Motivation in English

The Power Point Presentation below shows some considerations regarding motivation in English and some features that can affect Second Language Acquisition.
Motivation in English

The multiple intelligences theory

The theory of Multiple Intelligences was created by Howard Gardner approximately 25 years ago. Since then, education has considerably changed. Considering the outstanding apparition of new technologies ( Information and Communications Techonology; ICTs) and the increase in the number of dropouts and academic failure, teachers have been questioned and analysed.

Is it their fault or is the parents' lack of attention triggering this failure? Despite these changes, the theory of Multiple Intelligences is being updated and confirmed by lots of educators and linguists. We do have eight intelligences, and we are born with them. The problem arises when we develop some intelligences more than the others. 

For example, some people develop their musical intelligence more than the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. As a consequence, they will be good at music but they will be worse when it comes to play sports. According to Howard Gardner, it is the duty of every teacher to make students' development concerning every single intelligence, not only the linguistic and logical intelligences, but also those concerning social relations and self steem  ( i. e. inter-personal and intra- personal intelligences).

In the link below, you will find two activities that I have prepared with my group of English Didactics, they are in Spanish. 
PowerPoint Intrapersonal Intelligence

POWER TEACHING & CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

The fact of establishing discipline in the classroom, creating a tolerant atmosphere with every student paying attention to the teacher's explanation is a hard task. How do we do that? 
There is one way, which is worth mentioning here; it is called 'Power teaching', and its main aim is to achieve an appropiate management in classroom, which means the attention of everybody without any disruptive behaviour.

 Some teachers believe that catching the majority of the class attention is enough. Nevertheless, the important thing about Power Teaching is that it is a good way to control every student, to make every student concerned about the lesson. Besides, this method aims to develop pair and group activities, following a communicative approach. The following video could be a good example of this type of methodology.

I remembered when I showed this video to my co-workers; it suddenly created an interesting debate. Is is a useful way to educate kids? or is it just too "mechanical"? Do they actually learn anything?

We should not forget that the main purpose of 'Power teaching' is that of catching everybody's attention. Once we have achieved that, it would become boring if we follow this method all the time. Consequently, this way of catching everybody's attention should be done during short periods of time. Teachers have to maintain students' discipline and motivation with innovation and interaction. It could be a good way to establish certain rules between students in order to achieve mutual respect. Nevertheless, when it comes to learning English or other subject, teachers should prepare activities which emphasize the learning of different skills (oral, writing, reading, speaking, etc).

Watch the following video and comment which are the important skills that every teacher should have from your point of view. Do you agree with Bill Gates?

KUNG FU PANDA

I'm sure you've heard about this movie. It is not only original and funny, but it is also appropiate for everybody. The interesting thing is that this movie has a moral value, which deserves to be analyzed.

The story of Po, a panda that has always been following the steps of the family business; which is serving noodles; changes when he accidentally steps into the world of Kung Fu; he is elected to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Then, Po's dreams become reality, his dream has always been to become a legendary warrior. However, his father only wants him to follow the family business. In addition, when he enters the world of 'kung fu', nobody wants to help him; the 'Legendary Furious Five' don't want him to be there, and Master Shifu trains him so hard that Po is about to quit a few times.

Nevertheless, Master Oogway encourages Po not to give up, he is the only one that believes that nothing is impossible, and that we should never give up our dreams. Eventually, Master Shifu decides to train Po. He finds a way of educating Po by motivating him. Even a small advance on Po is a big step, and it needs to be rewarded. Using food, which is what Po most like, Shifu trains Po and at the end of the say, he is awarded with a meal.

What is most interesting about this story is the teaching- learning process that Master Shifu and Po follow. Po does not only learn how to make a big effort and improve everyday, he also experiences the happiness that it comes when you achieve your dreams. At the same time, Master Shifu understand that a Master should give the opportunity to learn to everybody. He discovers how to turn someone's weaknesses into strenghts. 

Concurrently, teachers have to educate everybody in the same way. Because every kid deserves to be treated in the same way. Let me illustrate my point with an example:

'Three months ago, I did my 'teaching practices' in a high school. The very first day of class, I asked my students to tell my their hobbies and what they would like to do in the future. Surprisingly, only the 30% of my class knew what their hobbies or dreams were. The most part of my class told me that they spend their time watching TV and playing video games. When I asked them 'Do you like English', some of them replied 'I'm not good at English'. Consequenly, I wonder why our teenagers, who are supposed to be energetic and active, believe that they are not good at anything. 

Considering that education is the future of a nation, it is our duty to discover our students' passions, likes and dislikes. Once we have discovered them, we, as teachers, should reinforce their likes with our subject. Because the English language, as any other language, is vivid and new everyday. Why don't we listen to English music in class, play basketball or football with the only condition that everybody has to speak in English?

Would that be interesting if we ask our students: 'what do you want to do in the English class'? I am sure we will come up with plenty of ways to adapt our classroom to the students' needs, just as Master Shifu did with Po. 

Po needed confidence, someone that trusted him, someone who guided him towards his dreams. That's what every teacher and parent have to do; to guide kids so they can discover their dreams and illusions. 

Resolving conflicts

"The law of win-win says: let's not do it your way, let's do it the best way"                                                            Greg Anderson

The thing about "resolving conflicts in the classroom" is perhaps one of the most difficult issues that teachers have to face when teaching students. Watch this video and try to think if the response of the 'mocked student' is the appropiate one.

However, do you think that it is all his fault? From my point of view, the teacher is the 'responsible number one' of this conflict, since he is the "mature" one who should not make fun of any student in the class, especially if the student is trying to participate in class. Secondly, he must not allow that other students laugh when a student is trying to give an answer to a question that he has asked.

It is also true that the student of this video did not have the appropiate level to be in that class. For this reason, a teacher's job is also to find out whether that student has the adequate knowledge to follow the lesson and give to that student support or advice. Finally, the response of the 'mocked student' was violence, which does not solve anything at all, and indicates a problem of self-esteem and control that must be analysed by a therapist.

So, WHICH IS THE BEST WAY TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS IN THE CLASSROOM?

First of all, teachers should contemplate conflicts as a chance for them to grow as professionals and also because they should always help students in order to become social individuals, capable to be involved into the society.

Secondly, every problem has a solution. Although some students will come up with family problems, lack of interest for the subject, misbehavior, etc., teachers have to do a "research", exploring the reasons why the student has academic failure, why he/she is not capable of respecting his/her classmates... 

Finally, teachers must propose solutions, adequated to the context of education and mutual respect. It is also important for teachers to detect every single fault from one student to another. Even the slightest insult could be a sign of a future conflict. 

As a conclusion, teachers and all the staff that work in schools and centres of secondary education (the caretaker, cleaning personnel, head teacher...) have the responsibility of creating an atmosphere of tolerance, solidarity and respect.