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Unlocking Learner Mo/va/on In The Age Of The Digital Na/ve
Paul Maglione Co‐founder
TESOL France 27 November 2010
The internet is now 20 years old
1910 2010
“A subordina,ng conjunc,on always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It
"introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can some,mes come a>er
and some,mes before a main clause….”
It’s high Fme we put these four things together and came up with a more effecFve way of moFvaFng learning and teaching
English to teens and young adults.
Who Are Teens? What’s going on with their lives?
- hormones / sexual development - independence / autonomy - quesFoning of authority / rebellion - social hyperacFvity / peer pressure
What’s going on with their future? - pressure over educaFon, career
prospects, type of friends, values
What are their cultural references? What is their relaFonship with educaFon?
English: how do they see it as relevant to them?
What else do we know about teens?
Their brains are in a very specific state of development.
last
1st
Prefrontal Cortex
Limbic System
• Physical Coordina/on
• Emo/on
• Mo/va/on
• Reasoning
• Organizing, priori/zing informa/on
• Control of Impulses
Not fully mature un.l age 25!
Teen Brain Development
Phenomenon #1
Maturing of brain as Grey MaUer is lost
Adolescent Pruning Of Brain Cells The brain selecFvely strengthens or prunes neurons based on acFvity. Synapses conFnually used will flourish; those that are not used will wither away.
Teen Brain Development
Phenomenon #2
Teen Brain Development
Phenomenon #3 Mylena/on (increase in White MaTer)
Speeds the brain’s
informaFon‐processing capacity
equivalent to 3,000 X
increase in computer bandwidth
The Teen Brain: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A framework, not an empty structure wai/ng to be filled
EFL teaching implica/ons
Phased teenage brain development
video, music, movement, news, games, anecdotes worksheets, lectures, objecFve texts
+
‐
Use teen craving for NOVELTY and EXCITEMENT to get their ATTENTION
Break large, long‐term assignments down into short‐term objec/ves
Remind them of concepts, objec/ves and deadlines frequently.
Teens can only focus on someone talking for 15 minutes at a Fme they need a change in state of mind every 20 minutes.
Use short formats
For young (13 – 16) teens, don’t make topics too abstract
Keep It Real
INTEGRATE THIS into Communica/ve Task Work
The teenage brain NEEDS to CONNECT
EFL teaching implica/ons
“Use it or lose it” brain cell pruning
Focus material on what they see as relevant and useful to them
• RelaFonships • The environment • Racism / Diversity • JusFce • Jobs / Careers • Independence
Get them to not just read a vocabulary item, but also… use it in a sentence use it in a story
see a photo of it
play a game based on it
hear it in a song unjumble it hear it spoken by a famous actor
Repe//on with varia/on
EFL teaching implica/ons
Explosion in brain processing power
Exposure Input Intake
MulFple exposures to language items in different but similar contexts reinforces retenFon.
Manageable chunks, always in a context
Ask : How What Why
Provide ANALYTICAL CHALLENGES that s/mulate higher‐order thinking
Don’t forget: male and female adolescents mature at different rates
Grey cell pruning starts at age 10 – 12
Grey cell pruning starts at age 14 – 16
Boys and girls may be ready to absorb challenging material at different stages.
…also don’t forget: the average teen is SLEEP DEPRIVED
Physiologically, teens require 9.25 hours of
sleep. Most teens
report sleeping 5 hours or less per 24‐hour period.
Sleep deprivaFon
makes it more difficult for most
students to learn, remember
and think crea/vely.
WHAT ABOUT EFL PEDAGOGY?
What have we learned these past 20 years?
MOST of these match up with Cogni/ve Neuroscience‐based principles for engaging teens and young adults
NEW EFL Approaches
One of the things they really enjoy, even seem addicted to, is VIDEOGAMES. Why?
What else do we know about teens?
What can we learn (and adopt) from Video Games?
• Failure is part of the game • Try and try again without sFgma • RepeFFon breeds competence • PosiFve reinforcement all the ,me • PosiFve vs. negaFve stress • Level design: progress to next level is always a challenge, but achievable
• Progress = status enhancement • Social (mulFplayer gaming; leader boards; in‐game chat; challenge‐a‐friend)
Where it all comes together for teens:
MOTIVATION
Understanding Learner MoFvaFon
• The “neglected heart” of our understanding of how to design instrucFon.
• ParFcularly an issue for teens, due to:
ZZZZZZZ
Learner MoFvaFon For Teens
Exploit learners’ natural curiosity to explore the world, which is at its most powerful during teenage and young adult years
Learner MoFvaFon For Teens
Make the input material relevant to them. Do they believe that what they are learning will be useful to them soon?
Learner MoFvaFon for Teens
“The simplest way to ensure that people value what they are doing is to maximise their free choice and autonomy” ‐ Good & Brophy, 2004
Learner MoFvaFon for Teens Three strategies* to encourage posiFve
self‐evaluaFon:
Promote / Reward Effort
rather than Ability
Provide Mo/va/onal Feedback
Increase MoFvaFon
via Rewards, not Grades
*Dornyei, 2001
A word about technology…
Class Time Is Precious Time: Technology Can Op/mize It • Exposure / input and repeFFon: outside the classroom as much as possible.
• Use precious class Fme for: • discussion • interac/on • group work • tasks requiring teacher supervision
• face‐to‐face intelligent error correc/on
The Web allows learners to go beyond learning: to create
#efl #esl #elt #edtech #iatefl #tesol #eltchat
Some Ed‐Tech Gurus
Some final points about teens and EFL
Language is part of one’s iden/ty and is used to convey this idenFty to others.
Teens’ idenFty is in full‐swing evoluFon, so both L1 sophisFcaFon and L2 learning have a significant impact on the social being of the learner.
*Thanasoulas, 2007
If we can integrate English into teens’ idea of self, we turbo‐charge their learning, retenFon, and enjoyment of the process.
*Thanasoulas, 2007
Unlocking Learner Mo/va/on In The Age Of The Digital Na/ve TwiTer: @paulmaglione
@englishaTack Web: www.english‐aTack.com Blog: hTp://blog.english‐aTack.com E‐mail: paul.maglione@english‐aTack.com LinkedIn: Paul Maglione
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