Individual Differences Chapter 5

Individual Differences everywhere… We are all different in… Personality Emotional intelligence Learning styles (learning modalities) Tastes and preferences Etc. When you go to E-Mart, how many different kinds of people do you see? Impulsive Planner Motivated Walks slowly

Individual Differences everywhere… If you were trying to teach an English classroom with these shoppers as students… Which would be afraid to make mistakes? Which would be talkative? Which would take charge of their learning? We all have different styles… The successful language learner: Takes charge of learning Unafraid to make mistakes Learn language in chunks to perform better Use various memorization strategies Monitor themselves for errors

Learning styles Learning styles are like the shoppers – there is no one right way to shop, but all have their own way to shop. Every student has a different style of learning. How can we as teachers address learning styles in our classroom?

Cognitive Differences Field Independence Can focus on one item in a field of items Field Dependence (Field Sensitivity) Focuses on the whole field of items at one time Left-Brain versus Right-Brain Ambiguity Tolerant Open-minded about new ideas Ambiguity Intolerant Close-minded about new ideas

Brain Dominance Left-Brain Right-Brain Intellect Emotions Responds to verbal instructions Responds to demonstrations Experiments systematically Experiments randomly Planned and structured Fluid and spontaneous Prefers multiple-choice tests Prefers open-ended questions Interprets language Interprets body language

Reflectivity versus Impulsivity Reflective Style A student whose style of learning is reflective Example: Instead of speaking a sentence in English right away, the student considers how to form the sentence in his head before speaking. Impulsive Style When a student has an impulsive personality Example: A student just says a sentence first without trying to think if the grammar is ok.

Learning Modalities The three learning modalities… Visual Auditory Kinesthetic How can you plan a lesson with all of these? Is it beneficial to have all of these in every lesson?

Review

Metacognition Metacognition Autonomy Awareness Self-Regulation Thinking about the way we think Autonomy Learner-centered teaching Awareness When students are aware of their own style of learning Awareness-Raising – strategy of building awareness for L2 learners Self-Regulation The process of developing goals and awareness to bring progress without the help of a teacher

Cognitive Strategies Strategy Example of Strategy Planning Organizing Planning on focusing on one aspect of language study to carry out language student Example: A student is struggling with pronunciation, so you as the teacher postpone sentence formation until pronunciation can be fixed. Organizing Reordering or reclassifying to keep retention higher Example: Teaching grammar through sentence trees. Monitoring Self-checking and rehearsal Example: A student practices a sentence he learned in class at home. Evaluating Grading one’s language production Example: A student grades his own writing. Using Senses Using the learning modalities Example: Drawing a picture or acting out a word Activating Knowledge Using first language and translation Example: Noticing the similarities between Chinese and Korean words Contextualization Giving meaning to language learning Example: Putting learning in a sequence Going beyond the data Guessing and predicting Example: Guess the meanings of new words

Affective Strategies Strategy Example of Strategy Activating supportive emotions Encouragement, positive reflection, self-confidence building Minimizing negative emotions Relaxation, stress reduction, lower boredom Generating motivation Find aspects of language that are appealing Building positive attitudes Give the students a reason to be happy about language learning

Sociocultural-Interactive Strategies Strategy Example of Strategy Interacting to learn Using interaction to learn language Overcoming knowledge gaps Repetition, explanation, questions of clarification Guessing intelligently Using clues in grammar and phonology Generating conversation Starting conversation with familiar cues Activating sociocultural schemata Talking about culture or interesting aspects of a country and its people

Compensatory Strategies Strategy Example of Strategy Avoidance Avoiding an idea that is unfamiliar so communication can continue Circumlocution Describing an object using a definition Approximation Using alternative words Word coinage Making up fake words Nonverbal signals Gestures Prefabricated patterns Memorized patterns Code switching Switching between two languages Appeal to authority Asking for help (…뭐지?) Keeping the floor Filling pauses with sounds or words that mean nothing

Group Work Present your findings to the class. Create an activity using a strategy listed in the book. You can choose from: Cognitive Strategies Affective Strategies Sociocultural-interactive Strategies Compensatory Strategies Present your findings to the class.