Brain-based concepts to optimize learning

Optimizing learning through awareness of :

1. CLIMATE - If you want your students to think, make the learning environment and instructional processes SAFE! Create a classroom environment that is safe - one where it is safe to make mistakes and take academic risks.

2. STRESS REDUCTION - Stress is also an enemy of efficient thinking. Make sure students know how to reduce stress - teach stress reduction and relaxation exercises.

3. METACOGNITION - Allow students opportunities to examine their own metacognitive structures. In other words, create a classroom where students are allowed to think and explore their own thinking and learning patterns, - how they think and learn best.

4. ENVIRONMENTS - Allow students the opportunity to optimize their learning by creating different learning environments for different types of activities.

5. CHUNKING INFORMATION - Learn to pace and chunk material so that it fits the cognitive structure of your audience. The average retention chunk that can be held by the human brain is seven bites of information. This can vary from human to human by + or - two, 5-9 bites. Organize material being presented so that students have opportunities to encode information in different ways and channel it into the long-term memory.

6. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES - Be willing to make allowances for individual differences. Learn about learning disabilities, modalities, learning styles, and multiple intelligences. Use a variety of techniques based on these concepts and create instructional bridges from one intelligence into another or from one learning style into another.

7. ACCESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - Whenever possible, make what you teach relevant to the lives of your students. Show them how they can use the information or skills you are teaching. We learn and retain material, processes, and information that we perceive as useful, relevant, or of personal worth.

8. RIGHT & LEFT HEMISPHERE ACTIVITIES - Use activities that use both hemispheres of the brain. Vary thought processes so that you are using both convergent and divergent thought processes, the rational and linear, combined with intuitive and creative thought processes.

9. VARYING EXPERIENCES - Provide experiences that require reflection, experiential learning, and concrete experience and/or application. Create bridges to abstract thought using common experiences, experiential learning, personal reflection, metaphors, similes and analogies.

10. GROUP WORK MINIMIZES RISK - At individual levels, competition frequently kills originality and creativity - foster risk-taking behaviors when you want students to come up with original answers and products. Make it safe to fail, revise and try again. Please remember that competition at group levels is much less threatening.

11. DOWN TIME - Be willing to give students appropriate time in which to be creative and reflective. Creative thought cannot be turned on and off like a switch. It requires time to dream about and develop ideas. Be willing to give students the gift of time.

12. MOVEMENT MAKES THE ABSTRACT CONCRETE - Allow students opportunities to physically encode information. This means having students move, talk, walk, handle, sing, rhyme, dance, tap out, write, dramatize and so forth, so that they are creating many different pathways to their memories.

13. PAIR-SHARE PATTERN-MAKING - Allow students opportunities to construct and discover patterns by themselves. Give them opportunities to share discovered patterns with others.

14. REFLECTION - Provide an environment where students find it safe enough to make mistakes. Some of life's most valuable lessons come making and attempting to rectify mistakes. Encourage students to reflect on their mistakes and learn from them.

15. TEACHING & LEARNING STYLES - Vary your teaching techniques - mixing and combining cognitive, affective and physical activities and learning modalities - (auditory, visual and kinesthetic (haptic, digital, tactile) and multimodal preferences).

16. MEMORY- ENHANCING ACTIVITIES - If you want students to remember something, make it memorable. (music, movement, drama, costumes, hats, art work, mind maps )

17. RETENTION INCREASES THROUGH USE - Retention is increased when there are opportunities for students to rehearse learned material, through active discussion, and by teaching and/or tutoring others.

Stages of Language Acquisition

Stage I
Pre-Production
Stage II
Early Production
Stage III
Speech Emergence
Stage IV
Intermediate Fluency

Questioning Techniques by Language Acquisition Stages

Pre-production:
Point to the . . . .
Find the . . . .
Put the ____ next to the _____.
Do you have the ____?
Is this a ____?
Who wants the ____?

Early Production:
Yes/No
Either/or
One word response
Questions eliciting word lists
Two word response
Who, What, When, Where

Speech Emergence:
Why?
How?
How is ____ like ____?
Tell me about . . . .
Describe . . . .
How would you change _____?

Intermediate Fluency:
What do you recommend?
How do you think ____ will ____?
What is _____ mainly about?
What is your opinion?
How are ____ and ____ similar/different?
What would happen if . . . ?
Which do you prefer? Why?

British & American words

Example:

In the UK, you play football; in the US, you play soccer.

1. In the UK, you eat biscuits; in the US, you eat _________________________.
2. In the UK, you buy a return ticket; in the US, you buy a ____________________.
3. In the UK, you take a lift; in the US, you take an _________________________
4. In the UK, you go to the cinema; in the US, you go to the ______________________.
5. In the UK, you wear trousers; in the US, you wear _________________________.
6. In the UK, you go on holiday; in the US, you go on _____________________.
7. In the UK, you wait in a queue; in the US, you wait in a __________________.
8. In the UK, you put petrol in your car; in the US, you put _____________________ in your car.
9. In the UK, you drive a lorry; in the US, you drive a _____________________.
10. In the UK, the third season is autumn; in the US, the third season is __________________.
11. In the UK, you wear a jumper; in the US, you wear a __________________________.
12. In the UK, you eat sweets; in the US, you eat __________________________.
13. In the UK, you live in a flat; in the US, you live in an __________________________
14. In the UK, you live with a flatmate; in the US, you live with a _____________________.
15. In the UK, you eat chips; in the US, you eat ________________________.
16. In the UK, you eat crisps; in the US, you eat _______________________.
17. In the UK, you throw away rubbish; in the US, you throw away ______________________.
18. In the UK, you throw rubbish in the dustbin; in the US, you throw garbage in the_________________.
19. In the UK, the back of a car is the boot; in the US, the back of a car is the __________________.
20. In The UK, the front of a car is the bonnet; in the US, the front of a car is the __________________.

Answers:

1. cookies 2. roundtrip 3. elevator 4. movies 5. pants 6. vacation 7. line 8. gas 9. truck 10. fall 11. sweater 12. candy 13. apartment 14. roommate 15. fries 16. chips 17. garbage 18. trashcan 19. trunk 20. hood

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Effective Language Teaching

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General Guidelines for EFL Teachers

Here are a few guidelines that English teachers can benefit from .No matter which grade you teach, these tips will be of great use.

* At the beginning of the school year have some time to glance through the textbook you will be teaching, preview the curriculum and jot down the general objectives ( what your students should know and be able to do by the end of the year). Then work towards achieving these objectives.

* Prepare your lesson well ahead of time and make sure to have a clear lesson plan down on paper. Keep the lesson’s objectives in your mind while in class and try to relate every activity to these objectives.

* Use teaching aids efficiently. When planning your lesson, think of the instructional materials that are appropriate for the lesson and have them handy in class.

* Vary your teaching methods and present information in a variety of ways. Break the routine by integrating methods like: brainstorming, role-play, cooperative learning, concept maps, graphic organizers...etc.

* Accommodate for the students’ different learning styles and intelligences. If the learning material is presented to them in a way that suits their learning style, they are more likely to understand and practice what they learn.

* Be enthusiastic. Students can sense your passion from the first moment you enter the class. So, show genuine interest in teaching your subject. Remember that if you become uninterested, the students will to.

* Learn about your students’ age characteristics and developmental stage. That will certainly guide you to the best way to deal with them.

* Be patient and friendly. Create a safe environment for your students where mistakes are tolerated. It is proven that threat and intimidation hinder learning. Apart from that, loosing your temper in front of students will grant you little respect.

* To help your students develop intrinsic motivation and to boost their drive for learning, remind them explicitly of the rewards of learning English. Describe jobs that require English and encourage students to see rewards for themselves beyond the final exam.

* Allow the students to be active participants in their learning by asking them to look for information, design activities, give presentations, and conduct discussions. Have them make lists of things they want to accomplish on their own and follow their progress.

* Hold high expectations for your students and do not underestimate their abilities. If you act as if they are “a bunch of losers heading nowhere”, they are likely to be so. Instead, try to develop their self-esteem and confidence by setting attainable goals and rewarding every effort they make no matter how little it may seem.

* Be a good role- model and practice what you preach. Think of the great impact you have on their lives and try to instil in them the moral values and behavioural skills that would make them grow to be healthy human beings. Remember that values are caught not taught.

* Always be consistent. Consistency is a vital trait of successful teachers. You will have much respect from your students if you are fair and rational in your own actions and behaviour.