FP004 – INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IN THE LEARNER'S DEVELOPMENT PRACTICAL ACTIVITY, Trabalhos de Língua Inglesa

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FP004 – INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IN THE LEARNER'S DEVELOPMENT

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY

Name and surnames:

MAO

Group:

FP_TEFL_

Date:

June, 2023

TASK 1 Look at this learner's description of how she learnt a foreign language. When I first arrived in the country, I did a two-week intensive course. Just to learn the basics – you know - shopping, directions and so on. Then I just spoke to everyone I could find. I even spoke to myself out loud sometimes. I bought a grammar book with a key and did exercises on difficult things like the subjunctive. I found that it really helped me to memorize verb conjugations, and then slowly I learned how to use them more or less correctly. But I still make mistakes, and I've been living here for 11 years.

1. How would you characterize her learning style? 2. How would you describe your learning style as regards language learning? Provide as much detailed information as you can. TASK 2 1. Of the four motivational types examined above, which are your students most display? Why do you think this is the case? 2. Which of these motivational types can we, as language teachers directly influence in the language classroom? How? TASK 3 List the pros and cons of introducing the study of a foreign language at an early age. TASK 1. Her learning style, according to scholars such as Willing (1987, cited in FUNIBER, 2019), is the communicative one. He explains that this type of student tends to be quite autonomous, prefers social learning and likes taking decisions. These characteristics, respectively, show demonstrated when she took only two weeks of course, just to know how to “survive” in the new place with shopping and directions vocabulary, for example. Then, decided to talk to everyone she could and even to herself, to listen to her. Finally, she bought a book, a grammar book, studied and learned by herself.

The second scholar, identified four learning styles, used especially in Australia: concrete learning style, analytic, communicative and authority oriented. If I take into account this perspective, I see myself as concrete learner and authority oriented. Concrete because I am person-oriented, emotional and spontaneous. Authority oriented due to the fact that I tend to depend on the teacher and to be told what to do and how to do it. I see my style changing a little from a teenagerhood to adulthood when I learned about active methodologies and had to apply them. So, I understand and realized that I learn better if instead of being told what to do and how to do something, I discovered that or built that knowledge. TASK 2. I work with students from 13 years old up to 72. So, I recognize that what motivates them varies from their maturity, which is related to their age. Teenagers usually have extrinsic motivated. What proves me that is a series of factors that are part of my class: highly involving class: I try to involve my students all the time by calling their names, asking them about their lives, their weekends, their families, relationships, asking if some problem has been overcome, also I provide games that make them move all the time and finally, I particularly have discovered that if I provide activities that show students they are able to speak, to write and so on, it makes students aware of what they have developed during their studies and class participation, they feel they belong to a community. Very few teenager students are only motivated by grades and getting marks if they do something (even if this something is their obligation or part of the method activity, and it is for practicing). When it comes to my adult students what made them study English is probably why they went back to school: work, travel abroad, want to live abroad… When I find it out, I try to use it as fuel for them, preparing classes that are meaningful for them. It comes down to they feel especial, that their money is being well invested and when they realize they achieve their goals, as we planned, step by step, they celebrate it and keep on studying. So, their type of motivation is also extrinsic, but for other purposes. We certainly work with Gardner’s (1985, cited in FUNIBER, 2019) three components of motivation: Effort, setting and desire to achieve goals and attitudes. Besides that, I could realize that as I try to help my students that have different learning styles, I also try to motivate students from different perspectives, such as situational motivation and task motivation – promoting a really engaging atmosphere with plenty of

visual aid and realia, and tasks that cause curiosity and challenges students to do their best and produce a lot, as Ur (1996) describe that “success loses its sweetness if it is too easily attained and if there is no real possibility or experience of failure”. Additionally, and finally, my students get motivated in the same way Hussin, Maarof, and D’Cruz (2001, cited in FUNIBER, 2019) explained that “positive self-concept, high self-esteem, positive attitude, clear understanding of the goals for language learning, continuous active participation in the language learning process, the relevance of conductive environment that could contribute to the success of language learning”. TASK 2. Teachers can have influence on some motivational types, for instance, extrinsic motivation, global motivation, task motivation, and situational motivation. Teachers can influence on extrinsic motivation, according to FUNIBER (2019), when it is “directly related to the materials and method teaching as well as the constraints and rewards for the learner in the classroom.” When it comes to global motivation, in FUNIBER (2019), it is described that “it is affected by the teacher’s own attitudes conveyed either unconsciously or through explicit information and persuasion.” With task motivation, how teachers approach activities, how teachers make an activity interesting, how teachers captivate students’ curiosity is the way they can influence students’ motivation. Last but not least, situational motivation is encouraged by teachers, even being less open to teachers’ intervention, when, according to FUNIBER (2019), teachers make the classroom more attractive, including posters, students’ work, etc. McDonough mentions in his article “Motivation in ELT” that: The teacher’s role in all of this central, and difficult. It goes far beyond the provision of reward (itself dependent on the learner’s self-efficacy). It involves providing a supportive and challenging learning environment, but also facilitating the development of the learners’ own motivational thinking. Beyond simply identifying their original orientation. Perhaps the most difficult aspect is not doing anything to de-motivate them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FUNIBER (2019). Individual Factors in the Learner’s Development. Barcelona: FUNIBER Han J. and Yin H. (2016). Teacher motivation: Definition, research development and implications for teachers , Cogent Education. doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2016. McDonough, S. (2007). Motivation in ELT (Vol. 61/4). ELT Journal. doi: 10.1093/let/ccm