TEFL-C 02 Experiential Learning Theory 2013tefl-c.coursewebs.com/Courses/CommonFiles/TEFL-C...teaching with young EFL learners in mind, concluding with some “child friendly” experiential

Prepared in association with Teachers College, Columbia University. © 2012 TEFL-C International Ltd. All rights reserved.

0 TheDirectApproach

Unit

2

EXPERIENTIALLEARNINGTHEORY

"WhenIhear,Iforget.WhenIsee,Iremember.WhenIdo,Iunderstand."

–Confucious


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EXPERIENTIALLEARNINGTHEORY

Introduction

Theideathatwelearnthroughourexperiencesmayseemselfevident,butexperientiallearningtheory(ELT)wasonlyformallyproposedbyDavidKolbinthelatterhalfofthelastcenturyAlthoughELTisarecentdevelopment,thebasicprinciplesofELTarenotnew.Infact,inearlynineteenthcenturyGermany,someprinciplesofELTwereappliedtoearlychildhoodeducationbyFriedrichFröbel.InItalyattheturnofthetwentiethcentury,MariaMontessorielaboratedonsomeofFröbel’sideas.Thenintheearlytwentiethcentury,AspectsofELTwerefirstappliedtogeneraleducationintheUnitedStatesbythegreatprogressivethinker,JohnDeweyofColumbiaUniversity’sTeachersCollege.Dewey’sworkcametoinfluenceeducationalpracticearoundtheworld.Forexample,hisideaswereadaptedbyChen,HeqinandothersinChina.Otherprominentgeneraleducationtheories,suchasHowardGardner’sMultipleIntelligencesTheory,alsocontainelementsofexperientiallearning,andcontemporaryeducationtheoristsincludingPaoloFreireinBrazilcontinuethestudyofexperientiallearning.Inthisunitwewilldiscoverhowexperientiallearninghasevolvedoverthecenturiesingeneraleducationsettings.Wewillalsoseehowitmotivatesstudentsandhelpsthemtotakechargeoftheirownlearning.

Aswewillseelaterinthisunit,ELTisanon‐reductionistviewofhowhumanslearnratherthanateachingapproach.InthefieldofteachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage(EFL),theconceptofELThasmostfrequentlybeenappliedwithtask‐basedlearning(TBL).TheTBLapproachhasbeenelaboratedandrefinedforclassesaroundtheworld.LargelythroughTBLapproaches,experientiallearninghasbeenappliedtolanguagelearning.OtherlanguagelearningapproachessuchasTheDirectApproach,TheNaturalApproach,andThe


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CommunicativeApproachwillalsobediscussedhereandelaborateduponinotherunitsofthiscourse.Fromapracticalpointofview,wewillalsoexplorehowexperientiallearningandTBLhavebeenredesignedaseffectivetoolsforlanguagelearning.Finally,wewilldiscusshowtoapplythisapproachtolanguageteachingwithyoungEFLlearnersinmind,concludingwithsome“childfriendly”experientiallearningactivities.

TheEvolutionofExperientialLearning

Experientiallearningtiestogetherelementsofprogressivism,theprincipleofcontextuallearning,handsonlearning,andotherreformistideas.TheconceptofexperientiallearningisalsocloselyrelatedtoconstructiveplayapproacheslikethoseofFriedrichFröbelandMariaMontessori.(TheapproachesofFröbelandMontessoriarediscussedingreaterdetailintheunitonEarlyChildhoodDevelopmentTheory.)

JohnDewey

IntheU.S.,experientiallearningwasfirstchampionedbyDr.JohnDeweyatTeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversityintheearlytwentiethcentury.ExperienceisthekeytoDewey’sphilosophyofeducation.Hisideashavebroadapplicationstogeneraleducationacrossdisciplinessuchasmathematics,science,andsocialstudies,inadditiontolanguagearts.Deweymadeitclearthatlearnersmustmakeconnectionsbetween

Figure 1: John Dewey

经验学习理论的发展

contextual learning （语境中学习） hands-on learning （动手学习） constructive play （建设性游戏）

杜威 - 将课堂所学和已有知识联系起来

- 在真实场景中有目的地教授知识

- 以学生为中心


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experiencesintheclassroomandknowledgetheyalreadypossessed.Intermsoflanguagelearning,wenowcallthisprocesslinking.Deweywasconcernedthatinformationwassometimespresentedtostudentswithoutconsideringitspurposeorcontext.Forexample,studentsmightbetoldtheywerelearningagivenfactbecausetheywouldneedtoknowitwhentheygrewup.

Oncethetimecametoapplythatknowledge,however,theymaybeunabletobecauseitwaslearnedinacontextthatwasmarkedlydifferentfromtheoneathand(Dewey,1938).Deweysuggested,forexample,thatstudentsshouldlearnhistoryinawaythathelpedthembetterunderstandthepresent.Healsothoughteducationshouldbestudentcentered—thatstudentsshouldparticipateindirectingandshapingtheireducation.“Learningbydoing”describestheprocessbywhichwecomeintoknowledgeofourselves,oftheworld,andofourspecialtalentsastheyrelatetoourpotentialcontributionstosociety(Barson,1998).Infact,manycontemporaryeducationalphilosophersfromothercultureshaveexpressedsimilarideas.StudentsofJohnDewey,suchastheChineseearlychildhoodeducator,Chen,Heqin,spreadDewey’seducationalphilosophyworldwide.

PaoloFreire

Inotherculturalcontexts,thebasicideasofexperientiallearninghavebeensupportedbyfieldresearch.Forexample,Dewey’seducationalphilosophysharesmanyofthebasicprinciplesofthegreatBrazilianeducatorPauloFreire.LikeFreire, Figure 2: Paolo Freire

弗雷尔 - 反对脱离实际的教学方法 - 由学生自主选择学习的任务、话题、词汇


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Deweycondemnseducationalmethodsthataimtotransmitinformationorfactsthataredisconnectedfromsomecontextthatwouldotherwisemakethemmeaningfultostudents.Freirefirstfocusedondisadvantagedstudents.Freireworkedwithilliterateruralworkersandimpoverishedurbanchildren,butlaterfine‐tunedhisapproachforalltypesofstudents.Thechoiceoftasks,topics,andevenvocabularyshouldemanatefromthestudentsthemselves,accordingtoFreire.Theselearner‐centeredprinciplesformthefoundationofexperientiallearning.

HowardGardner

Morerecently,wecanpointtoconnectionsbetweenexperientiallearningandHowardGardner’stheoryofMultipleIntelligences,atopicthatiselaboratedingreaterdetailinanotherunitofthiscourse.ThecoreofHowardGardner’stheoryofMultipleIntelligencesisthatintelligenceisnotasinglefactorthatcanbemeasuredbyanIQtest.Experientiallearningactivitiesasdefinedherecanbeexpressionsofavarietyofmentalprocessingcapacitiesamongstudents,includinglinguistic,spatial,musical,logical,kinesthetic,interpersonalandintrapersonalintelligences.

Althoughexperientiallearningactivitiestypicallyhaveastronglyverbal–linguisticfocus,manyexperientialproblemsolvingtasksalsoinvolveotherintelligences,suchaslogicalormathematicalrelationships.Inaddition,learningactivities

加德纳 - 多元智能理论

经验学习涉及多种智能训练 - 语言智能 - 空间智能 - 音乐智能 - 逻辑数学智能 - 身体动觉智能 - 人际智能 - 自省智能


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sometimeshaveastrongphysicalorkinestheticelementduringrole‐playsorsimulations.Interpersonalskillsaretestedingroupwork,whileintrapersonalintelligenceisalsoactivatedwhenstudentsarecalledupontoself‐reflectandgivetheirownopinions.Finally,especiallyamongyounglearners,spatialintelligenceisactivatedduringcoloringanddrawingtasks,andmusicalintelligenceisdevelopedduringsingingormusicappreciationtasks.

DavidA.Kolb

In 1984, Kolb wrote the seminal work defining theprinciples that have become the framework of experientialpedagogies.Kolbbuilthistheoryonsomegreatthinkersfromseveraldisciplines,suchas JohnDeweyfromeducation, JeanPiaget from developmental psychology, Kurt Lewin fromsocialpsychology,andHubertDreyfusfromcognitivescience.ELT defines learning as “the processwherebyKnowledge iscreatedthroughthetransformationofexperience.Knowledgeresults from the combination of grasping and transformingexperience”(Kolb,1984,p.41).

InKolb'smodeltherearetwomodesofgraspingexperience:concreteexperienceandabstractconceptualization.Inaddition,therearetwomodesoftransformingexperiencereflectiveobservationandactiveexperimentation.ForKolb,learningisafluidcyclethatbeginswithconcreteexperiences.Theseexperiencesarethenthebasisforobservationsandreflections.Thesereflectionsareassimilatedintoabstractconcepts.Theseabstractconceptshaveimplicationsforfutureactionintheformofactiveexperimentation.

Anyonewhohastriedtouseasecondlanguagewithnativespeakershashadtheexperienceofnotbeingunderstood.Toillustratetheprocessofexperientiallearning,let’sexamineanEnglishlanguagelearnerwhohasnotbeen


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understoodinaconversation.Theconcreteexperienceisnotbeingunderstood.Inthereflectiveobservationstagethelanguagelearnerislikelytoaskquestions:Whywasn’the/sheunderstood?Isthissituationsimilarordifferentfromprevioussituations?Abstractconceptualizationinvolvesusinglogicandideastotrytoanswerthequestionsraisedduringthereflectiveobservationstage.Thisisahypothesisformingprocess.Finally,duringactiveexperimentation,thelanguagelearnerteststhesehypothesizestoseewhatwillallowhim/hertobeunderstood.

TaskBasedLanguageLearning

ExperientiallearningcanbeusedtoteachlanguagesintheformofTaskBasedLearning(TBL).TBLsuggeststhatlanguagelearningcanbedividedintounitscalledtasksratherthantopicsorgrammaticalforms,forexample.ThecentralideaofTBListhatataskisameaningfulandviableunitfordesigningcurriculum.Taskshelpto1)identifylearners’needs,2)definethecontentofacourse,3)organizeopportunitiesforlanguageacquisition(learningactivities),and4)measurestudentprogress.Sometasksmayoverlapwithteachingtechniques(e.g.,arole‐playtask/techniqueoraproblem‐solvingtask/technique).AccordingtoBrown(2001),TBL“viewsthelearningprocessasasetofcommunicativetasksthataredirectlylinkedtothecurriculargoalstheyserve,andthepurposeofwhichextendbeyondthepracticeoflanguageforitsownsake”(p.83).Brownasksteacherstoconsiderimportantquestionssuchas:Dothetasksspecificallycontributetocommunicativegoals?Aretheycarefullydesignedandnotsimplyhaphazardlythrowntogether?

RelatedTheoriesandResearch

Severalofthemajortheoriesofsecondlanguage

基于任务的语言学习


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acquisitionandeducationhaveinfluencedTBL.PaoloFreire’sworkprovidesthetheoreticallinkbetweenexperientiallearning,generaleducation,TBL,andlanguagelearning.AnotherrelevantlanguagelearningconceptthatrelatestoexperientiallearningisthescaffoldingmodelofLevVygotskyandothers,where“thedemandonthinkingmadebytheactivity[is]justabovethelevelwhichlearners[can]meetwithouthelp”(Demetrion,1997).AlsorelatedistheNaturalApproachofTracyTerrellandStephenKrashen.AccordingtotheNaturalApproach,tasksshouldgeneratetheirownlanguageandcreateanopportunityforlanguageacquisition.Aslanguageteachers,ifwecantakethefocusawayfromformandstructures,wecandevelopourstudents’abilitytodothingsinEnglish.Thatdoesnotmeanthattherewillbenoattentionpaidtoaccuracy.Instead,workonlanguageisincludedineachtask,andfeedbackandlanguagefocushavetheirplacesinlessonplans.Teachersshouldenrichtheirstudents’languagewhentheyseeitisnecessary,butstudentsshouldbegiventheopportunitytouseEnglishintheclassroomjustastheyusetheirownlanguagesineverydaylife(Krashen&Terrell,1996).(Vygotsky’sscaffoldingtheoryisdiscussedingreaterdetailintheunitonEarlyChildhoodDevelopmentTheoryandTerrell’sandKrashen’sNaturalApproachisdiscussedthoroughlyintheunitbythattitle.)

TBLalsorelatestothestudent‐centeredclassroom,andcollaborativelearning.Inaddition,task‐basedmodelshavebeenpilot‐testedinBangalore,Indiainthe1980’s(Prabhu,1987;Demetrion,1997);andmorerecentlyinHongKong(Carless,2001).RodEllis,JaneWillis,andotheractivistsinthefieldofEnglishlanguageeducationandEFLhavealsowrittenextensivelyaboutthetopicofTBL.Someoftheseconceptsandbodiesofresearchwillbebrieflyexaminedbelow.

相关理论和研究 - 弗雷尔：经验学习、普通教育、任务教学及语言学习的理论关联 - 维果茨基：建架理论 - 克拉申：自然学习法、以学生为中心、合作学习


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N.S.Prabhu:TBLforChildreninIndia

ATBLcurriculumwithyounglearnersfocuswasusedbyN.S.PrabhuintheBangaloreProjectinIndia(Prabhu,1987).InBangalore,scaffoldingandTBLwereusedwithchildrenwhilestudyingmathematics,geography,orothertypesofproblemsinEnglish.ExperientiallearningintheBangaloreprojecthadageneraleducationfocus,butitalsousedEnglishasthemediumofinstruction.Therefore,languageandcontentbasedinstructionwereconsideredeffectivetoolsforlearning.TheessentialideaofataskinBangalorewasthatstudentsfocusedonthemeaningofthecontentratherthanongrammaticalform.Thelearninggoalsandlanguageoutcomeswerenotspecificallylinkedtolanguageaccuracy(Cameron,2002).Prabhuarguesthat,atleastinthecontextofthisschool‐basedproject,themosteffectiveteachingtookplacethroughactivitiesthatpushedthecognitiveboundariesofthestudents.

Task‐basedteachingisahighlyeffectivewayofteachingstudentstointernalizegrammaticalaccuracybyusinglanguageinareal‐lifesituation,ratherthanbyteachingstudentstofollowconsciousrulesleadingtoexternalizedlanguage(needscitation).InPrabhu’smodel,theinstructoractsasanimportantbridgebetweenthestudents’currentabilityandtheirmasteryofnewknowledge.Throughinductivelearningduringtask‐basedactivities,studentsmakegreatleapsofnewlearning.

RodEllis:TBLandEnglishTeaching

AccordingtoEllis(2003),whenEnglishistaughtinaTBLcontext,studentsareencouragedtotakerisksevenwhentheyarefocusedoncertaingrammaticalforms.Task‐basedteachingallowsforfreerdiscussionamongstudents,especiallysincetheycansometimeschoosetheirowntopics.Theyareencouragedtosolveproblems,createproducts,or

普拉布：针对印度儿童的任务教学 - 语言及内容教学法为学习有效工具 - 学生关注内容而非语法形式 - 学习目标和语言学习结果非仅为语言准确性

埃里斯：任务教学法和英语教学学生： - 进行自由讨论，自主选择话题 - 合作学习 - 语言功能的训练 - 以学生为中心教师： - 以学生需求为主 - 起辅助角色


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preparepresentationsbycollaborativelearning.Studentsareencouragedtotaketurnsinanatural,conversationalstyle.Theycanpracticeavarietyoflanguagefunctions,suchasaskingforandreceivinginformationoragreeinganddisagreeing.Studentsarealsoencouragedtonegotiatetheirownmeaningwithplentyofteachersupport,buttheteacherinthismodelrespondstothemessagemorethantothegrammaticalcorrectnessofwhatstudentsexpress.Theemphasisinthiscaseshouldbeonalearner‐centeredclassroom,sotheteachershouldtakeonamoreindirect,lessauthoritarianroleindirectinglearning.

Ellisfurthersuggeststhattheteachermustkeeptheneedsofthestudentsinmindwhendesigningtasks.Eachtaskmustbesufficientlychallengingtokeeptheirinterest.Cleargoals,whethertheyrelatemoretofluencyoraccuracy,shouldframeeachtask‐basedlesson.Eachstudentshouldbeawareofwhythetaskisbeingperformed.Allstudentsshouldparticipatefullyinthetask,andtheyshouldbeencouragedtotakeriskstostretchtheirlanguageability.Thefocusshouldbeprimarilyonmeaningastheyperformatask,butthereshouldalsobeopportunitiestofocusonform.Finally,studentsshouldbeaskedtoevaluatetheirownperformanceandprogresstomakethemmoreaccountablefortheirownlearning.

JaneWillis:TBLOrganization

ManyapproachestousingTBLintheclassroomhavebeenproposed,buttheyallsharecertainfeatures.AccordingtoJaneWillis,task‐basedlessonscanbedividedintopretask,duringtask,andaftertaskstages.Pre‐taskactivitiesincludetheintroductiontoatopicandtask,activationofbackgroundknowledge,andpre‐teachingofkeywordsorphrases.Theduring‐taskactivityusuallyinvolvespairorgroupwork,withtheteacheractingasamonitororafacilitator.Students

威利斯：任务教学课程的组织


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preparetoreportbacktotheclass,typicallyaboutwhattheyhavedecidedordiscoveredduringtheirdiscussion.Afterthetask,theresultsareexchanged,discussed,orcomparedinsomeway.Inalanguageclassroom,thereisalsoalanguagefocus,duringwhichstudentscanconcentrateonspecificfeaturesofthewrittentextorarecordingoftheirpresentation.Thentheteachercanpracticeorrecyclenewwordsorphrasesforthegeneralbenefitoftheclass(Willis,1996).Certainobviouslimitationsforveryyounglearnersareapparentinthismodel.Forexample,sustainingtheirattentionacrossthevariousstagesseemsimpractical.Also,organizedgroupdiscussionandwrittenworkarebeyondtheircognitiveanddevelopmentalability.

DavidCarless:TBLwithChildreninHongKong

SpecialneedsandparticularissuesthatariseinteachingEnglishtoyounglearnersmustbetakenintoaccount.Ofparticularinteresttoourdiscussion,TBLwasresearchedqualitativelybyDavidCarlessinthreeEFLclassesinHongKongprimaryschools.Theresearchprojectanalyzedvariousthemesrelevanttotheclassroomimplementationoftask‐basedlearningwithyounglearners.Theseincludetheissueofnoiseandlackofdiscipline,andtheroleofdrawingorcoloringactivities.Foreachoftheseissues,strategiesforclassroompracticewerediscussed.TheresultsofthisresearcharerelevantforteacherscarryingoutactivitiesortaskswithyoungEFLlearnersinothercontexts.

InHongKong,teachersfounditdifficulttokeepyounglearnerson‐taskduringhighlycommunicativetasks.Largeclasssizestendtoworsenproblemsofnoiseanddisorder,asdoclasseswherethereisawiderangeofabilities.Formixed‐abilityclasses,somestudentsmightfinishanactivityrapidly,forexample,sothereisagreatertendencytogetoff‐task.Toavoidthisproblem,itisimportanttohavefollow‐uptasks

卡利斯：针对香港儿童的任务教学



readytokeepthefasterstudentsengagedinlearning.Anotherclassroommanagementtechniqueistogiveclearandcomprehensibledirectionsforthetask.Also,thetaskmustnotbeeithertooeasyortoodifficult,orstudentsbecometooeasilydistractedorfrustrated.Insomeactivitiessuchasdramaorrole‐play,noiseisanaturalby‐productoftheactivityandshouldactuallybeencouraged.Inpractice,though,shoutingor“overlyenthusiasticparticipationbyyoungstudentsmustbetemperedsomewhat.

AnotherthemeoftheHongKongstudyconcernstheuseofdrawing,coloring,orothertasksthatinvolvelimitedtarget‐languageproduction.Acertainamountofdrawingorcoloringisusuallyacceptedasbeneficialinaprimaryschool.Thisisespeciallytrueofveryyounglearnersorpreschoolstudents.Forslightlyolderlearners(inthisstudy,firstgradersagedsixtosevenyearsold),studentswereencouragedtodrawapictureandtowriteacaptionorshorttextrelatedtothepicture.Akeyconsiderationisthattheremustbemoreemphasisonlinguistictasksthanartistictasks.Someoftheartisticactivitiesgotchildreninterestedandenthusiasticaboutatask,buttherewasalmostnoEnglishoutputintheclassesCarlessobserved.IfEnglishisthegoal,thendrawingorcoloringactivities,ortasksthatinvolvemodelingormakingthings,shouldnotconsumemostofthelesson.Instead,thelessonsshouldbestructuredsothattheEnglishpart(eitheroralorwritten)isdoneatthebeginningormidwaythroughtheactivity,andthedrawingorcoloringshouldbecompletedafterwards.

Forveryyounglearners,however,suchanemphasisonlanguageproductionislessrealistic.Oneoptionteachersofveryyounglearnersmightconsider,however,ishavingthechildrenlistentorecordingsoflanguage‐controlledEFLstoriesornurseryrhymeswhiletheyarecoloringordrawing.AnotheroptionistoplayEnglishchildren’ssongsorchants



andencouragethechildrentosingalongastheywork.Selectingandusingappropriatestories,songs,andchantstoteachEnglishtochildrenaretopicstakenupinotherunitsofthiscourse.

Applications

Generaleducationexperientiallearningactivitiesmayormaynothavealanguagefocus.Herewewillconcentrateonactivitiesthatdoinvolvelanguage.ThepossibilityforexperientiallearningandTBLactivitiesarevirtuallyendless,soitisdifficulttoevensortthemoutintodifferentcategoriesortypes.Inthesubsequenttopicsofthiscourse,youwillseenumerousactivitiesthatareexperientialinnature.ForexampleintheunitonTeachingThroughDrama,youwillseehowstudentscanlearnlanguagebyengaginginroleplaysorputtingontheatricalproductions.IntheunitonTeachingEarlyLiteracy,youwillseehowchildrencanpublishtheirownsimplebooks,andsoon.

Justtogiveyouatasteofthewidevarietyofexperientialortaskbasedactivitiesthatarepossible,however,wewillpresentseveralhere.Fornow,wewilldividethemintoactivitiesinwhichchildrenfolloworalorwritteninstructionsinordertocreateorconstructsomethingindividuallyorinpairs,verbaltasksthatrequirelanguageforcompletion,non‐verbaltaskswithalanguage‐basedfollow‐upactivity,andmoreextensiveprojectsthatmayspanseveralclassperiodsandrequirelanguageuseforthecommunicationnecessaryintheprocess.

InstructionFollowingActivities

Intheseactivities,studentsreceiveverbalinstructionsandusehands‐onmaterialstocreatesomething,eitherindependentlyorinpairs.Suchactivitiesfocusonthelisteningorreadingcomprehensionskillswhilenot

教学活动



necessarilyrequiringthestudentstoproducethelanguage.Forthisreason,theyaresimplerandlessstressfulthanexperientialactivitiesthatrequirestudentstospeakorwrite.Wewillbeginwithactivitiesappropriateforlowlanguageabilityveryyounglearnersandprogresstothoseforolder,morefluentchildren.

Pinwheels—Thishands‐onactivitymightbeusedtoreinforceaunitongeometricshapes(adaptedfromNichols,Hocket,Tietjen,&Witherow,2003).Eachstudentisgivenasquareofheavy,brightlycoloredpaper,(paperwithdifferentcolorsonthefrontandbackisideal),twosmallcirclesofcardstock,astickofglue,apushpin,ashortsectionofasmalldiameterdrinkingstraw,andanunsharpenedpencilwitharubbereraserononeend.Thengivethestudentsstep‐by‐stepinstructionstoconstructpinwheelsasshowninFigure8:

1. Foldthesquareandfoldthesquareagain.Makefourtriangles.2. Glueacircleinthemiddleofthesquare.

3. Cutthesquaretothecirclelikethis.Cutthesquaretothecirclehereandhereandhere,too.(Note:Cutalongthefourcreaselinesfromthecornersofthesquaretothecircleofcardstock,butdo

notcutthroughthecircle.)4. Foldatriangleandglueittothecircle.Thenfoldtheother

trianglesandgluethemtothecircle.(Note:Donotformhard

creasesinthefolds.)5. Glueanothercircleonthecircle.(Note:Gluethesecondcircleof

cardstockoverthefirsttohelpsecurethecornersofthe

triangles.)6. Pushthepinthroughthecircles.7. Putthestrawonthepin.

8. Pushthepinintothepencilandplay!(Note:Byfacingthewheelforwardandusingthepenciltopushitthroughtheair,thepinwheelwillturn.)

- 做纸风车



ClassMonster—Thisactivityhelpstoreviewvocabularyrelatedtopartsofthebody,andvalueseachstudent’sparticipation.Theteachertellsthechildrenthattogethertheyaregoingtodrawasillymonster.Childrendrawontheboardaccordingtotheteacher’sinstructions.Theteacher

Figure8:PinwheelConstructionTask

A.) B.)

C.) D.)

E.) F.)



nominatesonechildtodrawahead,thenanotherchildtodrawabodyandconnectittothehead.Thiscontinuesuntilallthemajorfeaturesareincludedandthedrawingiscomplete.Ofcoursebecauseitisamonster,itisnotaproblemforittohavemorethantwoeyes,ears,arms,orlegsorevenmorethanonenose,mouth,orhead,accommodatingaclassofanysize.

SaltDoughSculptures—Usingcolorfulclayorsaltdough,theteachercaninstructstudentstosculptalmostanyconcretenounvocabularyitem.TheinstructionstheteachermightgivecouldbeassimpleasthosegivenintheLetterErectorSetactivityaboveorcouldbemorecomplicated.Forexample:

1. Makeawhitehousewithayellowdoorandablueroof.

2. Makedifferentkindsofflowers,thenaskmewhatthey’recalledinEnglishifyoudon’tknow.

3. Makeyourfavoriteanimal,thenshowittoyourfriendsandseeif

theycantellwhatitis.Incidentally,sincethemakingofsaltdoughrequires

followingarecipe,thisprocess,too,canbecomeanexperientiallanguagelearningexperienceifthestudents’languageproficiencyishighenoughfortheinstructionstobecomprehensible,yetchallenginglinguistically.Otherwise,itmaybenecessaryfortheteachertoprepareorpartiallypreparethesaltdoughinadvance.(Theprocessofcoloringwhitesaltdough,forexample,couldbeleftforthestudentstoparticipateiniftheyarelearningthevocabularyforthecolorsortheconceptofcolorblending.)Therecipeandprocessofmakingsaltdoughcouldbepresentedtothestudentseitherinwrittenororalform.TherecipeandinstructionsformakingsaltdougharegiveninFigure9(Nichols,2002).

- 捏橡皮泥



SaltDoughRecipe

Ingredients Directions

•3cupswheatflour•1cupsalt•2teaspoonsglycerinorcookingoil•fooddyesorpowderedtemperapaints

•water

Thoroughlymixtheflourandsalt.Stirringconstantly,addglycerinorcookingoil,thenwateruntilthedoughreachesthedesiredconsistency.(Ifyoucanfindglycerin,itgivesthedoughamuchmoreclay‐liketexturethanoil.Tryyourlocaldrugstoreorpharmacy.)Addfooddyeortemperapaintpowdertoreachdesiredcolors.Ifthedoughbecomestoomoist,addflour.Iftoohard,addwater.Completedmodelscanbebakedat180ºCorairdrieduntilhardened.

HomemadeIceCream—Sincewe’reonthetopicoffollowingrecipesforexperientiallanguagelearning,hereisarecipebasedactivityinwhichmoreEnglishproficientstudentscanactuallymaketheirownicecream(adaptedfromNichols,Witherow,Cunningham,Moore,&Cerello,2004).Thisrecipeactivityisidealbecauseitdoesnotrequireheatingelements,knives,orotherdangerousimplements.Again,thestudentscouldbegiventhe

instructionseitherorallyorinwrittenform.ThestepsoftheactivityareillustratedinFigure10.Thematerialsrequiredforeachpairorgroupofstudentsareasfollows:

‐ amedium‐sizedmetalcanwithare‐sealablelid

‐ asecondcanthatis5–10cmlargerindiameterthanthefirstcan,alsowithare‐sealablelid(butnotnecessarilymadeofmetal)

‐ aone‐cupmeasuringcup

‐ asmallspoon‐ onecupofmilk

- 家制冰激淋

Figure9:SaltDoughRecipe



‐ onecupofcream‐ halfacupofsugar

‐ vanillaflavoring‐ alotoffinelycrushedorsmall‐cubedice(tryaskingatfastfood

restaurantsordrinkstandsthatusecrushediceoriceinsmall

cubes)‐ aboutonecupofsalt‐ aselectionofchoppedfruits,nuts,and/orcandy

‐ smallservingbowlsandspoons

Iftheactivityisdoneorally,theinstructionsthatmightbegivenbytheteacherareasfollows:

1. Putonecupofmilkinthesmallcan.2. Putonecupofcreaminthesmallcan.

3. Puthalfacupofsugarinthesmallcan.4. Putonespoonofvanillainthesmallcan.5. Putthelidonthesmallcan.

6. Putthelidontight!7. Putthesmallcaninthebigcan.8. Putalittlebitoficebetweenthesmallcanandthebigcan.

9. Nowputalittlebitofsaltontheice.10. Nowputalittlebitmoreicebetweenthesmallcanandthebigcan.11. Nowputalittlebitmoresaltontheice.

12. Putmoreicebetweenthesmallcanandthebigcan.13. Putmoresaltontheice.14. Nowfilltherestofthebigcanwithice.

15. Putmoresaltontheiceandputthelidonthebigcan.16. Putthelidontight!17. Nowrollthecanonthefloor.

18. Rollthecantoyourfriend.19. Haveyourfriendrollitbacktoyou.20. Rollthecanbackandforth,backandforth.

21. Rollthecanbackandforthfortenminutes.22. Nowopenthebigcananddumpoutthemeltedice.



A) B)

C) D)

E) F)

G) H)

I) J)

Figure10:StepsinMakingHomemadeIceCream



23. Takeoutthesmallcanandstirtheicecream.

24. Putthelidbackonthesmallcan;putitontight!25. Putthesmallcanbackinthebigcan.26. Putmoresaltandiceinsidethebigcan.

27. Putthelidbackonthebigcanandrollitbackandforthagain.28. Rollitbackandforthfortenmoreminutes.29. Openthebigcananddumpoutthemeltediceagain.

30. Openthesmallcanandtakeouttheicecream.31. Putyourfavoritefruit,nuts,orcandyontheicecreamandeatit!

TBLwithVerbalTasks

ManyoftheprinciplesofexperientiallearningandTBLasdescribedaboverelatetoeitherolderlearnersormoreproficientEnglishlanguagelearners.ThechallengeistoreinterpretTBLwhenworkingwithyounglearners.Inthiscaseseveralguidelinesshouldbeconsidered.Firstofall,classroomtasksforyoungchildrenshouldhavecoherenceandunityforalllearners.Inotherwords,thetopics,activitiesandoutcomesshouldberelatedandinterconnected.Foryoungchildren,bothmeaningandpurposeforthetasksareveryimportant.Singingasonginclassmightbefun,forexample,buttheremustalsobesomesortofplanned,structuredactivitytofocusonlanguageinordertomakesingingworthwhile.Thetaskforchildrenshouldalsohaveabeginningandanend,sinceasenseofcompletionandaccomplishmentmakeslearningmoremeaningfulforthem.Also,perhapsmostimportantly,thelearnersmustbeactivelyinvolvedinthetaskinorderforittobeeffectiveasateachingtool(Cameron,2001).

Inthissection,wewillfocusonTBLactivitiesinwhichlanguageisrequiredinachievingthetaskitself.Inthesubsequentsection,wewillexploresomeTBLactivitiesinwhichamoreorlessnon‐verbaltaskisfollowedupwitha

有口头交际活动的任务教学



language‐basedactivity.

SentenceBuilding—Thisactivitycanbeeitherspoken(foryounglearners)orwritten(formoreproficientstudents).Itisaveryworthwhilegrouptask,especiallyifitinvolvessinglewordsorlexicalchunks(meaningfulphrases)thatcanberecombinedinavarietyoffunorcreativewaystoproducedescriptionsofclassmates,animals,orfamiliarplaces.Chunksofsentencesarewrittenonlargestripsofpaper.Thenthechildrenworkwithpartnersoringroupstodevisemeaningfulsentences.Ifthechildrenarepreliterate,thisactivitycanalsooftenbedonewithpicturespostedonthewallorwhiteboardrepresentingthekeypartsofsentences

(e.g.,subjects,verbs,adjectives,objects,etc.)(SeeFigure11.)

VerbalHideandSeek—Inthisgamealargepictureofasceneisshown.Forexample,itcouldbeastreetscene,afarmyardscene,orahomescene.Theteacheroroneofthestudentsthen“hides”anobjectwithinthescene.(Theobjectisnotliterallyhiddeninthepicture,buttheplayereitherwritesdownitsimaginarylocationonapieceofpaperor

- 造句

Figure11:SentenceBuildingActivitywithPreliterateChildren

- 故事再现



whispersittotheteacher.)StudentshavetoguessitslocationbyaskingaseriesofquestionssuchasIsitneartheriver?Isitbehindthecow?Itisundertherock?,andsoon.Thefirststudenttocorrectlyguesswheretheimaginaryobjectwashiddengetstohideanotherobjectsomewhereelseinthesceneandplaycontinues(Willis,1996).JumbledStories—Cardswithjumbledsentencesfromafamiliarstory,someofwhicharemissingkeywordsorphrases,arepassedouttogroupstodiscuss,reorder,andpossiblyrewritewiththeirownendings.Avariationonthisistoomitalltheadjectivesordescriptivewordsfromthejumbledsentencesandencouragechildrentoremembertherightwordsorprovidetheirownadjectives.

TBLwithNonVerbalTasks

Herewewillexploreavarietyofmostlynon‐verbaltasksthatarethenturnedintolanguagelearningactivitieswithaverbalfollowupactivity.Again,wewillbeginwiththosetasksthatareappropriateforveryyoung,lowEnglishproficiencystudentsandworkourwayuptothosesuitableforolder,morefluentchildren.

LetterScavengerHunt—Inthisactivity,childrencutoutlettersthatarebeinglearned,thentheteacherhidesthemaroundtheclassroom.Thetaskoftheclassisthensearchfortheletters,andasthestudentsfindaletter,theyannounce,“It’sab.It’sac.”andsoon(Procter&Procter,2005).

Pockets—Firstcolorsandnumbersvocabularyisreviewedinclass.Thenlargeenvelopesrepresentingeighttotenprimarycolorsareplacedonalargerposterboardordisplayboardatthefrontoftheroom.Childrenaretoldtocutoutpicturesfrommagazinescorrespondingtoeachofthecolors.Cooperatively,theyhavetofindfiveormorepicturesforeachofthecolorsandputthemintheappropriateenvelope.Asafollowup,thenumbersofeachcorrectpicturecanbetallied

非口头交际的任务教学活动

- 字母搜寻

- 字母归类袋



outloudinEnglish.Studentscanalsobecalledontosummarizetheirpictures.Forexample,“It’sanapple.It’sred.”Also,disputesaboutwhichpicturesbelonginwhichenvelopecanbediscussedandclarified,givingmorelanguagepractice.Thisactivitycouldbeadaptedforothervocabularytargets,forexampleshapes.Inthiscase,childrenmightlookforpicturesofthingswithround,square,ortriangularforms.

MakeYourOwnWeatherMobile—Eithercut‐outtemplatesandcardswithtargetvocabularyonthemprovidedbytheteacher,orstudentscangeneratetheirownideasfordecorationandembellishmentoftheirweathermobiles.(SeeFigure12.)Theycanfocusonaparticularregionortypeofclimate,andbeaskedtoexplaintheirmobilesinpairsorgroupsaftertheyhavecompletedtheirprojects.(Note:Thesecrettomakinganymobilebalanceistostartbuildingfromthebottom.Connectthebottommostmobileobjectstoastiffwireorothertypeofcrossmemberwithstrings,thenfindthebalancepointinthatcrossmemberandtieastringtoitthere.Tietheotherendofthatstringtooneendofanothercross

Figure12:WeatherMobile



memberandanotherobjectattheotherendofthissecondcrossmember.Thenfindthebalancepointofthissecondcrossmember,whichwillbeverymuchoff‐center,tieastringtoitthereandconnectthatstringtooneendofathirdcrossmemberonyourwayup.Continueuntilenoughcrossmembershavebeenaddedtosupportallofthehangingobjectsinthemobile.Also,notethatoftenmorethantwoobjectsorsetsofobjectscanbehungfromthesamecross‐member.)

ProjectWork

Projectworkisanothersubsetofexperientiallearningthathasparticularrelevanceforyounglearners.Likeatask,aprojectisaunitofclassworkwithabeginning,middle,andend.Childrencanfeelasenseofaccomplishmentandraisetheirself‐esteemwhentheyproducesomethingtangibletoshowtotheirclassmates,friends,andfamily.Thereareseveralotherbenefitsofprojectwork,andtheseshouldallbeconsideredwhendesigningprojecttasksforyounglearners(Phillips,Burwood&Dunford,1999).

Insteadoffocusingonlanguageforitsownsake,projectworkconsiderstheoveralldevelopmentofayoungchild,bothinandoutofclass.Projectswithdistincttaskshelptodeveloptheintellectualandreasoningskillsofchildren,alongwiththeirphysicalandmotorskills.Socialskillsarestrengthenedbyworkingtogetherinpairsorgroups,andlearnerindependenceisencouragedwhenindividualdecisionsaremade.Byallowingforchoicesandcreativity,theemotionalandpersonaldevelopmentofeachchildisalsonurtured.Inmixed‐abilityclasses,thisisespeciallycriticalsinceindividualcontributionsfromallkindsoftalentarevaluedinagoodgroupproject.Eachcontributioncanbeassessedseparately,andeachchildcanfeelthatheorsheisimportanttothesuccessfuloutcomeofaproject.

项目活动



Furthermore,suchprojectsallowformaximumflexibilityinaclassroom.Theycanbeusedtoenrichthecurriculumorusedasstand‐aloneactivitiestodrivetheinstruction(Phillips,Burwood&Dunford,1999).

ProjectsoftenrequiremoresophisticatedusesofEnglish.Theyincludepuzzleswithaproblem‐solvingtask,andmayintegrateotherdisciplinessuchasmathematics,science,socialstudiesorart.Forexample,plasticformssuchasLegosorsimilarmaterialscanbeusedtoconstructageographicshapeorahouseinagivenamountoftime.Aswithexperientiallearningitself,thepossibilitiesforvariouslearningprojectsarealmostendless,butwewillintroduceafewideashere.

TalentShowcase—Thisisastudent‐centeredactivity.Askstudentstochooseproductsfromtheirpastclassactivitiesthattheyaremostproudof.Ideallytheseshouldincludeitemsproducedbychildrenforbulletinboards,murals,collaborativestories,andillustratedstorybooks.Suchproductsareespeciallymeaningfulbecausetheyareproducedwithaspecificaudienceinmind(e.g.,parents,upper‐levelstudents,orthecommunity),andstudentsfocusmoreonboththeformandaccuracyofsomethingmadefordisplaytothepublic(Willis,1996).Theclassthencollaborativelydecideshowtodisplayorotherwisesharetheseproductswithinvitedguests.Appropriatedisplaysaremadeandpresentationsareplanned.Thenthepublic,perhapstheparentsofthechildrenorteachersandstudentsfromotherclasses,areinvitedtocomeseethedisplayandpresentationspreparedbythestudents.

BuildYourOwnVillage—Onehigherordertaskinvolvesworkingingroupstobuildavillageorfarmyardfromeggcartons,sodacans,orotherrecycledmaterials.(SeeFigure13.)Thiscanalsoprovidemanychancesforactivelanguage

- 才艺展示



production,sincestudentshavetolistentooneanotherandnegotiatethebestwaytobuildtheirproject(Willis,1996).

VideoProduction—Groupsofchildrenareprovidedwithaccesstoavideocameraandareaskedtoprepareavideodocumentaryonasubjectoftheirchoosingtopresenttotheclass.Groupscanbeallowedtochooseanytopictheylikeorcanchoosefromalistofappropriatetopicsselectedbytheirteacher,perhapsrelatedtothethemesthey’vebeenstudyingintheirrecentEnglishclasses.ThechildrenwritetheirownEnglishscriptfortheirdocumentaryandcollaboratetodecidewhatvideofootagetocollectandwheretheyshouldgotocollectit.Attheendoftheproject,groupssharetheirvideodocumentarieswiththeclassandleadclassroomdiscussionsontheirdocumentarytopics.

Conclusions

Letusnowsummarizewhatwehavelearnedaboutexperientiallearningor“learningbydoing.”First,wepresentedthehistoricalevolutionofexperientiallearning.ThenwediscussedhowexperientiallearningrelatestolanguageteachingintheformofTaskBasedLearning(TBL).OurdiscussionofTBLincludedareviewofrelatedtheoriesandresearch.Finally,welookedatafewpractical

- 摄制录像片

Figure14:VideoProductionProject



experientiallearningandTBLactivitiesforteachingEnglishtochildren.

Wesawhowtheconceptofexperientiallearningstartedintheearly1800’swithFriedrichFröbel’sexperientialkindergarten(“child’sgarden”).TheconceptwasfurtherdevelopedinMariaMontessori’sCasadeBambini(Children’sHouse).JohnDeweyofTeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversitypopularizedexperientiallearningintheWestandendedupinfluencingthefieldofeducationworldwide.WenotedhowDewey’sstudentssuchasChen,Heqintooktheconceptofexperientiallearningtotheirhomecountriesandadapteditforusethere.Finally,wenotedhowtheconceptofexperientiallearninghascontinuedtoinfluencetheworkandtheoriesofcontemporaryresearcherssuchasPaoloFriereinBrazilandHowardGardneratHarvardUniversity,

Experientiallearningasweknowittodayemergedfromtheprogressivismmovementandincludestheconceptsofhandsonlearning,constructiveplay,learninginauthenticcontexts,learningwithauthenticmaterials,linkingtoexistingknowledge,exposuretobothnaturalenvironmentsandsocialenvironments,studentcenteredcurriculaandactivities,andselfreflectionandselfevaluation.

Intermsoflanguageteaching,experientiallearningnaturallyleadsustoTBL,whichproposesthatlanguage‐learningsyllabimightbestbeorganizedaroundtasksratherthantopicsorgrammaticalforms.ByusingEnglishasthemediumincontentbasedinstructionandrelyingona“NaturalApproach”ofexposuretoroughly‐tunedscaffoldedinput,studentscanlearnthelanguageinductivelyratherthanfocusingonlanguageformorgrammaticalstructures.RodEllismightrefertosuchanapproachasonethatconcentratesonpracticewithvariouslanguagefunctionsasstudentsworkcollaborativelytosolve



problems,createproducts,orperhapspreparepresentations,progressingnaturallytowardslanguagefluencyandaccuracy.

AlthoughsomeTBLtasksimplicitlyrequirelanguagethroughout,othersinvolvetasksofanon‐verbalnature.JaneWillispointedoutthatsuchnon‐verbaltaskscanstillbeusedinTBL,however,byorganizinglessonsintoalanguagebasedpretaskphase,thenon‐verbalduringtaskphase,andafinallanguagefocusedaftertaskphase.

WealsodiscussedsomespecialissueswhenitcomestoapplyingTBLtoteachingchildren.Amongtheconcernsweneedtoaddressarehowtohandletheresultingnoiseandclassroomdiscipline,usingTBLwithmixedabilityclasses,andhowtostayprimarilyfocusedonlanguagelearningwhenlessonsrevolvearoundnon‐verbaltasks.

Finallyweexploredseveralsubsetsoflanguageteachingexperientialandtask‐basedexercises.Althoughthepossibilitiesforsuchactivitiesarealmostlimitless,wesawsomecomprehensionactivitiesthatsimplyhavechildrenfolloworalorwritteninstructions,tasksthatrequirelanguagethroughout,non‐verbaltaskswithalanguage‐basedfollow‐upactivity,andmoreextensiveprojectsthatrequirelanguageduringtheprocess.

Thetopicofexperientiallearningisacomplexonewithbroadimplicationsforyounglearners.ManycompetingtheoriesofEnglishlanguageeducationresonatewithexperientiallearningandtask‐basedideas.Theexamplesofprojectsandactivitiesforyoungchildrenweprovideherearebynomeanscompleteorexhaustive.Thechallengeforyouasateacheristodevelopyourownsetofworkingtask‐basedactivitiestospiceupyourlessons,motivateyourstudents,andmaketheirlearningmoremeaningfulandmemorable.



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TEFL-C 02 Experiential Learning Theory 2013tefl-c.coursewebs.com/Courses/CommonFiles/TEFL-C...teaching with young EFL learners in mind, concluding with some “child friendly” experiential