Click here to listen to The Minimal Pair: Episode 010 Show Notes: The Minimal Pair Title: Don't Box Them In Episode no: 010 Date: Recorded on 5/30/14 Topics in Language Learning Introverts/Passive Learning Sources: “Passive Learners vs. Introverts—A comment,” by Naomi Epstein (from the blog Visualizing Ideas) #ELTChat Summary from May 7th 2014—“How we deal with passive learners,” compiled by Lizzie Pinard Talking points from both sources and our experiences: Distinction between “introverts” and “passive learners” Introverts didn’t raise their hands, but were clearly listening; rather than conforming to the expected learning behavior, they adapt their own Passive learners seem completely disengaged from the lesson; often don’t know what’s going on, when things are due, and how to complete assignments Motivation Students who have to be there vs. students who want to be there Age and life experience as factors in student beahvior Avoiding labels, targeting the problem “Introvert” and “passive” are not mutually exclusive Not important to argue over definitions or positive & negative connotations of each More important to focus on the behaviors inherent to both/all kinds of learners and how to make space for them in the classroom Our tips: Introverts Variety of activities (i.e. speaking vs. writing) Take it slow (build up to oral participation & give them time to think before responding) Partner work (gives them a space to build confidence) Passive Learners Meeting them where they are (trying to get them to see it from their perspective) Academic contract Frequent conferences How our tips support distinguishing between the two,… …but don’t “box them in!” [24:30] Methodology Journaling What Informal assessment Homework/in-class Who Academic English students Listening & pronunciation students Grammar? Why Reading comprehension Summarizing, paraphrasing, & plagiarism Vocabulary building Description, Analysis, Self-reflection Real world participation incentive Progress monitoring When & Where At home vs. in class Before reading vs. after Testing situations Extra credit How Side-by-side Quote-paraphrase-reflect Vocabulary Listening comp. Group work STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) journals Daily reflections [45:20] Culturally speaking… Cross-cultural communication Source: DFA Intercultural Global Solutions, LLC http://dfaintercultural.com/top-10-tips-for-communicating-with-anyone-in-the-world/ What are Dean Foster’s tips and how do we use them in the classroom? Take your time – Ask the other speaker to slow down – Keep it simple – Don’t be afraid to ask for help – Avoid baseball English – Skip the acronyms – Don’t ask yes/no questions – Get rid of double negatives – Talk to more than one person – Start formal – Pay attention to the non-verbal – Be respectful, be interested, & be humble SHOUT OUTS: #ELTchat and everyone who participated in the conversation, especially Naomi Epstein and Lizzie Pinard) YOU our listeners! Thanks! Adjunct Action! Keep it minimal!