Storage.googleapis.com



Motivating Elementary ESL Students to LearnSource: gazetteOct/Nov 2016 Vol 13 No 9To teach ESL to elementary school children, the best approach is visual narrative. Children who are new to the States and feel out of place in a new classroom will respond with more motivation if eased into another language gradually rather than being pressured to absorb text. Students of all ages need to be encouraged to participate to their level of understanding in an anxiety free environment that fosters learning. Students who have a positive mindset will elicit more positive feedback than those with a negative orientation.IntroductionIn my years of teaching ESL to elementary school children, I’ve found that the best approach is visual narrative. Let’s think about this for a minute. When a newborn baby is lying in his or her crib, what stimulates the infant? Something visual. I was talking to a class about the Grand Canyon—a marvel of nature. I told them how I’d flown by helicopter down into one section, travelled by boat, and flown back up again. While my students thought it was fascinating, those in the class for whom English is not the native language were quite perplexed as to what to make of my description. I reviewed my notes but couldn’t figure out what I’d done wrong To my mind, I’d presented new vocabulary which I’d explained with enough narrative for them to comprehend. The problem: My narrative wasn’t visual. The next day, I brought in a book that I’d purchased at the Grand Canyon’s bookstore when I visited the site. As I passed it around the room so that the students could see the spelling of new vocabulary, I showed a video of my journey. Seeing is believing. Not only did my visual presentation help with their spelling and pronunciation, it also prompted comparisons with other natural wonders from their native countries. The “visual” method helped to plant images in the students’ minds that I later used for an essay test with questions such as the following:o Are these rocks examples of weathering and erosion?o How many feet above sea level are those mountains?o How many years do you think it took for those mountains to form?Children new to English and feeling out of place in a new classroom will respond with more motivation if eased into another language gradually rather than being pressured to absorb words on a page.I will be giving more examples of how to integrate several content areas as I did for the Grand Canyon. However, I think an overview of motivating second language learners is important.From a teacher’s perspective, motivated students should be able to do the following:o Participate in classo Express interest in the subject mattero Spend a lot of time studying for a testFrom a learner’s perspective, they are entitled to the following content instruction:o Interesting content that is meaningful and age-appropriate to the readero A supportive atmosphere in which the teacher takes the learners’ needs and not just his/her own agenda into consideration when making lesson planso Teachers should assess the comprehension levels of content that has been presented before moving on to more challenging material.In all lessons, students should be encouraged to participate to their level of understanding in an anxiety free environment that fosters learning.Students who have a positive mindset will elicit more positive feedback than those with a negative orientation. Encourage the following learning concepts:o Take your time and think about your responseo This information will be of use to you in the higher gradeso We’re here to learn and we can help each othero Good, you tried. You’ll do even better next time.o Once you’ve mastered these words, you’ll be able to read and learn even moreNow, for more examples.I’ve found a wonderful way to integrate Science, Language Arts, and Math through “visual narrative.” For a successful lesson, give each student a seashell (the bigger the better) and ask them the following questions:o What do you hear when you hold it to your ear? Students love this part. One heard the waves of the ocean, another a dog, and a third heard a soft whistle.o What lived inside of it? This can lead to answers as diverse as water to a discussion of crabs. My ESL/Special Education students are particularly fond of this exercise because it helps them to stay focused on an object. In addition, what boy or girl wouldn’t be excited about seeing the skeleton of a fish? It conjures up all sorts of content material–the age, location, and classification of the fish. The descriptions and math calculations integrate Language Arts and Math.o What can we use the shells for when we’re finished with the science experiment? An ashtray, a pin holder, or a decorated gift? My students painted their shells as gifts for Father’s Day. Low-income students were thrilled to be able to present their fathers with a present. Fathers were happy that the gift was also an educational tool. My class derived a great deal of knowledge and personal satisfaction out of a lesson that emanated from reading a story about a blind lady using a Seeing Eye dog. First, we discussed the concept behind the dog. Then we learned about the Braille language. Last, I had the children close their eyes and think of a world without sight. They wrote essays, underlining new vocabulary. All students emphasized the crucial role that dogs would play in their lives. The story touched their hearts as well: We discussed Helen Keller and her quest to be educated at a time in society when blind people weren’t given as much opportunity.I find Science to be a good launching pad for knowledge. A lesson on minerals evolved into colors. I was trying to describe how they change when held up to the light. Then, I talked about pyrite—fool’s gold. The concept of gold as being valuable was so firmly embedded in the students’ minds that they couldn’t conceive of a mineral that only a foolish man would take for gold. I asked each student to write about a mineral and bring in a sample. Children love to show as well as tell. They went around the room, some with a magnifying glass, showing their classmates an assortment of minerals. For a lesson that combines Social Studies/ Geography and Language Arts, I chose Nelson Mandela, the founding father of modern South Africa. I was fortunate to have taught writing workshops there years ago. I was so enamored with the country that I turned my teaching experiences into a book, which I used to show the children how to make one of their own. Page by page, I used a combination of photographs and text to give a history of the country. They were fascinated. At the end of my lecture, I was writing down titles for books that the students would create. A discussion on book publication followed with topics ranging from copyrighting your work to illustrations. When every student completed their books, we engaged, as a group, with a moderator, to give feedback. This is the best method for assessing English language progress and proficiency. I found this to be a great way to maintain classroom behavior. If students are engaged in meaningful tasks with material that catches and keeps their attention, their eyes and minds are less likely to wander. Last, but far from least, by giving students examples from my personal experiences, they can see how I overcame obstacles to complete a project. This instills in them the need to meet deadlines and prepare ahead.NOW, let’s learn what others in the field have contributed.Lacking Motivation, Doing the Activity, and Becoming MotivatedStudents used a variety of approaches when attempting to become more motivated for an activity. These included (a) choosing a positive attitude, (b) maintaining open-mindedness, (c) searching for worthwhileness in a task, (d) observing classmates’ interest, (e) plunging into an activity, and (f) self-regulating attention to their work. One student reported “learning from boredom.” These approaches are illustrated by the following examples.Choosing a positive attitude. Suki explained that her reading for the science project might be a little boring at first, but she had to think of it as important, because if she didn’t think it was important, she wouldn’t do anything about it.” Similarly, Brian commented, “If you say you don’t like science, you’re really not going to pay a lot of attention. You’re not going to be reading all the science things.” Several students demonstrated metacognitive awareness and attempted to take charge of their attitudes in positive ways. The strategies appeared similar to those described by Manning (1990) as part of a person’s inner language. These same approaches were reflected in the next category.Choosing Open-mindedness and Searching for Worthwhileness: In remembering his initial reactions when asked to write a poetry dialogue, Andrew reported, “If I come into something open minded and I don’t know what the purpose is, but I think it might be worthwhile, I probably will get to like it.” When Andrew could maintain an open attitude about the possible value of reading and writing poetry, he found he might have increased willingness to be involved. The teacher’s frequent articulation of purposes and students’ consideration of the value of what they were learning seem to have promoted the students’ sense of the worthwhileness of learning parison of students’ thoughts and actions when lacking motivation in three evolving situationsSTUDENTS DID THE ACTIVITY / STUDENTS DID NOT DO THE ACTIVITYSTUDENTS BECAME MOTIVATED / STUDENTS DID NOT BECOME MOTIVATEDSITUATION I SITUATION II SITUATION IIIThinking / Thinking AVOIDANCE? Choosing a positive attitude ? wanting to “get it over with” Thinking? Choosing open-mindedness ? meeting requirements and ? “I’ll just huff and puff “? Searching for worthwhileness ? expectations: I didn’t have time.? Self-regulating attention ? remembering the classroom ? “I’ll hide my homework.”? Learning from boredom ? accountability systemDoing / Doing PARALYSIS? Observing classmates’ interest ? not doing my best? Plunging into an activity wrong, it’s wrong.” ? “I can’t do this.”? Just doing the activityPurposes? Intrinsic ? extrinsic, it’s kind of interesting.” Andrew also indicated that observing peers who were interested and involved, and seeing how the others approached the task, helped him overcome his own resistance (Ames & Ames, 1984): “Seeing that everybody else likes it in there, I must like it too, once I figure it out.” The prospect of competence (Csikszentmihalyi, 1978; Deci & Ryan, 1987) seemed to help motivate Andrew to get started on the tasks. His statement illustrates his experience in a supportive community of learners that encouraged him to be open to possibilities of being interested in and enjoying learning (Ames & Ames, 1984; Deci & Ryan, 1990; Johnson & Johnson, 1991).Plunging into an activity: Lily often experienced a change in attitude after initial resistance to reading or writing: “Sometimes I’m feeling like I’m stuck with something, but if I can just start to do it, I may get really into it and start to put more effort into it. I don’t like having to sit down, but once I get there, I get involved.” Lily’s statement reflects interest generated through interaction with a task (Csikszentmihalyi, 1978).Self-regulating attention: Lily used self regulation, specifically, self correction (Manning, 1990, 1991) in describing her approach to a task: “I kind of daze along with it. I do it, but I don’t do it that well. And later on I catch myself [not doing the task], and I do it.” Consciously regulating her attention processes, Lily was able to focus on doing the literacy activity and reported increased subsequent engagement. Learning from boredom: John had a unique view of boredom, which he used in a constructive manner:John: My favorite thing is to write. It’s justfrom boredom. You think of boredom as nothingnessbut sometimes it really gets something.Penny: What do you mean by that?John: Well, sometimes people think boredomis really boring. And it is, but it teaches you things.It teaches you how to play by yourself, how to write,How to learn other things, and just, it teaches you.Like it’ll teach you while you’re at home alone and it’sjust something that you can learn from.John sought engagement in activities as a relief from boredom. Yet, he also recognized that boredom precipitated learning and creative activities as he sought to make life more interesting.Students in Situation I who were able to become motivated for an activity usually did so when they plunged into a task, but plunging in was not enough (as is illustrated by those in Situation II, who did not become motivated when doing a task). Those who did become motivated also kept an open mind. They looked to their peers for inspiration, encouragement, and approval for doing well. They respected and trusted in the teacher’s frequently held dialogues about what kinds of learning might be valuable and interesting. They experienced a sense of control about their learning, not only in terms of making choices about what and how they learned, but also in relation to how they thought about their learning: They could monitor attention to a task or choose a positive attitude.Situation II: Lacking Motivation, Doing the Activity, Not Becoming MotivatedAs described in the previous section, some students found ways to become engaged in literacy activities after initially lacking motivation. Other students were not able to become engaged, but managed to complete the required tasks, though without interest or enthusiasm. Ten students made unsolicited statements that they did not do their best work when lacking motivation. Their primary desire was to get it over with. Nicki did what she considered unpleasant assignments: “Just to get the work done, you know. Just to get it done.” Lauren honestly explained, “I’ll do it, and if it’s wrong, it’s wrong.”When asked why they did these tasks if they did not want to do them, students identified reasons or purposes that were extrinsic to the task. They frequently referred to the classroom accountability system, known as Super kid. The system provided that those who had completed all their weekly assignments were allowed to choose an activity during free time, or they were given other incentives. Those who had not completed all assignments were required to work on them. Parents were informed weekly of whether students were up-to-date on assignments. Paul analyzed his own reactions to Super kid:Doing Super kid . . . it’s not like the goal of my life.But I guess it’s something in your subconscious that wantsyou to do it still. I don’t know why. . . . You see, if I don’t doSuperkid, I’m not going to get punished or anything. So I thinkit’s kind of dumb, but I think something in your subconscioussays “Go do it.” So I always do everything.All of the students reported being influenced at least occasionally to participate in some learning activities for extrinsic rewards. The Superkid program appeared to play an important role, particularly for those in Situation II, although it had quite different meanings for different students. In some instances, the extrinsic rewards were seen as indicators of self competence. In other cases, it appeared that rewards were valued for themselves. It appeared that Superkid served as a “motivational safety net” or a “purpose of last resort” (Oldfather, 1991) for students in Situation II who did not value the activity for intrinsic purposes. The accountability system obviously did not work for those in Situation III, as they did not do the activity. ConclusionThe examples I have used demonstrate that you can motivate elementary ESL students to learn. A teacher can memorize every pedagogical technique in the library and the class still might not learn. The only way to ensure comprehension is to give a lesson followed by assessment, but the beginning should include visual narrative. It plants a picture in the students’ minds and it is true that one picture is worth a thousand words. After the handouts are put away and the students leave the class, what they will remember the next morning are the posters on the walls and the visuals that leave images in their minds.ReferencesAmes, R., & Ames, C. (1984). Research on motivation in education: Vol. 1. Student motivation. New York: Academic Press.Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1978). Intrinsic rewards and emergent motivation. In M. Lepper & D. Greene (Eds.), The hidden costs of reward: New perspectives on the psychology of human motivation (pp. 205-216). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1990). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. Paper presented to the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Lincoln, NE.Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1991). Learning together and alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Manning, B. (1990). “Cognitive self-instruction for an off task fourth grader during independent academic tasks: A case study”. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 15, 3646.Manning, B. (1991). Cognitive self-instruction for classroom processes. New York: State University of New York Press.Oldfather, P. (1991). “Students’ perceptions of their own reasons/purposes for being or not being involved in learning activities: A qualitative study of student motivation.” (Doctoral dissertation, The Claremont Graduate School, 1991). Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, 853A. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download