Helping children to become better learners: learning how to learn (LTL)

Jayne Moon

Sponsored by Macmillan

Is this just a game for children ?Are they aware that they are

learning ?

Aims 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

Organization

•Raising awareness about LTL•Demonstration 1 + Discussion + Hands On

•Demonstration 2 + Discussion + Hands On

• Summing Up

A 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 workViews of Spanish teachers

Many types of successful learner One thing in common

They are able to manage their learning effectively and make use of the learning opportunities provided

Views of Children: things you can do to help you be successful at learning English?Age 7• playing • stories• books • games • writing • reading • video/t.v.• teacher • paper • songs

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

Going on a journeyAdults want to know where, why,

when , how ?Where are we

going ?

Why are we going there ?

How will we get there ? How do we

know when we are there ?

What will we do if there are

problems ?

Where to ? Don’t 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

Children only know they are on a boat

What 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 )

Learning how to Learn involves:

How do I learn ?Awareness of

learning process

Why am I learning ?

Having a reason for learning

English

How shall I manage my learning ? Using their abilities and

time efficiently

How am I getting on ?Monitoring progress

Aims of Task To raise your awareness about the

purpose of and value of lesson introductions

To raise your awareness about the importance of making students aware about:

what they will learn in their lessons (Lesson goals),

why they are learning how they will be organized for work

Module1 Unit1 When did you come back?• 1.back , drop finish, • 2. come—came , drop—dropped• 3. When did you come back? • I came back___.• back , drop, finish, , come—came , drop—

dropped • When did you come back? I came back

last Sunday.• When did you come back? I came back ___.

Demonstration1 : Raising children’s awareness about the learning process

Task1. What’s the aim of a lesson introduction?2. What do you like about each lesson

introduction ? 3. Did the children know:

a. what they were going to learn ? c. how they will work ?d. why they are doing the activities ?

Why give learners 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? )•Gives them more responsibility for

learning

Checklist•Does the introduction create a link

between the topic and children’s 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 ?

Reading and WritingActivities in Unit 2 Module 2•Ask and answer questions•Read the passage & decide who and

what you can see in the photo•Match questions in Activity 1 with

people in passage•Answer questions about vocabulary in

passage•Choose 2 – 3 activities in Activity 1.

Write notes for your answers and then write sentences.

A Spanish child’s reflection after a lesson

To draw and describe

Raising children’s awareness of learning at the end of a lesson

How does teacher respond to the error ? Why ? T: Why are some animals in danger ?

P1: They have any place to liveT: They haven’t any place to live. Repeat

P1: They haven’t any place to liveT: Good.

•How can we encourage learners to help themselves ?

Demonstration 2

Learning ActivityHolidays Where/go/ for holiday ?__________When/go ? __________________What/buy ? _________________When / come back ?_____________

Encourage self correction

T: Why are some animals in danger ?

P1: They have any place to liveT: That’s right. They have no place to live. Try and say the sentence again. Think about how to say it.

P1: They have no place to live.T: Yes that’s right. Good attempt.

T: Why are some animals in danger ?

P1: They have any place to liveT: I don’t understand. Do you mean they have a place to live ?’

P1:Umm No.T: Try and say the sentence again. Watch my fingers

P1: They have...T: make verb ‘have’ negative.

Possible Procedures for Correcting an Error

Incorrect Response

Encourage self correction

Ask another student to answer

Get 1st child to repeat

Correct the answer

Incorrect response / No response

Child calls a friend for help

Give clues or helpPraise for effort

Steps1. Signal there is a problem with the

answer2. Encourage self correction3. If learner still gets it wrong, suggest :

a. He/she calls a friend for helpOR

b. T gives a clue 4. End of the lesson, raise awareness with

children about what you did and why5. Encourage effort

Learning 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 demonstrating ways of doing activities making clear what you are doing and why

Why 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

Looking 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.

Thank You