I have seen the students' need of feeling supported and encouraged. They are required to use what they are taught every day, and this must take place in a spontaneous way so that they get used to their own rythm, thus being able of facing and solving communicative situations as confidently as possible.
This is why we must provide our students with an environment that bring about their willingness and engagement, rather than one invaded by presure and an inquisitive attitude towards their performance at every moment.
I have found out that, in the case of having some oral presentations, for example, a "mini lesson" at the beginning of the class is of great help. This initial reference frames out the formal language students are expected to have in mind when giving their speeches.
Other thing that helps students to warm up before an oral presentation and their confidence to strengthen, is to ask them simple questions about their everyday life; for instance, what they had for breakfast, or what they did the day before. This gives them the chance to tell the rest of the students about something only they can possibly know: they don't have to learn anything by heart; they can take their time, whithin reason, to prioritize what they are to say, as well as the order of their own ideas and, by the way, feel important because of being the expert on that particular issue.
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Alejo
I do agree with you, sometimes we do not need very compliated activities and weird vocabulary to develop their communicative competence. I think that asking simple questions about their life we get more because they feel more confident to use their spoken and written english.
Hi alejo !
that's right you know something, I've seen teachers, not too many, with a great creativity also proactivity, and they use all of that into their classrooms. Another thing and that's just nice, to have a pshycologist teacher, it would be so interesting for me as a student.
Krashen (2003) says that the affective filter must be down so that lge acquisition can happen: "... affective variables do not impact directly but prevent input from reaching what Chomsky has called the 'lge acquisition device', the part of the brain responsible for lge acquisition. If the acquirer is anxious, has low self-esteem, does not consider himself or herself a potential member of the group that speaks the lge, he or she may understand the input, but it will not reach the lge acquisition device. A block, the affective filter, will keep it out. The presence of the affective filter explains how two Ss can receive the same input, yet one makes progress while the other does not. One student is open to the input while the other is not."
In my opinion, all those daily, easy-to-do activities you mention, help Ss lower their affective filter and therefore be ready to learn.
Norbella
Alejandro,
I saw that in Patricia's blog you wrote you wanted to study more about the brain and role of each hemisphere in lge acquisition, which is an important issue in both neurolinguistics and applied linguistics.
I have not studied this much, but I know that most lge activity happens in the left hemisphere. This side of the brain perceives details, such as letters and words, while the right side sees wholes. Linked to the activity of the brain there is "brain-teaching", which advocates for different activities to activate different parts of the brain and take the most advantage of it. I'm sure if you google the topic you'll find lots of information. For now I can lend you, if you wish, a book called: Fundamentos Linguisticos del Lenguaje, by Fajardo y Moya (1999)
Norbella
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