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A Sense of Balance – The Key to MotivationRob Dean,
Czech Republic, August 2010
What is Motivation?
”Motivation is the willingness of a person to exert high levels of effort to
satisfy some individual need.”(Robbins & Coulter, 1996).
Learners are motivated if they: … are interested in the topic of the content
… want to understand and do more
… feel they can understand and do more
Motivation can happen in…
…a school environment that students find worthwhile and MEANINGFUL
…a school environment where the teacher provides BALANCE
Today’s Menu:
… of skills and language… of topics and tasks… of interactions and intelligences … of learner support and learner
autonomy… of the familiar and the new
Balance…
What are we aiming for?
How do we get there?
•Grammar: Present Perfect / Past Simple
•Vocabulary: Activities
•Skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing
•Practice and Preparation Time
Language development: Vocabulary
Language development: Vocabulary
baseball / tennis
2 syllables / 3 syllables
ball sport / non-ball sport
Focus on Grammar:
Language Input as it once was: One way traffic...
‘Right! Read this!
The present perfect is a very difficult concept that does not exist in every language. We use it to link the past to the present in some way – for example when we can see the present result of something that happened in the past. We don’t usually include a time expression with the present perfect (except when we use for and since). We make the present perfect simple affirmative by following the subject with the appropriate present tense form of the auxiliary ‘have’ then the past participle or third form of the main verb. The closed interrogative form is made by simple inversion of the auxiliary and the main verb.
‘Do you understand?’
Student
InformationKnowledge
What is needed for effective language
input?• Student involvement
• Student involvement • A relevant context
What is needed for effective language input?
Contexts: A Quiz
Contexts…
What is the nationality of the inventor of the world wide web?
a)British
b)American
c)Japanese
Contexts…
What is the small UK town of Glastonbury famous for?
a)Its historic architecture
b)Afternoon tea
c)The UK’s biggest music festival
Contexts…
True or false?
The town of Nome in Alaska holds an annual bathtub race.
Contexts…
True or False?
Jason Lewis circumnavigated the globe in 15 years using only human powered transport.
13
Contexts…
Which of the following does singer K.T. Tunstall NOT have?
a)A car
b)A TV
c)A big house
d)All three
A context for grammar that
learners will find interesting
Who does the work?
• StudentsAutonomy
• Teacher / cousebookSupport
Developing Autonomy
Providing Support
Developing Autonomy
Providing Support (S) or Developing autonomy (A) ?
The Trouble The Trouble with Grammarwith Grammar
illogical difficult
abstract invisible
What’s changed?
Making Grammar Visible
Look at your partner for 90 seconds.
Turn around and look away from your partner
Change three things about your appearance
Look at your partner again and try to spot the differences
Result?
Present perfect made visual, fun and memorable.
I’ve worn glasses since I was two years old
I’ve met the Prime Minister of Malaysia
I’ve visited six countries so far this year
I’ve driven a Rolls Royce car
I’ve worked as a waiter
Four True; One false
pre
sen
t p
erfe
ct
pas
t si
mp
le
Have you ever found money in the street?
Yes I have!
What did you do with it?
I gave it to my teacher.
Write down the name of...
A good (or bad) film you’ve seen A beautiful (or horrible) city you’ve visitedSomebody who’s annoyed you (or made you happy)A good (or bad) restaurant you’ve been toA good (or bad) book you’ve read The most distant place you’ve ever travelled to
So far:
… of skills and language… of topics and tasks… of interactions and intelligences … of learner support and learner
autonomy… of the familiar and the new
Balance…
1.Hours spent on Youtube
2.Hours spent communicating with friends
3.Hours spent researching homework
4.Hours spent looking for answers to ‘teenage’ questions
In one week: 31 Hours Online!
Source: Cybersentinel
?
My whole world is with me in my pocket…music, phone, camera…
(India, girl, 16)
It would be as horrible as falling off the end of the world, if my
mobile phone and games vanished. (China, boy, 15)
Why does going to school feel like going back in time?
(Saudi Arabia, boy, 14)
Contemporary Topic; Contemporary Vocabulary
Real Questions & Life Lessons
Language practice and REAL opinion sharing… and an authentic looking text…
My whole world is with me in my pocket…music, phone, camera…
(India, girl, 16)
It would be as horrible as falling off the end of the world, if my
mobile phone and games vanished. (China, boy, 15)
Why does going to school feel like going back in time?
(Saudi Arabia, boy, 14)
Balancing the known with the new – another
example
Language teaching and learning… What’s it all
about?
Communication!
