Unlocking Learner Motivation In The Age Of The Digital Native
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Unlocking Learner Mo/va/on In The Age Of The Digital Na/ve Paul Maglione Co‐founder,
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Teaching EFL to teens requires very specific approaches based on their brain development and emerging identity. We look at some basic guidelines to enhance motivation, retention and learning of EFL by teens and young adults.
Transcript of Unlocking Learner Motivation In The Age Of The Digital Native
UnlockingLearnerMo/va/onInTheAgeOfTheDigitalNa/vePaulMaglioneCo‐founder,
Theinternet
isnow20yearsold
Weliveina9meofastoundingchange.
Whocouldhaveimagined20yearsagothattoday…
“Asubordina,ngconjunc,onalwayscomesatthebeginningofasubordinateclause.It
"introduces"asubordinateclause.However,asubordinateclausecansome,mescomea>er
andsome,mesbeforeamainclause….”
1910 2010
It’shigh9meweputthesefourthingstogetherandcameupwithamoreeffec9vewayofmo9va9nglearningandteaching
Englishtoteensandyoungadults.
WhoAreTeens? What’sgoingonwiththeirlives?
- hormones/sexualdevelopment
- independence/autonomy
- ques9oningofauthority/rebellion- socialhyperac9vity/peerpressure
What’sgoingonwiththeirfuture?- pressureovereduca9on,career
prospects,typeoffriends,values
Whataretheirculturalreferences?
Whatistheirrela9onshipwitheduca9on?
English:howdotheyseeitasrelevanttothem?
Whatelsedoweknowaboutteens?
Theirbrainsareinaveryspecificstateofdevelopment.
As if! I’m sitting next to the biggest geek in the class. I’d rather die.
THISISSOLAME!!!
BORINGBORINGBORINGBORINGBORINGBORINGboringboringboring
boringboringboring
boringboringboring
Blah Blah Blah
Ca
n’t
wa
it t
o c
hec
k o
ut
wh
o t
ag
ged
me
on
!!!
I definitely like Matt; he’s so
cute. I hope he likes me too…
What-ever……
Butseriously,folks….
TheTeenBrain:UNDERCONSTRUCTION
Aframework,notanemptystructurewai/ngtobefilled
last
1st
PrefrontalCortex
LimbicSystem• Physical
Coordina/on
• Emo/on
• Mo/va/on
• Reasoning
• Organizing,priori/zinginforma/on
• ControlofImpulses
Notfullymatureun.lage25!
TeenBrainDevelopment
Phenomenon#1
MaturingofbrainasGreyMaQerislost
AdolescentPruningOfBrainCellsThebrainselec9velystrengthensorprunesneuronsbasedonac9vity.Synapsescon9nuallyusedwillflourish;thosethatarenotusedwillwitheraway.
TeenBrainDevelopment
Phenomenon#2
TeenBrainDevelopment
Phenomenon#3
Mylena/on(increaseinWhiteMaXer)
Speedsthebrain’s
informa9on‐processingcapacity
equivalentto3,000X
increaseincomputerbandwidth
EFLteachingimplica/ons
Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons
UseteencravingforNOVELTYandEXCITEMENTtogettheirATTENTION.
video,music,movement,news,games,anecdotes
worksheets,lectures,objec9vetexts
+
‐
Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons
Breaklarge,long‐termassignmentsdownintoshort‐termobjec9ves
Remindthemofconcepts,objec9vesanddeadlinesfrequently.
Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons
Useshortformats.Teenscanonlyfocusonsomeonetalkingfor15minutesata9metheyneedachangeinstateofmindevery20minutes.
Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons
Foryoung(13–16)teens,don’tmaketopicstooabstract
Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons
TheteenagebrainquicklydiscoversaneedtoCONNECT.
INTEGRATETHISintoCommunica/veTaskWork
Pruningofneuronsmaintainingonlymost‐usedconnec/ons:EFLTeachingImplica/ons
Aimforrelevanceandusefulnesstotheirlives
Pruningofneuronsmaintainingonlymost‐usedconnec/ons:EFLTeachingImplica/ons
Repe99onwithvaria9on.Getthemtonotjustreadavocabularyitem,butalso…
useitinasentenceuseitinastory
seeaphotoofit
playagamebasedonit
hearitinasongunjumbleit hearitspokenbyafamousactor
Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons
Exposureinputintake
Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons
Providedatacapableofbeingprocessedintoknowledgewhileavoidingboredomfilter(lexical/communica.veratherthangramma.calapproach)
Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons
ProvideANALYTICALCHALLENGESthats9mulatehigher‐orderthinking:askHowWhatWhy
Don’tforget:maleandfemaleadolescentsmatureatdifferentrates
Greycellpruningstartsatage10–12
Greycellpruningstartsatage14–16
Boysandgirlsmaybereadytoabsorbchallengingmaterialatdifferentstages.
…alsodon’tforget:theaverageteenisSLEEP DEPRIVED
Physiologically,teensrequire9.25hoursof
sleep.Mostteens
reportsleeping5hoursorlessper24‐hourperiod.
Sleepdepriva9on
makesitmoredifficultformost
studentstolearn,remember
andthinkcrea/vely.
WHATABOUTEFLPEDAGOGY?
Whathavewelearnedthesepast20years?
MOSTofthesematchupwithrecommendedBrainLearningtechniquesforengagingteensandyoungadults
NEWEFLApproaches
Oneofthethingstheyreallyenjoy,evenseemaddictedto,isVIDEOGAMES.Why?
Whatelsedoweknowaboutteens?
Whatcanwelearn(andadopt)fromVideoGames?
• Failureispartofthegame• Tryandtryagainwithouts9gma• Repe99onbreedscompetence• Posi9vereinforcementallthe,me• Posi9vevs.nega9vestress• Leveldesign:progresstonextlevelisalwaysachallenge,butachievable
• Progress=statusenhancement• Social(mul9playergaming;leaderboards;in‐gamechat;challenge‐a‐friend)
Whereitallcomestogetherforteens:
MOTIVATION
UnderstandingLearnerMo9va9on
• The“neglectedheart”ofourunderstandingofhowtodesigninstruc9on.
• Par9cularlyanissueforteens,dueto:
ZZZZZZZ
LearnerMo9va9onForTeens
Exploitlearners’naturalcuriositytoexploretheworld,whichisatitsmostpowerfulduringteenageandyoungadultyears
LearnerMo9va9onForTeens
Maketheinputmaterialrelevanttothem.Dotheybelievethatwhattheyarelearningwillbeusefultothemsoon?
LearnerMo9va9onforTeens
“Thesimplestwaytoensurethatpeoplevaluewhattheyaredoingistomaximisetheirfreechoiceandautonomy” ‐Good&Brophy,2004
LearnerMo9va9onforTeensThreestrategies*toencourageposi9ve
self‐evalua9on:
Promote/Reward
Effortratherthan
Ability
Provide
Mo/va/onalFeedback
IncreaseMo9va9on
viaRewards,notGrades
*Dornyei,2001
Awordabouttechnology…
ClassTimeIsPreciousTime:TechnologyCanOp/mizeIt• Exposure/inputandrepe99on:outsidetheclassroomasmuchaspossible.
• Usepreciousclass9mefor:• discussion• interac/on• groupwork• tasksrequiringteachersupervision
• face‐to‐faceintelligenterrorcorrec/on
EnglishAQack!‐English2.0Bringingalltheseideastogether:ENGLISHATTACK!
SocialNetworking
Prac/ce&drillgames
Video‐basedlearningunits Thema/cvisualdic/onarywikis
TheWeballowslearnerstogobeyondlearning:tocreate
#efl#esl#elt#edtech#iatefl#tesol
SomeEd‐TechGurus
Afinalpointaboutteensandlanguage
Languageispartofone’siden/tyandisusedtoconveythisiden9tytoothers.
Teens’iden9tyisinfull‐swingevolu9on,sobothL1sophis9ca9onandL2learninghaveasignificantimpactonthesocialbeingofthelearner.
*Thanasoulas,2007
IfwecanintegrateEnglishintoteens’ideaofself,weturbo‐chargetheirlearning,reten9on,andenjoymentoftheprocess.
*Thanasoulas,2007
UnlockingLearnerMo/va/onInTheAgeOfTheDigitalNa/ve
TwiXer: @paulmaglione @englishaXack
Web: www.english‐aXack.comBlog: hXp://blog.english‐aXack.com
E‐mail: paul.maglione@english‐aXack.comLinkedIn: PaulMaglione
Obrigado!
