UnlockingLearnerMo/va/onInTheAgeOfTheDigitalNa/ve

PaulMaglioneCo‐founder,

Theinternet

isnow20yearsold

Weliveina9meofastoundingchange.

Whocouldhaveimagined20yearsagothattoday…

“Asubordina,ngconjunc,onalwayscomesatthebeginningofasubordinateclause.It

"introduces"asubordinateclause.However,asubordinateclausecansome,mescomea>er

andsome,mesbeforeamainclause….”

1910 2010

It’shigh9meweputthesefourthingstogetherandcameupwithamoreeffec9vewayofmo9va9nglearningandteaching

Englishtoteensandyoungadults.

WhoAreTeens?  What’sgoingonwiththeirlives?

-  hormones/sexualdevelopment

-  independence/autonomy

-  ques9oningofauthority/rebellion-  socialhyperac9vity/peerpressure

  What’sgoingonwiththeirfuture?-  pressureovereduca9on,career

prospects,typeoffriends,values

  Whataretheirculturalreferences?

  Whatistheirrela9onshipwitheduca9on?

  English:howdotheyseeitasrelevanttothem?

Whatelsedoweknowaboutteens?

Theirbrainsareinaveryspecificstateofdevelopment.

last

1st

PrefrontalCortex

LimbicSystem• Physical

Coordina/on

• Emo/on

• Mo/va/on

• Reasoning

• Organizing,priori/zinginforma/on

• ControlofImpulses

Notfullymatureun.lage25!

TeenBrainDevelopment

Phenomenon#1

MaturingofbrainasGreyMaOerislost

AdolescentPruningOfBrainCellsThebrainselec9velystrengthensorprunesneuronsbasedonac9vity.Synapsescon9nuallyusedwillflourish;thosethatarenotusedwillwitheraway.

TeenBrainDevelopment

Phenomenon#2

TeenBrainDevelopment

Phenomenon#3

Mylena/on(increaseinWhiteMaTer)

Speedsthebrain’s

informa9on‐processingcapacity

equivalentto3,000X

increaseincomputerbandwidth

TheTeenBrain:UNDERCONSTRUCTION

Aframework,notanemptystructurewai/ngtobefilled

EFLteachingimplica/ons

Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons

UseteencravingforNOVELTYandEXCITEMENTtogettheirATTENTION.

video,music,movement,news,games,anecdotes

worksheets,lectures,objec9vetexts

+

‐

Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons

Breaklarge,long‐termassignmentsdownintoshort‐termobjec9ves

Remindthemofconcepts,objec9vesanddeadlinesfrequently.

Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons

Useshortformats.Teenscanonlyfocusonsomeonetalkingfor15minutesata9metheyneedachangeinstateofmindevery20minutes.

Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons

Foryoung(13–16)teens,don’tmaketopicstooabstract

Phaseddevelopmentofcogni/vefunc/ons:EFLteachingimplica/ons

TheteenageBrainNEEDStoCONNECT.

INTEGRATETHISintoCommunica/veTaskWork

Pruningofneuronsmaintainingonlymost‐usedconnec/ons:EFLTeachingImplica/ons

Aimforrelevanceandusefulnesstotheirlives

Pruningofneuronsmaintainingonlymost‐usedconnec/ons:EFLTeachingImplica/ons

Repe99onwithvaria9on.Getthemtonotjustreadavocabularyitem,butalso…

useitinasentenceuseitinastory

seeaphotoofit

playagamebasedonit

hearitinasongunjumbleit hearitspokenbyafamousactor

Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons

Exposureinputintake

Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons

Providedatacapableofbeingprocessedintoknowledgewhileavoidingboredomfilter(lexical/communica.veratherthangramma.calapproach)

Vastlyincreasedprocessingbandwidth:EFLTeachingImplica/ons

ProvideANALYTICALCHALLENGESthats9mulatehigher‐orderthinking:askHowWhatWhy

Don’tforget:maleandfemaleadolescentsmatureatdifferentrates

Greycellpruningstartsatage10–12

Greycellpruningstartsatage14–16

Boysandgirlsmaybereadytoabsorbchallengingmaterialatdifferentstages.

…alsodon’tforget:theaverageteenisSLEEP DEPRIVED

Physiologically,teensrequire9.25hoursof

sleep.Mostteens

reportsleeping5hoursorlessper24‐hourperiod.

Sleepdepriva9on

makesitmoredifficultformost

studentstolearn,remember

andthinkcrea/vely.

WHATABOUTEFLPEDAGOGY?

Whathavewelearnedthesepast20years?

MOSTofthesematchupwithrecommendedBrainLearningtechniquesforengagingteensandyoungadults

NEWEFLApproaches

Oneofthethingstheyreallyenjoy,evenseemaddictedto,isVIDEOGAMES.Why?

Whatelsedoweknowaboutteens?

Whatcanwelearn(andadopt)fromVideoGames?

•  Failureispartofthegame•  Tryandtryagainwithouts9gma•  Repe99onbreedscompetence•  Posi9vereinforcementallthe,me•  Posi9vevs.nega9vestress•  Leveldesign:progresstonextlevelisalwaysachallenge,butachievable

•  Progress=statusenhancement•  Social(mul9playergaming;leaderboards;in‐gamechat;challenge‐a‐friend)

Whereitallcomestogetherforteens:

MOTIVATION

UnderstandingLearnerMo9va9on

•  The“neglectedheart”ofourunderstandingofhowtodesigninstruc9on.

•  Par9cularlyanissueforteens,dueto:

ZZZZZZZ

LearnerMo9va9onForTeens

Exploitlearners’naturalcuriositytoexploretheworld,whichisatitsmostpowerfulduringteenageandyoungadultyears

LearnerMo9va9onForTeens

Maketheinputmaterialrelevanttothem.Dotheybelievethatwhattheyarelearningwillbeusefultothemsoon?

LearnerMo9va9onforTeens

“Thesimplestwaytoensurethatpeoplevaluewhattheyaredoingistomaximisetheirfreechoiceandautonomy” ‐Good&Brophy,2004

LearnerMo9va9onforTeensThreestrategies*toencourageposi9ve

self‐evalua9on:

Promote/Reward

Effortratherthan

Ability

Provide

Mo/va/onalFeedback

IncreaseMo9va9on

viaRewards,notGrades

*Dornyei,2001

Awordabouttechnology…

ClassTimeIsPreciousTime:TechnologyCanOp/mizeIt•  Exposure/inputandrepe99on:outsidetheclassroomasmuchaspossible.

•  Usepreciousclass9mefor:•  discussion•  interac/on•  groupwork•  tasksrequiringteachersupervision

•  face‐to‐faceintelligenterrorcorrec/on

Introducing •  Designedspecificallyforboos9ngexposuretoEnglishoutsidetheclassroom

•  Designedspecificallyfor13–25agegroup•  ContentunitsbasedonclipsfromHollywood

movies,hitTVseries,chart‐toppingmusicvideos,globalnewschannels,anddocumentaries.

•  Vocabulary&grammaronlylearnedcontextually,andreinforcedwithonlineprac9cegames

•  Strong“Community”communica9onsfocus•  Notests,noassessment:justpointsawarded

forac9vity&effort(allskilllevelshaveequalfoo9ngintermsofprogressingupladder)

•  CurrentlyinglobalBetaTes9ngwith6,000users;tolaunchinNovemberincludingwithPolish‐languageinterface.

•  Notane‐learning“course.”Complementaryto,notincompe99onwith,classroominstruc9on.

VideoBoosters:video‐basedcontentunitsIntegra9ngmovie/tv/musicclipswithcomprehension,vocabularyandgrammarexercises

Prac/ceGames:vocabularyandusageconceptsseeninthecontentunitsarerepeatedacrossseveralgameplaysforlong‐termreten9on.

PhotoVocabs:thema9cvisualmini‐dic9onariesintegra9ngvocabulary,pronuncia9on,andprac9cegames

TheWeballowslearnerstogobeyondlearning:tocreate

#efl#esl#elt#edtech#iatefl#tesol

SomeEd‐TechGurus

Afinalpointaboutteensandlanguage

Languageispartofone’siden/tyandisusedtoconveythisiden9tytoothers.

Teens’iden9tyisinfull‐swingevolu9on,sobothL1sophis9ca9onandL2learninghaveasignificantimpactonthesocialbeingofthelearner.

*Thanasoulas,2007

IfwecanintegrateEnglishintoteens’ideaofself,weturbo‐chargetheirlearning,reten9on,andenjoymentoftheprocess.

*Thanasoulas,2007

UnlockingLearnerMo/va/onInTheAgeOfTheDigitalNa/ve

TwiTer: @paulmaglione @englishaTack

Web: www.english‐aTack.comBlog: hTp://blog.english‐aTack.com

E‐mail: paul.maglione@english‐aTack.comLinkedIn: PaulMaglione