Knowing learners means effectiveness in class management

1. Servicios Educativos Integrales
1
DIDACTIC
RESOURCES
Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp, MSc.

2. DIDACTIC RESOURCES
TeachingLearning
Approach
Method
Procedures
Techniques
Strategies
Linguistic
Competence
Communicative
Competence
1965- Noam
Chomsky: how
well people can
form coherent
and
grammatically
correct
sentences
1966-Dell
Hymes:
1980- Canale
and Swain:
Grammatical
competence:
words and rules
Sociolinguistic
Competence:
appropriatness
Discourse
Competence:
cohesion and
coherence
Stretegic
Competence:
appropriate use
of
communication
strategies
Refers to theories about the nature of
language and language learning that serve
as the source of practice and principles in
language teaching.
Is the practical realization of an approach
Is an ordered sequence of techniques.
Is a single activity rather than a sequence.
FRIENDLY
CLASSROOM
ATMOSPHERE

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DESCRIBING
LEARNERS
Teaching English to Kids, Adolescents and
Adults

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LEARNERS &TEACHERS
LEARNER
DIFFERENCES
MOTIVATION
AGE

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LEARNERS &TEACHERS
Major factor
How to teach
What to teach
Different needs
Competences
Cognitive skills

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LEARNERS &TEACHERS
children
acquire SL or FL
effortlessly
Unmotivated
uncooperative
stereotypes
adolescents adults
Many barriers of
learning:
Age effect
Past experience
HARMER, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. 2006.pg37

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LEARNERS &TEACHERS
Respond to meaning even if they do not understand individual words
Often learn indirectly rather than directly
Their understanding comes not just from explanation, but also from what
they see, hear, touch and interact with
Enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the world around them
Need individual attention and approval from the teacher
Keen to talk about themselves and their own lives as main topics in the
classroom
Limited attention span: 10 min.
rich learning
experiences
variety of
resources
Individual and
group work
WHAT TO DO?

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LEARNERS &TEACHERS
bright and colorful classroom
classroom with windows
enough room
group work
change activities every
10 min.
puzzle-like activities making thingsdrawing things
games
physical movements songs

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The methodologist, Penny Ur, suggests that teenage students are the
best language learners.
The search for the individual identity is the key challenge for this age group
Identity has to be forged among classmates and friends
Peer approval may be considerably more important for the student than
the teacher attention.
Adolescents push teachers to the limits
supportive and
constructive teacher
make Ss become
engaged
use relevant and
involving material
build bridges through
humanistic teaching
Increase Ss’ self-
esteem
Use their own thoughts &
experience
WHAT TO DO?
What to get?

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unwillingness to speak in the target language
disruptive behavior in class
need for self-esteem
boredom
inaudible responses
sleeping in classtardiness and poor attendance
failure to do homework
cheating in tests
bullying other Ss
damaging school property refusing to accept punishment
The family
education self-esteem
frustration
Non-engaged
topics or tasks
tiredness
classroom atmosphere teacher attitude

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1.-They can engage with abstract thought
2.- They have a whole range of life experiences to draw on.
3.- They have expectations about the learning process, and may already
have their own set patterns of learning
4.-
5.- They come into class with a rich range of experiences which allow
teachers to use a wide range of activities with them.
can be critical of
teaching methods
can become anxious
and under-confident
about L a L
older adults worry that their
intellectual powers may be
diminishing
Stick with an
activity for
longer
Indirect learning
through reading,
listening, and
communicative
speaking and
writing
6.- They often have a clear understanding of why they are learning and
what they want to get out of it.

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aptitude
good learner characteristics
learner style
language
levels
Individual variations

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These are those students who by nature are solitary, prefer to avoid
groups, and who are independent and confident in their own abilities.
Most importantly they are analytic and can impose their own structure
on learning. They tend to be cool and pragmatic.
These are students who prefer to emphasize learning “about
language” over learning to use it. They tend to be dependent on those
in authority and are perfectly happy to work in non-communicative
classrooms, doing what they are told. A classroom of conformists is
one which prefers to see well-organized teachers.

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Though they are like conformists. They also enjoy the social aspects of
learning and like to learn from direct experiences. They are interested in
language use and language as communication rather than language as a
system. They enjoy games and groupwork in class.
These are language use oriented. They are comfortable out of class and
show a degree of confidence and a willingness to take risk which the
colleagues may lack.
They are much more interested in social interaction with other speakers of
the language than they are with analysis of how the language works. They
are perfectly happy to operate without the guidance of a teacher.

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Some students are better at learning languages than others.
Linguistic traditional aptitude tests
Discriminate between the most and the least intelligent students
analytic aptitute test: optimistic about all the people in class

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self-reliant
positive task orientation
creative
high aspirations
ego involvement
goal orientation
their-own-way finders
perseverant
learning autonomy promoters

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Neuro-linguistic programming
MI Theory

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Advanced
High
Intermediate
Intermediate
Pre Intermediate
Elementary
Beginners – False beginners
TOEFL
TOEIC
UCLES
Teaching Of
English as a
Foreign
Language
Teaching Of
English for
International
Communication
University of
Cambridge
Local
Examinations
Syndicate

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THE PLATEAU EFFECT:
Learners at the Biginner level find it easy to see progress while at higher levels
students do not find it easy to see where they are going.
METHODOLOGY:
Repetition is more effective and appropriate for lower students.
Discovering Learning is more desirable at any level, eventhough it is more widely
used with intermediate students.
Whole class discussion works much better with higher students
LANGUAGE:
It needs to be adjusted to the classroom language and the level we are working
with.
TOPICS:
It is important to match the topics to the level, reserving complex issues for more
advanced classes

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Multiple Intelligences vs Learning Styles
TYPE LIKES TO IS GOOD AT LEARNS BEST AT
LINGUISTIC LEARNER
The word player
Read, write, tell stories Memorizing names, places,
dates and trivia
Saying, hearing, and seeing
words
LOGICAL –
MATHEMATICAL
The questioner
Do experiments, figure things
out, work things out, work with
numbers, ask questions,
explore patterns and
relationships.
Maths, reasoning, logic and
problem solving
Categorizing, classifying,
working with abstract patterns
/ relationships.
SPATIAL LEARNER
The visualizer
Draw, build, design and
create things, daydream, look
at pictures, watch movies,
play with machines
Imagining things, sensing
changing, mazes / puzzles,
reading maps, charts.
Visualizing, dreaming, using
the mind’s eyes, working with
colors and pictures
MUSICAL LEARNER
The music lover
Sing, hum tunes, listen to
music, play an instrument,
respond to music
Picking up sounds,
remembering melodies,
noticing pitches, / rhythms,
keeping time
Rhythm, melody, music
BODILY –
KINAESTHETIC
LEARNER
Move around, touch, and talk,
use body language
Physical activities: sport /
dancing / acting.
Touching, moving, interacting
with space, processing
knowledge through bodily
sensations
INTERPERSONAL
LEARNER
The socializer
Have lots of friends, talk to
people, join groups
Understanding people,
leading others, organizing,
communicating, manipulating,
mediating conflicts
Sharing, comparing, relating,
cooperating, interviewing
INTRAPERSONAL
LEARNER
Work alone, pursue own
interests
Understanding self, focusing
inward on feelings, / dreams
following instincts, pursuing
interest / goals, being original
Working alone, individualized
projects, self-paced
instruction, having own space.

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It is a number of use of “primary representational systems” to experience
the world
Visual; what we look and see
Auditory; what we hear and listen
Kinaesthetic; what we feel internally, externally, or through movement
Olfactory; what we smell
Gustatory; what we taste
This is a framework to analyze different student responses to stimuli and
environments

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Pablo Mejía Maldonado. Esp, MSc