efl: unlocking learner motivation in the age of the digital native

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.


Phenomenon #2


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


“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


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

efl: unlocking learner motivation in the age of the digital native

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