5Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education
Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
THE KEY TECHNIQUES BY J.COSTANZO AS INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING A LANGUAGE
James Costanzo
The founder of English Bridge Academy, Canada E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The article reveals four brand new methods of acquiring a language. The author shares the approach of teaching in different cultures, based on personal experience. Professional public speaking skills and high-levelled lesson organization strategies are provided on the basis of authorial methods
Keywords: the personal key to learning, active learning methods, tactile methods, visual learners, the importance of engaging, elaborate lesson, neural pathways, discussion-based class, lecture style class
INTRODUCTION
There are many methods to learning a language. What we will discuss here are certain techniques or "keys" that can "unlock" our learning potential and open the way for our cognitive function in linguistic learning. We'll examine four key points: The personal key to learning, the importance of engaging, moving beyond one's comfort zone and performing to apply knowledge. Whether we are learning or teaching, in person or on screen, understanding these processes of learning will help us acquire greater language ability. Now, let's start with our first key.
l.The personal "key" to learning. We are products of our environments. We have been programmed to think, act and even learn by what we take in around us, whether it be in the media, our schooling or our culture. As a consequence, we find certain things affect our learning process more than others. For instance, what gets the attention of a student in a Western culture may be different than what provokes thought from student in an Eastern culture.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY
When I had started teaching in China, I quick learned that there were certain cultural keys to learning that would unlock my student's attitude towards learning. My first week at one of the schools was somewhat of a challenge. The students did not pay much attention to me or my instruction in class. They figured I was just
Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
another foreign teacher who did not understand them, so when the bell rang, the majority just kept on talking. Then one day, I noticed what one of the local teachers did to start class. The bell would ring and all the students would immediately cease talking, return their desks and promptly start learning. Now armed with my new strategy, I decided to use it with my students. The next day, I walked in the classroom as the students went about talking among themselves, and waited for the bell. When the bell sounded, I promptly shouted like an army sergeant and said "Shang Ke," which translates as "start class!" Then something amazing happened. The students all jumped up at attention, backs straight and facing me. The expression on their faces was priceless. It was a mixture of shock and awe. It took a moment, but they suddenly realized that the foreign teacher just learned how activate them. They all cheered and gave me a round of applause. From that point forward, they became more attentive for the lessons. As a class, I had found their "key" to learning.
As individuals or as a group of people, we all have a certain "keys" that will unlock our learning process. They are things that will stimulate the brain and prepare it to learn, much like an appetizer before a meal opens up the stomach. Often these learning keys fall under the category of Active Learning Methods. According to an article published for Harvard University, one such method is the "Do Now" technique (Shen, D. & Frances, H. 2021). It involves many different activities that motivates the students to learn following lesson and sets the tone for the rest of the class. It can be anything from writing sentences with new words to brainstorming and solving a problem. The idea is to stimulate their thinking.
If you are teaching, then get to know your students. What will make them more receptive to the upcoming lesson? Personally, I like starting class with an idiom. It's something linguistic and cultural that usually has interesting imagery. The students love learning about them and makes them eager to learn more.
If you are learning as student, do a little self-reflection. What will help you to open up your mind to the knowledge you are about to learn? Some like to research a famous quote from an expert in a certain field and use it to as motivation. Some will repeat affirmations, that is a positive thought that builds self-confidence. Others like to stand up and read a loud a short paragraph in the target language in order to to tune their brains the linguistic patterns of that language, much like a musical will fine tune an instrument before playing it.
A persona key can also be the tools in which you use learn with. Some learn better with tactile methods like taking notes with pen and paper and then using colors to highlight the main points. For this, use an fancy pen. Write on specialty paper.
Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
For more visual learners, they can use different applications like Microsoft One Note, that keep the information clean and tidy, but also gives the user the ability to add drawings and pictures. Whatever the learning tool may be, find your personal learning "key." Whatever will stimulate your brain!
1. The second point we can consider is the importance of engaging. As a teacher you want to engage your students and get them involved in the lesson. As a student, you need to engage your attention in what being taught in order to fully benefit.
Research done for a report entitled Teaching and Learning in the Classroom: A Review of the Research Literature concluded that students engaged in classroom discussion methods that involved problem solving, thinking, attitude change or motivation had retained far more information that just passively listening. Not only do engaged students learn more, they also enjoy it more and see better results (McKeachie, W.J., 1987).
Case in point: When I was starting my teaching career, I was competing for a job at a language school. This other teacher and I had to demonstrate a trial class for the school's management who were acting as the students. My competitor went first. He gave an elaborate lesson on the whiteboard putting his academic prowess on display. It was a nice lecture...between him and the whiteboard! He had his back turned to the audience the whole time. Meanwhile, the "students" got bored and seemed anxious for the lesson to end. Then it was my turn. Applying my TESOL training, I immediately engaged my audience. I got them involved in the lesson and they responded with smiles and clear evidence that they were enjoying my class. In the end, they remembered what I taught them immediately learned how to use what I taught them. In the end, another fine result was that I got the job!
In the classroom, there are some clear benefits when the students are engaged. There's more emphasis placed on development, rather than then transmission of information. Motivation is increased. Students and receive immediate feedback from the instructor. Moreover, those learning are involved in a higher order of thinking, in other words, using more of their cognitive function, thus creating more neural pathways for greater memory retention.
If you are the one learning, be sure to engage the lesson. If it's an discussion-based class, ask questions. If it's more of a lecture style class, then take notes, actively connect what is being taught to what you already know, and if possible use some forethought and try to determine where the lesson is headed. All of these techniques will help you be engaged and draw benefit from the class.
Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
1.The next technique is moving beyond one's comfort zone. According to the Oxford dictionary one of the definitions of the term "comfort zone" is "a settled method of working that requires little effort and yields only barely acceptable results." You can replace the word "working" with "learning" and it pretty much describes the point of our technique. If what we are learning is too easy and not challenging enough, then we are not fully activating our cognitive functions. As a result, there won't be much growth. It's similar to building muscle. In order to achieve muscle growth, you need to put it under conditions more demanding than the last time by using heavier weights or introducing different movements. The principle is the same with our our cognitive function. We need to put it under more demanding conditions to stimulate growth.
In one class that I was teaching, I had the mandate to help the students not only learn English, but also how to learn English in a Western school system. To that point, the students were only used to memorizing information and finding answer to fill-in a blank. I needed to teach them analytical skills, problems solving, creativity and self-expression. These concepts really pushed the students out of their comfort zone. In one instance, I showed a student a picture of a sports player just after he had scored a goal in game. The player had his head pointed up as his arms were raised in victory. Then I asked the student, what do you think this person is feeling, and why? The student was absolutely perplexed. He stared at the image. Then he turned the page over looking for the written answer. When none were to be found, he asked where the answers were. I told him the answers are what he makes them to be. He couldn't believe it. It took some time, but he learned to formulate an opinion, in English, and support his reasoning. He learned something new, gained more confidence to speak and he never forgot the lesson! That's the power of moving beyond one's comfort zone!
In 1907, psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson conducted experiments and came to conclusions that are now known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law (Yerkes, R.M. &, Dodson, J.D., 1908). Their study showed the correlation between performance and anxiety. Low-level anxiety, that is remaining in one's comfort zone, resulted in low performance and boredom. As the subjects were brought out of their comfort zone, the anxiety increased and so did their performance.
This principle remains true today. It's one of the fundamental keys to learning, including learning a language. If you are a teacher, challenge your students with either higher level difficulty in what they are learning or approach the material from
Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
angles that they have never thought of before. As a student, seek to understand more complex concepts and acquire new learning skills along the way.
2. Now for our final learning key, that is performing to apply knowledge. There's the old saying: "You don't really know it, until you can explain it." That is true with the next step, which is to use what you have learned and understand through action. In the Chinese language, there's a word to express that you have knowledge from the experience of application. The direct translation in English means body-ability. It describes our final learning key very well. When we perform or act out what we have learned, then we further what we learned through experience. It's a refinement. We understand what works and what doesn't. We become familiar with the thresholds and the nuances. We create the memory of our experience of the action in our own mind, including muscle memory, which makes a greater impression and makes it easier to reproduce later on.
DISCUSSION
People can study new vocabulary, complex grammar and the specific phonetics of a certain language, but until they put it all together and actually start speaking, they can't say that they really know how to speak that language. Performing to apply the knowledge is essential. A psychology term to describe this kind of learning is "Experiential Learning." Psychologist David Kolb defined it as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of grasping and transforming the experience" (Kolb, D.A. 1984). In other words, we learn from performing the action.
To apply this to language teaching method, assign regular speaking assignments based on the material that is being taught. Allow the students to formulate a presentation and perform it. If you are learning a language, use what you have learned right away in real-life situations. Also, even if it is not part of the class curriculum, prepare a short presentation using the lessons of the week and perform it out loud. Get involved in public speaking in the target language. The techniques used in professional public speaking use a wide variety of learning methods that bring out the language skills and ability needed to speak well and with eloquence!
CONCLUSION
What lessons can we drawn from what we have discussed? Learning a language requires a strategic combination of learning methods, but there are certain "keys" that will assist the learner to perform to a greater degree. Understanding how we ourselves or others learn is essential in formulating a learning strategy. We
Innovative Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages and Learner Assessment in Online Education Chirchik State Pedagogical Institute of Tashkent region
consider ed that actively involved students enjoy the class more and retain a greater amount of information. We learned that having a challenging leaning curve will motivate the student and result in higher performance. And finally, putting the lesson into action will bring what has been learned all together and create new knowledge through experience. I hope you have enjoyed this insight into how we learn and that these keys to learning a language will help your unlock your linguistic potential and that of others you teach!
REFERENCES
1. Shen, D. & Frances, H. (2021). Why Use Active Learning/Research On Activity Types [Online]. Harvard University, ablconnect [Accessed 8th October, 2021]. Available from World Wide Web: https://ablconnect.harvard.edu
2. McKeachie, W.J., Pintrich, P.R., Lin, Y.G. & Smith, D.A. (1987). Teaching and learning in the college classroom: A review of the literature. Ann Arbor: National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, The University of Michigan.
3. Yerkes RM, Dodson JD (1908). "The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation". Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 18 (5): 459-482.
4. Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development. Case Western Reserve University.
