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DESCRIBING LEARNING AND

LEARNER
“
Describing Learners
”
 What‟s Learner?
A learner is someone who is learning about a particular subject or how to do
something.

Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english
 Age
• The age of our students is a major factor in our decision about how and
what to teach. People of different ages have different needs, competences
and kognitif skills.

Young Children Adolescents Adult

 • Young children
• Especially those up to the ages of nine or ten:
- They respond to meaning
- They often learn indirectly rather than directly
-Their understanding comes not just from explanation
-They generally display an enthusiasm for learning and a curiosity about the
world around them
-They have a need for individual attention and approval from the teacher
-They are keep to talk about themselves
-They have a limited attention span
 • Adolescents
One of the key issues in adolescence is the search for individual identity.
Identity has to be forged among classmates and friends; peer approval may be
considerably more important for the student than the attention of the teacher which,
for young children, is so crucial.
The teenagers, if they are engaged, they have a great capacity to learn, a great potential
for creativity, and passionate commitment to things which interest them.
So, our job must be to provoke student engagement with material which is relevant
and involving.
 • Adult
A number of special characteristics :
• They can engage with abstract thought.
• They have a whole range of life experiences to draw on.
• They have expectations about the learning process.
• Adults tend, on the whole, to be more disciplined than some teenagers.
• They come into classrooms with a rich range of experiences which allow
teachers to use a wide range of activities with them
• Unlike young children and teenagers, they often have a clear understanding
of why they are learning and what they want to get out of it.
However, they can sometimes make learning and
teaching problematics.
• They can be critical of teaching methods.
• They may have experienced failure or criticism at
school.
• Many older adults worry that their intellectual powers
may be diminishing with age-they are concerned to
keep their creative powers alive, to maintain a „sense of
generativity‟ (Williams and Burden 1997;32)
 Learner Differences

Good Learner
Aptitude Learner Styles
Characteristics

Individual
Language Levels
Variations
• Aptitude
Aptitude test end up being self-fulfilling prophecies whereas it would be much better
for both teacher and students to be optimistic about all of the people in the class.
• Good Learner Characteristics
Much of what various people have said about Good Learner is based on cultural
assumption which underpin much current teaching practice in countries like Britain,
Australia, and America. Different cultures value different learning behavior, however, our
insistence upon one kind of good learner profile may encourage as to demand that
student should act in class in certain ways.
• Learner Styles
- Convergers
- Conformists
- Concrete Learners
- Communicative Learners
• Language Levels
Student are generally described in three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced,
and these categories are further qualified by talking about real beginners and false
beginners. Advanced

Upper intermediate

Mid-intermediate

Lower intermediate/pre intermediate

Elementary

Real beginner False beginner

Individual Variations

 Neuro-linguistic programing (NLP) : Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory and

Gustatory.
 MI theory : Musical-rhythmic
• Visual-spatial
• Verbal-linguistic
• Logical-mathematical
• Bodily-kinesthetic
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic
 Motivation
Motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things
in order to achieve something.
According to „Marion William and Richard Burden‟ suggest that motivation is a
state of cognitive arousal which provokes a decision to act as a result of which
there is sustained intellectual and/or physical effort so that the person can
achieve some previously set goal ( William and Burden 1997 : 120 )
 Sources of motivation
• The society live in: outside any classroom there are attitude to language learning and
the English language in particular.
• Significant others: apart from the culture of the world around students, their
attitude to language learning will be greatly affected by the influence of people who
are close to them.
• The teacher: clearly a major factor in the continuance of a student‟s motivation is
the teacher
• The method: it is vital that both teacher and student have some confident in the way
teaching and learning take place
 Initiating and sustaining motivation
Increasing and directing student motivation is one of teacher responsibilities,
though as Dick Allwright argued, we cannot be responsible for all of our
students‟ motivation. However, there are three areas where our behavior can
directly influence our students‟ continuing participation.
• Goals and goal setting : We have said that motivation is closely bound up with a person‟s
desire to achieve a goal. A distinction need to be made here between long- and short-term
goals.
Long term goals may include the mastery of English, the passing of an exam, the
possibility of a better job in the future, etc.
Short term goals on the other hand, are by their nature much closer to the student‟s day-
to-day reality.
• Learning environment : Although we may not be able to choose our actual classrooms, we
can still do a lot about their physical appearance and the emotional atmosphere of our
lessons. We can decorate even the most unattractive classrooms with all kinds od visual
material to make them more agreeable as learning environments.
• Interesting classes : If students are to continue to be intrinsically motivated they clearly
need to be interested both in the subject they are studying and in the activity and topics
there are presented with. We need to provide them with a variety of subjects and
exercises to keep them engaged.
 Learning occurs when we are able to:

• Gain a mental or physical grasp of the subject.

• Make sense of a subject, event or feeling by interpreting it into our own
words or actions.
• Use our newly acquired ability or knowledge in conjunction with skills and
understanding we already possess.
• Do something with the new knowledge or skill and take ownership of it.
 key concepts of learning
• People learn best when they are treated with respect and are not talked down to or treated as ignorant. Establishing ground rules at the start of a
training session will reinforce this important principle However, for the training to be most effective and to involve full participation
• Learning opportunities should, when possible, be linked to previous positive experience - this involves self-awareness on the part of the learner
and understanding and empathy on the part of any facilitator. Learning can be blocked by past negative experiences - some people who hated school
cannot bear to be in a classroom situation, for example.
• When possible learners should take part in the planning of learning activities. Learners should be encouraged to be self-directing in terms of goal-
setting since this usually improves commitment and motivation and increases participation. Facilitators should examine the expectations of the learner at
the start of a course or session to help to encourage self-direction.
• People learn best when their physical environment is comfortable. In group situations a positive emotional and supportive environment is also
important; individuals in groups tend to learn best when they can socialize and interact with other group members.
• Interaction with a facilitator is vital. People need to be able to react, question and voice opinions on what they are learning. Generally, in group
situations, quieter members should be gently encouraged for their input.
• Learning activities and/or delivery need to be varied, to cover the range of different learning styles and help the learner maintain interest and
motivation. In a classroom setting, for example, including discussions or other activities, especially some sort of problem solving, as part of a lesson or
lecture will enable learners to interact and engage with the subject.
• Instant rewards help. People learn best if the results and/or rewards of learning are made clear and can be demonstrated during or immediately after the
learning experience.
• Self-evaluation and reflective practice is important. Learners should be encouraged to reflect on what they have learnt and think about ways that they
can further their knowledge.
THANK YOU