session four

Session 4: factors affecting language learning
Monday, October 26, 2009

Preparation
Language learning is affected by many factors. Among these are the intelligence, aptitude, learners' beliefs and their attitudes, motivation, personality, age of acquisition, learning styles, the structure of the first and second language and many other significant factors. Teachers of a second language need to be cognizant of the significant individual differences in their learners if they are to provide the most effective instruction possible. In fact each learner brings many individual features to learning situation which influences on the way he learns.
Assistance
One of the first questions raised by the instructor was regarding the meaning of syllabus. Syllabus is a kind of pre-specification of the things that the teacher wants to do. It is mainly of two kinds: synthetic syllabus which treats language as a collection of discreet items to be learnt one by one. In an analytic syllabus, on the other hand, language elements are not separable and they should be presented to students as a whole.
The distinction between intelligence and aptitude was one of the other points taken into consideration. Having reflected over this difference, we couldn't give a satisfying answer to the question raised. Yet the instructor's explanation informed us that a person with a high language aptitude masters language faster and easier but a person with high IQ can be perfect in acquiring language and profiting from certain types of instruction. Goleman believes that there is one kind of intelligence which overrides the other types of intelligence called EQ or Emotional Quotient: if one can manage his/her emotions, he/she can be successful. As a matter of fact, this kind of intelligence includes interpersonal & intrapersonal intelligences.
In order to get an approach which focuses on the specific characteristics that learners bring with themselves to the learning process and how a teacher can have a sufficient understanding in helping the learners in learning, an efficient theory is highly demanded. This theory should have the following features:
1. Such a theory should enable us to focus upon the uniqueness of individuals.2. It should also be a theory of how people change rather than how they stay the same.
5) It should support individuals in taking personal control & responsibility in their learning.
6) It must be connected to individuals` view of themselves as learners.
However, regarding the perspective taken in the book of Williams and Burden, a more helpful alternative approach to take in seeking to understand individuals is a constructivist one. In this approach, there is a focus on learners' ways of perceiving themselves. The three areas of self concept which relates to the views people have of themselves, locus of control which refers to how much an individual sees himself at the control of what is happening, and attribution theory which is concerned with identifying the different factors to which individuals attribute their success or failure are of prime importance in this regard. There are three aspects for self-concept: self-image, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Regarding self-concept, there are three crucia theories: 1. social comparison theory which is based on the belief that in order to enhance our self-concept we compare ourselves with others. 2. LOC theory (locus of control): this theory categorizes individuals in 2 groups: Internalizers are people who feel personally responsible for everything that happens to them in their lives & Externalisers are people who feel that events in their lives are all determined by forces beyond their control. Wang (1983) identifies a number of features for successful programs which she incorporates into her ALEM (Adaptive Learning Environments Model) a key element of which is to practice self-management skills.
3. Attribution theory: a central aspect of this theory is that it is how people perceive events rather than the events that influence individual's behavior. People tend to attribute their success & failure to 4 sets of reasons: ability, effort, task difficulty and luck. Actually they can be investigated from three dimensions: 1) locus of causality 2) stability 3) Controllability.
What makes people want to learn? Motivation which is probably the most frequently used term for explaining the success or failure of virtually any complex task. Different schools of thought have proposed diverse definitions for motivation. From a behaviorist perspective, motivation is seen as the anticipation of reward in which our acts are at the mercy of external forces. In such a kind of perspective, there are some drive reduction theories called push-pull theories by Kelly in which there is an emphasis upon elements beyond our personal control. In cognitivist view, motivation places much more emphasis on underlying needs or drives as the compelling forces for our decisions. And finally the constructivist view of motivation places more emphasis on social context as well as individual personal choices. One of the most influential models from the third school is Gardner's socio-educational model of language learning. This model incorporates the learners' cultural beliefs, their attitudes toward the learning situation, their integrativeness and their motivation. In this model Gardner (1985) regards motivation as the primary factor. Nonetheless, there is a proposed definition for motivation which is essentially cognitive, but fits within a social constructivist framework: motivation is defined as a state of cognitive and emotional arousal which leads to a conscious decision to act and which gives rise to a period of sustained intellectual and physical effort in order to attain a previously set goal. People's motivation is in a great deal affected by their perceptions of themselves, & by whether they see themselves as in control of their actions.
One of the issues discussed in the class was STRATEGIC TEACHING MODEL, which means that if we want our students to learn about different sources of strategies, we should have a model for teaching and this model should have 5 steps:

1. Assess strategy use with: think aloud, interviews, Questionnaire

2. Explain strategy by: naming it, telling how to use it, step by step

3. Model strategy by: demonstrating it, verbalizing own thought processes while doing task

4. Scaffold instruction by:providing support while students practice, adjusting support to student need, phrasing out support to encourage autonomous strategy use
5. develop motivation by: providing successful experiences, relating strategy use to improve performance

Application
In order to have a good grasp of my students' individual differences,& to get an approach which focuses on these specific characteristics it is wise to take the theory clarified, into account. As a teacher, having a better understanding of the factors that influence on learning, will in a great extent, assist me in my job. But to what extent these ideas can be applied in a real learning situation?
There is a long way to go………