Activating memory in the classroom

Hugh DellarHeinle Cengage Learning / The University of Westminster

Some implications

• “Understanding English is very easy. Remembering it is very hard!”• Hearing / seeing – and understanding – isn’t enough.• Students need to notice – and have repeat exposure

At present, not enough emphasis is placed on memorising.

Teachers don’t think enough about how to help students weith the burden of memory load.

The language load

• Getting to B2 / C1 means three-four thousand key words• With 15,000 words you can understand 98% of texts• BUT you obviously need to know multiplicity of uses!• Educated native speakers can USE around 20,000 words• Even at FIFTY new words per unit, most coursebooks will only cover 3000 words by Advanced!

The catch!

• Simply remembering is not enough.• Language needs to be internalised / proceduralised andmade part of automatic behaviour.• Teachers need to intervene in the process of forgetting.

However, memorisation / learning by heart have become almost taboo concepts in ELT. Only generally mentioned in terms of:(1)encouraging students to remember outside of class(2)warmers and games to revise language previously taught

My main interest: encouraging students to

demonstrate / perform what they’ve already learned

1 Leading into speaking tasks that students do

Discuss how you would set up the following SPEAKING practice activity from

OUTCOMES Intermediate.

Outcomes Intermediate, Unit 15

Modelling

1 Gives Ss. a clear idea of what kind of turn you want them to take – and legitimises culture of story-telling.

2 Exposes Ss. to useful lexis / grammar – both language

they’ve already studied AND language they can use in STT.

As you get better at this, you use your voice more to draw attention to language – and you grade / recycle more consciously, thus pushing language back into Ss.’ minds.

Krashen: i + 1

Rounding up student speaking slots

Discuss in pairs:• How do you usually round up speaking

slots?• What do you usually say to end things?• What kind of round-up – if any – do you

usually conduct?• Do you use the board? If so, how?• Why do you do things this way?

Outcomes Intermediate

Unit 15

Rounding up student speaking slots

Rather than focus on errors as such, this is more reformulation – helping students what they were trying to say by giving them better English.

Either this means explicit recycling of lexis and grammar already taught – or else it starts from a student need and creates a feeling of satisfaction once the new language is provided.

Reformulation doesn’t only occur as a wrap to Student Speaking.

It can also occur while teachers are checking answers.

Outcomes Intermediate, Unit 15

Rounding up student speaking slots

Practice makes perfectWorking out which words are the only

plausible answers is hard.Eliciting is also hard!

I’m lucky because I’ve got a really ……….. job.I have quite a lot of …………….., which is nice.

Some implications of the research

• Things that are stored together tend to be retrieved together, so the mind tends to automatically 'chunk' memories in terms of relationships• Distributed practice – exposure over time interspersed among other items – tends to result in more effective memory retention than massed practice – numerous consecutive exposure to an item• Sentences are easier to learn if the student meets them in a meaningful context, possibly because such contexts require more complex processing and therefore greater engagement with the items in question• We seem to learn best when there's not only meaningful engagement, but also a strong personal stake

 

If in doubt …… cheat!

• Predict in advance what students MIGHT say•  WRITE whole-sentence examples and select the best gaps• In class, get your boardwork up while students are talking• Lead in to your round-up by saying “OK. Stop there. That was great. Let’s look at how to say what you were trying to ay better. I heard SOMEONE say . . . “

Outcomes Intermediate, Unit 15

Test and remember

This kind of exercise works best with exercises looking at:• matched questions and answers• matched statements and responses / follow-up comments• verbs matched to possible collocates• matched beginnings and endings of sentences• descriptions matched to names of things

Outcomes Pre-intermediate, Unit 1

The advantages of Test & Remember

1 Works well with mixed-level groups2 Students can test themselves at home3 Easy to recycle in future classes4 Sends covert message: notice, remember,

repeat!

Re-eliciting texts

1 Disrupts interlanguage and brings it face to face with language a step up from there

2 Removes Ss. From their comfort zones3 Forces students to pay attention not only

to CONTENT, but also to language4 ‘Rewards’ the performance of memory!

A final thought

If you never have a dream, then you’ll never have a dream come

true!

The more we expect our students to remember, the more they may

well be able to remember!

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