Title: Helping children to become better learners: learning how to learn LTL
1Helping children to become better learners
learning how to learn (LTL)
- Jayne Moon
- Sponsored by Macmillan
2Is this just a game for children ? Are they aware
that they are learning ?
3Aims of Workshop
- To enable you to understand what learning how to
learn (LTL) means - To enable you to understand the value of LTL for
learners and teachers - To provide you with some practical ideas of how
to implement LTL - To consider the obstacles to success
4Organization
- Raising awareness about LTL
- Demonstration 1 Discussion Hands On
- Demonstration 2 Discussion Hands On
- Summing Up
5A successful learner is one who
- is prepared to take risks
- is motivated to learn English
- is creative
- is well organized
- pays attention
- has concentration
- is curious
- is confident
- does not give up but keeps trying
- is keen to communicate
- participates actively ( active
involvement ) - corrects own mistakes
- takes every opportunity to use English
- is willing to plan and review work
Views of Spanish teachers
6Many types of successful learner
- One thing in common
- They are able to manage their learning
effectively and make use of the learning
opportunities provided
7Views of Children things you can do to help you
be successful at learning English?
- Age 10
- practising it
- studying
- paying attention in class
- making an effort
- completing your homework
- translating a bit of text each day
- travelling abroad
- Age 13
- practising at home
- songs
- books with examples
- listening to tapes
- watch films
- reading books
- Age 7
- playing
- stories
- books
- games
- writing
- reading
- video/t.v.
- teacher
- paper
- songs
8Going on a journeyAdults want to know where,
why, when , how ?
Where are we going ?
Why are we going there ?
How will we get there ?
What will we do if there are problems ?
How do we know when we are there ?
9Children only know they are on a boat
Where to ? Dont know
Why ? Teacher told me to
How will you get there ? Teacher will tell us
How do we know when we get there ? Teacher will
tell us
10What is learning to learn ?
- to become more aware of the learning process
( how we learn) and to develop our
ability to control and manage our learning more
effectively ( Moon ) - Learner Training is primarily concerned with the
process of learning and aims to focus childrens
attention on how they learn in addition to what.
(Ellis 19927)
11Learning how to Learn involves
How do I learn ? Awareness of learning process
Why am I learning ? Having a reason for learning
English
How am I getting on ? Monitoring progress
How shall I manage my learning ? Using their
abilities and time efficiently
12(No Transcript)
13Demonstration1 Raising childrens awareness
about the learning process
- Task
- Whats the aim of a lesson introduction?
- What do you like about each lesson introduction ?
- Did the children know
- a. what activities they are going to do in the
lesson ? - b. what they were going to learn ?
- c. how they will work ?
- d. why they are doing the activities ?
14Why is it important to give children information
about the lesson ?
- Helps them to use previous knowledge
- Gives them a better chance of completing the
activities successfully - Helps them to know what they are supposed to pay
attention to - Motivates them ( Why are we learning this? )
15Checklist
- Does the introduction create a link between the
topic and childrens experience ? - Does it give information
- a. about what children will learn ?
- b. why they will learn ?
- c. how they will learn ?
- Does it give them a clear purpose for the first
activity ?
16Demonstration 2
- Learning Activity
- Holidays
- Where did you go for holiday ?__________
- When did you go ? __________________
- What did you buy ? _________________
- When did you come back ?_____________
17Possible Procedures for Correcting an Error
Incorrect Response
Encourage self correction
Ask another student to answer
Correct the answer
Call a friend
Incorrect response / No response
Get 1st child to repeat
Praise for effort
Child calls a friend for help
Give clues or help
18Steps
- 1. Signal there is a problem with the answer
- 2. Encourage self correction
- 3. If child still gets it wrong, suggest
- a. He/she calls a friend for help
- OR
- b. T gives a clue
- 4. End of the lesson, raise awareness with
children about what you did and why - 5. Encourage effort
19Raising childrens awareness of learning at the
end of a lesson
A Spanish childs reflection after a lesson
To draw and describe
20Learning How to Learn
- Not all children are naturally effective or
successful learners. - With support, all children can improve ,
particularly, if we teach them how to learn more
effectively - through raising awareness
- modelling ways of doing activities
- making clear what you are doing and why
21Why help children to LHTL ?
- Children will not always have the teacher to help
- If children are more aware of their learning and
what helps them to learn - they can take more control over their learning
- they can make better use of learning
- opportunities
- they will participate more actively in lessons
22Looking forward
- Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime. - Chinese Proverb
- Help a child to learn how to learn and you enable
him/her to become more effective as a learner
and to go on learning outside of the classroom.
23Some references
- Fisher, R. 1995 Teaching Children to Learn .
Cheltenham Stanley Thornes - Ellis, G. 1991 Learning to Learn . Brumfit , J
. J Moon R Tongue (eds) Teaching English to
children London Collins/Nelson - Moon, J. 2000 Children Learning English. Oxford
Macmillan Chapter 12 - Pinter, A 2006 Teaching Young Language Learners.
Oxford University Press Chapter 8 - S.Variadnou. How children learn. Brussels
International Academy of Education
http//www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/Educational
PracticesSeriesPdf/prac07e.pdfhttp//www.ibe.unesc
o.org/publications