Diary 4

session 4



I’m writing this diary after more than two weeks (unfortunately), so you may guess that I don’t remember the things very exact .This is why I decided to just summarize what I got during the preparation and assistance stages which to be honest the more is about the latter.

This session we were supposed to read some materials which mainly dealt with the factors affecting language learning.

The first discussions were about main factors which affect the learning process and its outcome

1-motivation: inner drive

2-inteligence: understanding & going deep into sth

3-aptitute: knack to aquire sth

4-learners’ preferences: style of learning(FI or FD)

5-Learners purpose

Also the Goalman’s definition of EQ or emotional control which refers to the ability to know yourself, your weaknesses and strong points and it’ deals with the principles of social life.

There are some problems in the area of research on these factors and learners differences. One is that the instrument that we may use for evaluation may not be a proper one. The other problem is about the selection. The third one is that we don't have a theoretical base for that. The important point I that individuals which are different and can’t be put under certain criteria because in this way individuality is missing.So we should go for a theory that takes this into account.

A good theory is needed therefore which includes certain characteristics :

1-considers both the learners & the teacher

2-considers the uniqueness of the individuals and tell us how people are different

3-considers how people change rather how they stay the same

4-give rise to implication for actions and intervention

5-supports individuals in taking personal control

6-be connected to the individuals view of themselves and help them to relate what they learn to situations

In order to make such a theory one must also have a clear understanding the idea of self-concept, which refers to the amalgamation of all our perceptions and conceptions about ourselves which gives rise to our own sense of personal identity.It has got 3 aspects:

1-self-image:view we have of ourselves

2-self-steem:the evaluation feelings associated with our image

3-self-effiency:our beliefs about our capabilities

Social comparison theory suggests that learners’ conceptions of their own ability as learners will be based on the nature of classroom interactions. The idea is that we like to compare ourselves with others and develop self-concept as a result of those comparisons which is sometimes called ”looking glass self” .This deals with the way others affect our self-concept, so it is due to our connection with society.

One of the factors which determines people’s motivations to act in different ways and keeps their interest and involvement is their sense of personal control over what is happening. This is referred to as locus of control or LoC.

There are 2 main groups of people:

1-Internalisers:feel personally responsible for everything happens to them and blame themselves

2-externalizers:feel that events in their lives are all determined by fore beyond their control and find faults in others.

There are some studies which show that particular forms of classroom practice can change individuals locus of control particularly when learners are taught to assume responsibility for their own learning. Wang justified a number of features of successful programs which she incorporates into her Aptitude Learning Environment Model(ALEM).Its key element is to provide opportunities to practise self-management skills.

Attribution theory:

Heider sought to understand better the ways in which people make sense of events in their lives.A central aspect of his theory was that it was how people perceived events rather that the events in themselves that influenced behaviour. How a learner perceives things affects his performance.

There are five main sets of attributes for learners perceived success and failures in life:

1-ability

2-effort

3-luck

4-the difficulty of a task

Different dimensions of attribution:

1-locus of causality: internal or external

2-stability:is the factor stable or can be changed

3-controlability:elements people feel are within their control

One of the most important applications of the attribution theory has been “reattribution training” which consists of changing people’s attributions so that instead of viewing failure as due to stable and uncontrollable factors they begin to see it as controllable and unstable. They learn to have control over their learning.

The last point I’d like to mention is about the learning’s strategies and the Strategic Teaching Model in which teacher are actively involved in assessing, planning and decision making about what their learners already know and exactly how they can be helped to become independent learners. The teacher can model a strategy and support learners ‘use of that strategy.

This model should have 5 features:

1-assess strategy use with:

-think aloud

-interviews

-Questionnaire

2-explain strategy by:

-naming it

-telling how to use it, step by step

3-model strategy by:

-Demonstrating it

-verbalising own thought processes while doing task

4-scsffold instruction by:

-providing support while students practice

-adjusting support to student need

-phrasing out support to encourage autonomous strategy use

5-develop motivation by:

-providing successful experiences

-relating strategy use to improve performance

Application:

The main point for me was the emphasis made on the individuality of the learners. I definitely believe that each person is a universe and is special so it really is a delicate job to deal with learners considering their differences in terms of preferences ,desires, purposes, goals, motivations, styles and the rest. A teacher must be aware of all the factors that affect the learning process and according to them facilitate the learning process which fulfills the students’ needs.