Maximizing Learning Opportunites

Since we have been talking about a post method era and how the field is getting away from following strict methods, Brown has posed 12 principles that can help guide our teaching. Brown talks about how it’s important to have the ability to comprehend when to use a technique, with whom it will work with, and know how to adapt it for a specific group of students and judge its effectiveness (63).  I think meaningful learning is so important because it connects the learning to the child’s everyday life.  It’s important for them to learn what is relevant and important to them so that they will be motivated to use it.  I find intrinsic motivation to be much more important than extrinsic motivation because they are just relying on the anticipation of a reward.  When they’re not in the classroom setting and there isn’t an immediate reward then they probably won’t take risks or try to further their learning.  The principle of autonomy is so important in language teaching.  Learners need to use the language outside of the classroom and take charge of their own learning.  The language-culture connection is also very important for students to understand the culture of the language they are learning. 

 In Ch. 16 Brown digs deeper into principle number 4 of strategy based instruction.  This type of instruction helps the learner take control of their learning.  It emphasizes the effort and investment that students must put forth into their own learning process.  It shifts the focus into helping learners actively learn instead of just pouring knowledge into passive students.  Brown presents a list on page 259 of how good language learners learn.  It’s important for language learners to be aware of their own learning styles and the strategies that they use in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses.  Once you are aware of what is inhibiting your growth in language learning then you can use new strategies to compensate for those weaker areas.  I found Table 16.2 to be very informative and offer great ideas to help students succeed.  There are strategic and compensatory techniques that can help students learn. 

            Kuma talks about maximizing learning opportunities and how the students play a crucial role in the difference between what is taught and learned.  It’s better to treat a text as a starting point to launch into conversation and learners can bring whatever they have to build the conversation and ask questions.  Instead of having a built in syllabus, it should change based on what both the teacher and the learners feel comfortable with.  Kuma says, “Learners will be able to find their own path to learning, and the teachers will be able to create the optimal environment necessary for learning to take place (48).”  It’s also important to maximize learning opportunities outside of the classroom and connect the concepts with the local and global community.  I really liked the student response sheet because it gives the teacher an opportunity to see what the students learned and where they need extra help.  It’s another tool that teachers can use to be reflective and change the way they teach based on the learner’s needs.