as pointed out by Knowles, it is easy to spot similar lines of thought in my own practice as my studies in University cover literacy and adult education which Paulo Freire’s work was all about- adult literacy education. I thought of searching the term and see if anyone in ELT actually had written about it in the ELT context and I was disappointed with my search.

I did find however a mentions in this post by Rachel Roberts where she discusses Oral Correction Insensitive or Vital?. And I totally agree that correction is an essential part of our job and we should not rob our students the opportunity to know where they are in their learning journey. By correcting and giving feedback on their performance, they can assess themselves according to real expectations and goals.

I haven’t read all posts by Rachel but I highly recommend her blog. Here is a list of posts related to correction.

In this post Learning Adults Tony Gurr questions if children and adults are really different or just should be managed differently when comes to learning.

In this post Motivating Adult Learners I found useful thoughts, but it’s a very short post.

The term andragogy doesn’t seem to be a welcoming one in ELT, so I tried adding autonomy to the search and found interesting readings but still not mainstream in ELT I reckon and wonder why.

First, What is learner autonomy and how can it be fostered lies some ground for understanding learner-centeredness and the different ways the term autonomy is being used.

Curtis Kelly explains andragogy with practical examples in this article. He also answers “To what extent should learners be given choices when they engage in classroom activities?” A must read interview piece.

I found this article thought-provoking but couldn’t read it yet. The author discusses the teacher as both authority and facilitator of learning.

Have fun: What is that suppose to mean?

My thank you, Anna Loseva! And also my apologies for using your question to actually get back to a topic that is close to my heart and see where I am now in practice with this concept of FUN. As I wrote back in 2013, the word FUN is used to market English schools (at least this is true for Brazil), and much of that leads to misconceptions about what learning is. But students insisting of “having fun” is a valid one and it provoked me to investigate this phenomena a bit further.

What is it even supposed to mean, "have fun in an English class"?How do I plan a class in which 40 teens expect to "have fun"? Ideas welcome

— Anna Loseva (@AnnLoseva) June 4, 2015

My comment on Anna’s post on FB.

I’m reading Andrew Weiler‘s book Unlocking Learning and I found this explanation of “not fun” useful. He’s refering to kids when he says that “no fun” means to them that a task makes no sense or is too difficult. Then later on, he writes: “We learn to recognise what tasks we need to spend time at now and which we need to set aside for a later date. Only when we truly ready are we able to feel comfortable devoting as much time as we want, or need, to gain mastery.” Among many things he discusses (his book btw, worth reading), he says that most people are attracted to games for precisely this reason. Games satisfy an inherently human instinct: mastery of the self. By mastering the game, we are practicing this skills in a way that is fun and challenging. I agree with Kevin Stein. My suggestion is shift the focus from the language to the task where language is the mean to achieve an end. In group, students with different knowledge and skills in English can come together to support each other when they have a common goal. I’ll look for practical examples of how this could be achieved. Not sure though how you are expected to teach where you are. be back later. ah, to achieve the goal they also need clear instructions of what to do (written form I think works best so they can read together and explain to each other) and ways to scaffold (make sure they can achieve it).

In my first post entitled “A Journey in Understanding Playfulness“, I argue that not all games are fun when the ludicity element of it is not present and also that choice and negotiation plays an important role toward the feeling of satisfaction. If you are forced to play a game, it’s not fun as much that it is not fun to be forced to do an activity or a task you have zero or little interest in. This study made a huge impact on how I view engagement and made me research a new topic, that is, the role of TASK in language learning.

In the GAME, the RULES, the MOMENT: Who owns it? (Nov 12, 2013) my former student who is a girl, a gamer (she can talk to any boy about trendy games), a drawing artist who loves manga culture and very critical made a good point in her feedback when she said that the TEACHER owns the game, not the students. Now how can we bring something to class which is so subjective and turn it into a learning experience instead of just a game that can mean different things to different people.

At the end of 2013, I made a list to keep a number of things in mind. I gotta say that this was liberating and ever since I feel much better about the choices I have to make in class.

I started 2014 with a new view of games and I learned for instance that when choosing one, I have to make sure that all learners are able to fully participate, and to create a supporting atmosphere. I’ve also learned to never base the choice of a game on a language point alone, but rather give some thought on the pedagogical reasons to use it, and adapt in order to provide the support that everyone needs.

Or how about using party games to make use of the language more authentic? But again, it’s always important to remember that using games demands the right environment. Children are all for games and game-like activities. Teens are picky and can really refuse to play a game that didn’t catch their interest or they think it is so difficult that they will fail. Teens can play the rebel when they are afraid of doing something and lose face in front of their peers. And usually, others support the friend(s) in the rebel act just for the fun of it.

Here is a series of activities I used and reflected on:

Short segment of a TV series episode: Engaging learners with a clip where the focus is understanding the scene, understanding what they are saying by discussing meaning of key words (straightshooter X cheerleader) and raising discussions around the themes that emerge. This can be teacher led if it is a small group, or learners discuss in groups then present their conclusions to the whole group and teacher mediate the new discussions that emerges.

Giving opinions: TV series, movies, music, games, youtube videos, books, animes, mangas, comic books are usually great for teens. If they don’t like one type of genre, they’ll surely like another. Starting from what they like is really important to foster engagement. But we have to keep in mind that lower levels do not know enough language to express themselves. Group of three where a more competent learner can serve as scriber to put down the group opinion is wonderful way to include everyone’s voice. The written form can also serve as material to use later as reading.

Engaging Learners through Feedback: I’m a firm believer in Feedback where it empowers learners and raise the quality of interaction and engagement.

Adapting the textbook: there is a lot of grammar disconnected sentences learners have to work with. The text presents itself in a boring way. I learned from John Fanselow that we should find ways to engage learners with the text by not revealing too much too soon. Perhaps even changing the layout of the text. Finding ways to raise their curiosity to uncover the message.

Another example of adapting texts and boring exercises.

Gamification as a management tool: Peers can push each other to do things that we teachers can’t. I sometimes forget the lessons I learn. Not sure this works for everytime though. I need to revise this one.

Adapting ideas to my context: It focus on collaboration and competition.

Encouraging questions and writing in groups: collaborative writing is a supporting tool for mixed-levels groups. Trick though is to put learners together to get the most of it. Not all groups work out.

+ from Brazil: What are schools doing to nurture learning?

Yesterday a participant of BRELT chat community on Facebook, Will Eduardo, shared a  link to a video portraying new realities and changes in practice based on sound theory to learn English and promoting interest in learning English, something that doesn’t come natural to all students. I wish I could embed the video here and there were English subtitles to share with a wider community. Because there aren’t, I decided to watch and reflect on the documentary as well as reporting those practices. As it’s a great documentary showing how a few schools in Brazil have changed their way of teaching and why, as well as interviewing researchers to discuss the new demands and the need to continue to move forward toward change, I can’t help but register it in my own blog as it has been something I’ve been trying to do myself.

http://tvescola.mec.gov.br/tve/video/salto-revista-2014–ensino-de-ingles-na-educacao-basica

The documentary starts by affirming that English is everywhere in our daily life and the fact that we might use words and expressions without even noticing that they come from English. They also inform us that the American culture is everywhere through music, films, internet and so on, but learners are still unable to deal with the language on their own. Being Brazil one of the countries that has a large access to English language learning, but one of them with the least effective results, it only makes us wonder why so many learners fail to engage in learning despite the access to it.

Then, they will show successful stories of how teachers in those schools and initiatives being featured are using music, journalism, literature, films, technology, art, drama, etc. to support learners in this endeavor.

Like the school I work for, Pepita de Leão School in São Paulo has its own language institute. Taking these classes is optional and students see it as an opportunity to put the language into practice.

In Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro, they have a music club that brings music, literature and history in an interdisciplinary approach. As one of the students interviewed shared it uses material that they like. They like listening to music and watching videos as well as relating it to the school content.

Another initiative is to use fan-fiction genre which is a new movement among young people to work with learners favorite characters and authoring for fun. Through this approach learners create their own stories changing the fate sometimes of their favorite protagonists. It involves creative use of language, personalization, use of learners own knowledge about the content and the teacher becomes the mediator of this process. As the teacher Ana Cecilia Fernandes rightly points out, they learn grammar through attempts of using and feedback. It’s not learning grammar because of grammar. It’s learning grammar for a purpose. She also shared in the video that while each learner is creating their own stories, discussing their ideas with other learners and doubts come up, they work on the board or with the learner to promote understanding of how the language works though examples of the language they need to express themselves.

Why do WE HAVE to learn English?

This is a fair question and anyone working in a public school you have heard this question many times. We do hear that in private schools as well. In fact only a handful of students in regular schools, and also enrolled by their parents in language courses, understand the importance of learning English. So, their attitudes reflect this lack of understanding and interest that we encounter in every day classroom. This is the EFL picture and I agree with researchers that the affective domain counts a lot in the process. More than we give the proper attention to it.

So, it talks about the importance of learning English for working purposes, but the people interviewed in the beginning of the program shows that they personally don’t believe that fluency can’t be acquired if one does not travel to the target language which I disagree. I know, not only students who started with zero knowledge of the language in 2008 and achieved a very good fluency after 5/6 years of studying the language in our school, as well as teachers who never set foot abroad speaking English fluently. In fact, when I came back from England my accent was pretty British and everyone in England was amazed on how I was able to mimic them (unconciously of course). Then, after spending couple of years almost with zero contact with English few years after I came back from abroad, my speaking skills was kind of rusty. I had to go under training again to get my fluency back and overcome minor pronunciation mistakes. Not saying we are perfect, but I can name a number of people who speak Portuguese, makes mistakes and are native speakers of Portuguese.

The first person interviewed about the importance of learning English nowadays, Samanta Lucidi, grew up in a house where English was part of the daily life as her mother was an English teacher, but in 1993 she felt that after taken a course for 10 years her English was not fluent enough so she went to California in an exchange program. It’s true that the experience of living abroad is priceless. I have lived in England for 4 years and in Egypt for 1 one and I couldn’t agree more that it is a rich experience especially about learning the culture through the culture instead of talking about it. However, considering that in 1993, more than 20 years ago, the internet wasn’t around really and speaking English in Brazil wasn’t really something people would welcome, it’s fairly understandable her position toward spending time abroad. Nowadays, English is part of her daily life because she works for a multinational company.

The second person interviewed, Gabriel, shows that he only realized the importance of English when he graduated in college. It was far too late to join a course as he needed to boost his English fast and he was losing job opportunities. He felt the need for an immersion and opted to spend 6 months abroad in order to speed things up. This make me reflect on a book I’m reading right now and what the author has to say about language courses not really providing for the needs and interests of people, especially adults, by offering courses that either take too long, do not tackle the knowledge, skills and use of the language that each potential customer need to operate as soon as possible in the real world. Long’s criticism of general courses is a fair one when you consider the needs of learners, but I still question how we are going to provide for such a huge demand when we have a group of people already working/studying in different areas and not really operating or seeing the need to use the language now but look at the prospective of learning it to gain better jobs opportunities. I’d consider that starting as early as possible this contact with the language as a solution for this problem and I agree with the woman who had been interviewed first that this gives children and teens a good leverage when they leave school. That is not to say that later, they won’t need to continue pursuing the competence in that language, but they will start adulthood more independent than most adults starting a course late in their lives. This will indeed, afect their future choices for career as well and new possibilities for studying and working.

When looking back at classroom practice, the documentary also raises the question of whether people are gifted to learn another language or not.

Although we have heard people saying that they don’t really have what it takes to learn English, there are factors that explain why people seem to feel inadequate for it. And here is what they have found out.

How much interest does the learner take in the language? He might be more interested in learning Japanese, Korean, Spanish than English. Who knows? Has someone asked them what language they want to speak as their second language? Can they pursue this interest? Does the school provide opportunities to learn other languages? No, they have to learn English and Spanish for obvious reason. English because it’s seen as a global language and Spanish to be able to communicate with our Latin America partners. Only if we in fact we were to do that when we live school.

Interest in the language is in the affective domain. The way people see the language and relates to it counts a great deal for their learning success. So in other words, learners need to have an opportunity to foster this relationship with a language that is often seem as difficult, unnecessary or boring thanks to schools focusing on grammar instead of the use of language and its importance for global connections.

One of my takes from this program is that we ought to remember that school’s job is to ensure that learners understand the importance of learning English but obviously not by forcing them. When I watched David Crystal presenting his book English as a global language in 1996 in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I wondered how long it would take for his predictions to come true.  It came true, but little was done to really change that in practice. I think that bilinguism could be nurtured from early age and in a much more fun and interest way. Therefore, early bilinguism might be a way to foster this interest, but a lot would have to change in schools when children go to elementary school, otherwise it will continue to do just the opposite. The current system tends to create a barrier in pre-teens and teens mind which they take with them for their whole life.

Those who might fall in love with the language on the other hand even decide to take a B.A in language teaching which often involves preparing to teach Portuguese, English and Literature in both or just one of the languages. Others, will become successful learners and later find a good job but they usually learn despite of the school traditional way of teaching, or joining a language course and of course they invest in learning through the resources available to them.

Patricia de Oliveira Lucas, a PhD in LA in São Carlos (São Paulo) Federal University reaffirms that the affective domain affects the cognitive process of learning. Eliane Augusto Navarro, head of the Deparment of Linguistics course in the same university) not only agrees with Patricia, but also affirms that it’s the teacher’s role  to support learners by helping them to overcome the issues and respect learners needs and interests. She also points out that we ought to take into consideration whether the learner likes to expose themselves in a group. They might even have an interest in the language, but do not feel comfortable in using it in a classroom when they are not confident enough. I totally agree with her. Last year, I had a student in a group  that was an excelent language learner, autonomous and interested in learning not only English but also Korean language which she had been doing by herself through Korean soap operas. For six months she only wanted to participate in class through writing, and when she took her oral test which was for her to talk about her favorite tv series, she did pretty well for someone who had just started the language course. Lucas affirms that the we have to be sensitive to learners as people and to mediate this process in a way that we do not reinforce those barriers but overcome them.

Cristina Catteneo, pedagogical coordinator, summarizes what I believe to be true for regular schools taking into consideration the little time that students are offered there. So I quote her,

Schools have the most important role in raising consciousness and providing the opportunity for speakers of Portuguese to immerse in the world of English, especially when people don’t have the access to it on their daily life. But the objective isn’t to make them leave school as fluent speakers, but autonomous, able to deal with the demands to use the language in their future and know how to seek the knowledge and skills they need and according to what matters to them.

So what is possible to learn about English in elementary and highschool?

According to Vera Lucia Texeira from Federal University in Rio de Janeiro, much more than what they have been learning. She points out that schools should consider working with less students in class, giving more time for them to use the language, and invest on teachers’ continue development to really provide a good learning program in schools. She defends especially teachers continuing education as we face new realities and new demands on how to work with the language and the role of technology in language learning and points out that teachers are still resistent to acknowedge and use digital tools as resources. She agrees that learners can maximize the contact with the language through technology and that should be fostered in class.

For the teacher Katia Tavares using digital devices even without internet is seems as an informal way to promote learning and informality brings spontaneous use, that brings authenticity into the classroom, and therefore meaningful learning.