Learning to Learn Nivel 8
- 1. LEARNING TO LEARN TRAINING PROGRAM LEVEL 8 What’s next?
- 2. OBJECTIVES To reflect on what learning to learn has meant so far for you as a learner. To analyze your specific progress achieved through this learnig and training program. To set specific objectives for the aspects that you still need to work on. To help you choose strategies to continue working on and improving on your language.
- 3. Think about this: Read the following text. If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. Confucius (551-479BC)
- 4. Discuss the following: How long ago was the previous text written? Do you think it still applies to our modern lives? How is the previous text connected to this training program? Have you learn how to fish yet?
- 5. Read the following text: Carl Rogers, an important psychologist, wrote back in 1969 that education has changed so much for modern man that it has now become a process of “facilitation of change and learning”. Teachers can no longer teach everything you need to know to survive in this ever-changing world. Rogers said that: “The only man who is educated is the man who has learned how to learn; the man who has learned how to adapt and change.”
- 6. Discuss the following questions: What do you think about Roger’s opinion on education? Can your teachers really teach you everything you need to know? How fast can things change in your world of knowledge? How are you going to keep up with the changes once you finish your studies?
- 7. Think about this: Throughout this program you have learn about learning, about how to do many different things, how to apply and keep track of new and old learning and practice strategies. How are you going to use all of this to your advantage? Use the following slides to reflect about what you have learned and what is coming.
- 8. The four skills Out of the four skills involved in speaking a language, two are receptive and two are Receptive Productive skills skills productive. Can you identify which is which? Classify them: listening, speaking, reading, writing. What do you think is the difference between a receptive and a productive skill?
- 9. Types of fluency There are two types of fluency when it comes to mastering a language: Oral fluency, which means that you are fluent in skills such as listening and speaking. They deal with the spoken word. Written fluency, which means that you are fluent in skills like reading and writing. They deal with the written word. How is the development of these two types of fluency going for you? What else can you do to continue working on developing them?
- 10. The self-access experience Making use and taking full advantage of the self- access experience in the lab provides for you a solution to some problems: It offers you a variety of materials and ideas for working with them. It does not matter what your level of language is, there will always be something for every body to do. Students with different backgrounds will still find appealing materials. Students with different needs will be able to work at their own pace on whatever they each need. The psychological, personality and learning differences between students are factors that will not affect how much each individual works in the lab.
- 11. Evaluating progress Ideally you have seen progress in your work, your understanding of your process and your knowledge and abilities in the language. How could you measure or demonstrate such progress? Your grades? Your level of motivation? Results on a second run at the first test you took? Comparing yourself with your classmates? Asking your teachers? Being aware of things you didn’t know before about your own learning? Being able to do things you weren’t able to do before? Anything else? What? Use some of the previous parameters to help you evaluate your progress so far, use the following slide.
- 12. Evaluating progress by areas What What did you improve in did you improve skills and strategies for in metacognition: listening? knowing yourself and What did you improve in how you learn? skills and strategies for What did you improve speaking? in grammar? What did you improve in What did you improve skills and strategies for in vocabulary? reading? What did you improve in skills and strategies for writing?
- 13. Looking back to look ahead Atsome point when you started studying English you must have thought about some of these questions: Why do you need to learn English? How motivated are you to learn English? What kind of learner are you? What are your strong and weak points? How much do you already know in English? What kind of activities help you learn and practice English? Have your answers to these questions changed over time? How?
- 14. Setting objectives After having evaluated your progress, think now about: What do you still need to try out? What do you need to do to get better results? Which areas need more of your attention, either because you are getting better at them or because you need to work harder at them? What are you going to do to achieve your goals?
- 15. Carrying on How do you carry on learning to learn and developing your skills in English? How about: Using the information that you gathered every time you chose a new strategy: Did it work? Why did it work? How can I make better use of this for my learning style? Etc. Trying out ideas and strategies that you didn’t try out the first time around. Asking classmates and other lab users about their own experiences and trying out their ideas. Continue practicing the skills, because “practice makes perfect.” Some things simply need time to mature. Taking advantage of every oportunity you get through the lab or any other resource to use and practice your English. Trusting your instincts about what works and what doesn’t work and apply yourself to look for results. Experiencing life in an English-speaking country to fully test your skills and learn confidence, if possible. Being patient and working hard.