Teaching Through Emotions

Presented by Katie Bainktbain53@gmail.com

www.elfellowkbain.wordpress.com

ObjectivesToday’s webinar will

demonstrate direct and practical ways to use

constructivist and socio-affective teaching principles

to help students connect with the teacher, others, and themselves to achieve high

learning goals.

Constructivist Teaching Principles

Constructivism is a theory of learning which posits that students learn by

actively constructing their own knowledge

(von Glasersfeld 1996; Fosnot 1996; Duffy and Cunningham 1996).

According to von Glasersfeld (1995, 5),

“Concepts cannot simply be transferred from teachers to students––they have

to be conceived.”

Emotional Intelligence

Goleman defines emotional intelligence as

"knowing what one’s feelings are and using

that knowledge to make good decisions."

What hinders your students from making good learning decisions?

• Insecurity• Family• Socio-economic-status• Lack of guidance• Peer pressure• Feel unsuccessful as learners

Activities to Promote Emotional Intelligence Using the Constructivist Theory

• Art• Music• Games• Drama and Role Play

Why Use Art in the TEFL Classroom?

Students respond to visual images

Art generates discussion.

Allows students to use language in

context

Students can use their language skills to describe an actual piece of art or

conduct internet research using target vocabulary.

Using art can take the emphasis off of accuracy

and encourage students to focus on fluency to

clearly express their thoughts and ideas.

This is beneficial for students who are

held back by fear of making mistakes.

Helps develop students’ creative

and critical thinking skills.

How can you make it more successful? Choose art that is relevant to the

students. Art that reflects their interests, background, or culture.

Use sentence starters to help

students.

• Describe a picture I see a ____________.• Give opinions I think __________.• Agree and disagree I disagree because ___________. I agree because ___________.

Use a piece of art to generate questions.

• What are they doing?• What colors do you see?• How many people are there?

3 Ways to Use Art in the Classroom

#1 Look at Art

Ask students to choose a character from a painting or sculpture and a write a

mini-biography or story about the character.

Compare two pieces of art with similar subjects, practicing comparative

langauge and adjectives.

Sharing Art

• Ask students to to bring in a photograph they have taken.

• Ask other students to write a paragraph about events leading up to a photograph.

Ask students to bring in a piece of art that represents their childhood and

ask the class to form sentences about what they used to do.

Create illustrations of vocabulary words that depict their meaning.

What vocabulary words about emotion could you teach using this painting?

Increase their ability to connect emotionally with a piece of art

Introduce vocabulary that describes emotion such as melancholy, lonely, apprehensive, ecstatic, anxious

Let’s Hear from You!• How do you think art can be

beneficial to your classroom• What ideas did you learn today that

will work in your classroom• Why do you think it is important to

incorporate visual elements into your lessons?

Music“Developments in brain-based

research note that central features of music and language are housed near one another in

the human brain, suggesting they may share features of a

‘grammar’ that orders musical elements and language elements

similarly” (Lems, 2005, p. 14).

Lesson Idea - Grammar

• Listen to a song several times. Give students copies of the lyrics and discuss their meaning and the students’ enjoyment of the song.

• Next, give students copies of the song lyrics with blank lines for inserting their own lyrics into the song. Students use the grammar construct being studied in class but use their own creativity to express personal ideas.

• Allow students to share their writings with the class.

• If possible, create a “songbook” of students’ writings.

If I Were A BirdIf I were a birdEven just for a minuteI’d wake up in the morning and sing and fly and feel the freedomI’d fly long distancesAnd I’d never get tiredCause I’d know that I had freedomIf I were a birdI think I could go all over the worldHow would it feel to be completely free?I swear I’d not worry about simple thingsI’d have a shelter wherever I’d goCause I know there were plenty of treesWhen you would keep me as a prisoner, I’d always fly away from youCause I could fly awayIf I were a bird

Lyrics for “The Tiger Rock”

I can run very fast. I can live in the jungle.I can use my sharp claws. I can roar very strong. You can see my black stripes. Who am I?

GAMES1. Games are FUN! They help to lower the

affective filter.2. Games are MOTIVATING! They intrinsically

pique interest as students learn through play.

3. Games are CHALLENGING! They can challenge students to be responsible for their learning and knowledge in a new way.

4. Games are INTERACTIVE! They inherently create situations in which students interact with each other.

5. Games are REPETITIVE!

Game:Grammar Board Race• Board Race Video

• Questions1.What is the objective of the lesson?2.Did the students meet the objective?3.Would you use this game in your

classroom?4.How could you change this game to

make it more appropriate for your context?

Drama Research• Teaching through drama

“makes students aware that English is not just words, structures, and idioms, but it is a lively, dramatic and versatile means of communication.”

(Zalta, 2006)

Reader’s Theater• Select a text

• Practice – Explore – Practice (cycle) o Spoken Vocabulary (pronunciation) o Places to pause o Repeated text o Opportunities to express contrast

• Perform o For a live audience o For a virtual audience

Reader’s TheaterThe Very Hungry Caterpillar - by Eric Carle A: In the light of the moon B: a little egg A: lay on a leaf B: One Sunday morning, A: the warm sun came up, and BOTH: ―Pop!‖ B: Out of the egg came a tiny A: And very hungry B: Caterpillar. BOTH: He started to look for some food.

THANK YOU!

Katie Bainktbain53@gmail.com

elfellowkbain.wordpress.com