Psychology of Foreign Language Teaching Actual and Ideal

Psychology of Foreign Language Teaching Actual and Ideal Classroom Structure. Lecture 13

What can foster intelligent behavior and promote the process of : Cognitive Affective development Personality Social

Something you know: Instruction: Let’s discuss advantages of Individualized Cooperative LEARNING Competitive Time: preparation – 2 min presentation – 2 min

Something new: Classroom structure

Competitive environment When ? with those who do well Why ‘yes’? - promotes speed; increases motivation for competitive persons; fosters personal intellectual growth; good for passing exams and achieve well. Why ‘no’? - promotes egoistic and social comparison orientation in learners.

Cooperative environment When? With a mixture of ability level and large groups. Why ‘yes’? - develops positive interdependence and individual accountability; promotes face-to-face positive interaction; good motivation for extraverts; fosters team spirit and social skills; improves self-esteem of some individuals with poor self-esteem. Why ‘no’? - produces general achievements but won’t produce autonomous, self-directed learners.

Individualized/master –based environments When? With mature learners who can compare one’s present level of performance with previous achievements. Why ‘yes’? - everyone can gain a reward of some kind; success is attributed to effort develops personal strategies; concentration on learning process Why ‘no’? - lacks social development; there can be struggling learners who need support.

Anything else? Classroom climate

What do they facilitate ( or not much)? Classes oriented towards innovation and building relationships help: create learner satisfaction and interest in the subject; enhance social and personal growth; however do not facilitate traditional achievement score. Classes that emphasize Task Achievement at the expense of warmth help: foster high achievement however do not foster creativity and morale. Classes which are rigidly Under Control lead to: dissatisfaction do not facilitate personal, social, and academic growth.

Summary: 1. There should be flexible structure in the language classroom which effectively incorporates all three forms of learning environments: competitive, cooperative, and individualized. 2. There should be a combination of warm and supportive climate, with emphasis on specific academic tasks and reasonably clear, orderly, innovative, and fostering personal, social , and academic growth classroom. MAY YOUR IDEAL CLASSROOM GET CLOSER TO ACTUAL CLASSROOM!

Home assignment: Let’s draw your ideal classroom structure and classroom climate now.