Learner Psychology Lesson Transcript

In this lesson, we will look at: How adults learn, how they remember, how the brain stores
information, how to pass the filters to long-term memory and finally, the different functions of
each side of the brain.

Learning a new skill is one of the most rewarding things we can give to ourselves. However, is
learning as easy as it sounds? How do we actually learn? What happens in our brain when we
discover new information?

Every day we are overloaded with information. How are we then able to process it? Between
the bus schedule, our best friend’s phone number, the lyrics of a song, an advertisement we’ve
seen in the street. So, how do we pay attention and what information ends up sticking in our
brain? In this lesson, we’re going to look at these different aspects and how they relate to our
work.

Memory is the foundation of learning but how does all the knowledge get to our memory and
most importantly how do we access it when we need it? Remembering is the first step to
successful learning and what we want is for our adult students to be able to use the information
stored in their long-term memory.

So, let’s start by having a look at how adults learn. As adults, we will learn not only if we need
to but also if we want to. We will learn if we’re able to link our learning to the past, the present
or to a future experience and by practicing what we have been taught.

So, let’s start by having a look at how adults learn. As adults, we will learn not only if we need
to but also if we want to. We will learn if we’re able to link our learning to the past, the present
or to a future experience and by practicing what we have been taught. We also learn best in
an informal, casual and non-threatening environment and with help and guidance.

We can help our students absorb information in their long-term memory in a number of ways.
One of the most powerful ways to ensure this is to make connections between what they
already know and the new content. To do so, we can take our learners through some memories
of either an experience or a moment.

1 QN-04-SE10-D02-V1
 Learner Psychology Lesson Transcript

For example, in an Encounter, we always try to practice the target language with specific
examples from people’s experience, that way the language stays with them because they can
personally relate to that. The more connections we make, the more we learn, and the more we
remember. Our students will remember what they can connect personal meaning and strong
emotions to.

Our students will remember what they can connect personal meaning and strong emotions
to. The impact will be at its fullest if we consider emotion as an on/off switch for learning.
Everyone has a preferred channel for remembering data, however, it is important to keep in
mind that the human brain stores information by seeing, hearing or feeling data.

Some of our students will probably prefer visual information whilst others will memorize better
with words or even sounds. And finally, some learners will remember better with feeling, taste,
smell and tactile experiences. For these reasons we need to offer a variety of activities to
engage our students.

In this part of the lesson, we are going to look at how we retain information. We will focus on
Sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. We just saw that the human
brain stores information by Seeing, Hearing and Feeling. Now, how do we pay attention to
inputs like sound, sight or even taste which we constantly receive?

Our brain actually has several filters which decide what will remain in our mind. The first filter,
called the Sensory Memory is the filter of everything we sense and perceive. Almost anything
we can sense is temporarily held in this memory but it will also make sure that our brain doesn’t
have to deal with more information than it can handle. We definitely need it because our
senses are constantly feeding information to our brain and for that reason it’s very difficult to
constantly pay attention to all of it.

Almost anything we can sense is temporarily held in this memory but it will also make sure that
our brain doesn’t have to deal with more information than it can handle. We definitely need it
because our senses are constantly feeding information to our brain and for that reason it’s very
difficult to constantly pay attention to all of it.

2 QN-04-SE10-D02-V1
 Learner Psychology Lesson Transcript

As an example, if we take a few seconds to listen to the sounds around us, we’ll be surprised
by how many different sounds we can hear once we start to pay attention and how much we
actually miss when we don’t. This is because of our first brain filter, the sensory memory is
doing a good job, deciding what is important and what can safely be ignored.

So, what can we do and how can we support our students in getting the information they
receive in our centers to their sensory memory? To start with, consistency. Consistency can be
useful to make things easier for our students. That’s why our print or digital student workbooks
use the same basic format for each lesson so that our learners do not have to spend mental
energy constantly trying to get used to the format. They can instead focus on the important
content of each unit and lesson.

Our second filter, the short-term memory only selects the most important information we
need. What do we mean by “the most important information”? This means we unconsciously
choose to give importance to some of the information we receive every day. If something is
unusual or catches our attention, then we might categorize this as important information. If we
categorize this information, it becomes part of our short-term memory.

Short term memory as its name states, has a relatively short duration and limited capacity. The
information will be kept for the short time that we need it so we can accomplish what we have
planned to do or so we’re able to hold on to thoughts and ideas long enough for us to take
action. For example: the WIFI password at the center, the directions to a new restaurant where
we’re meeting a friend, the URL link for that website we’ll repeat to ourselves till we can type
it into a browser.

So, what can we do and how can we support our students getting the information they receive
in our centers to their short-term memory? We have to provide the best conditions to ensure
information goes from sensory to short term memory. How do we do this? We can do this
through: Role plays, getting students involved in their learning process, providing challenging
and fun activities, working with props to help them contextualize, provide context to
personalize the language they’re learning. With the Wall Street English Method, we create the
best conditions for successful learning. With the Wall Street English Method, we create the
best conditions for successful learning.

3 QN-04-SE10-D02-V1
 Learner Psychology Lesson Transcript

Whether we’re teaching or whether we’re learning a new skill ourselves, what we want is for
the information to reach our long-term memory and make sure we can access it again easily
afterwards. We can compare our long-term memory with a cupboard as this is where we will
store the information we want to keep for a while.

The information stored in the short-term memory is transferred to the long-term memory by
creating associations. Students create associations when they link their learning to their reality
or to something they already know. These associations then become stronger and can finally
be called a memory.

For us to be able to offer an effective and supportive learning experience, we need to be able
to help our students create associations and provide in-context learning. One of our main
assets at Wall Street English is that we provide a total English environment.

Then, in an Encounter with context creation exercises, each Student has the possibility to show
us they understand the context and then take part in a role play. We also ask concept check
questions (CCQ) in order to confirm that the student understand the context.

During Social Clubs, we provide situations where Students can practice what they’ve learned
by using situations that Students can relate to which will help the new concepts stick in their
long-term memory.

We now know that, to reach our long-term memory, a series of associations, emotions and
connections are needed. However, is everyone’s brain focusing on the same things? The
human brain is separated into two parts that focus on different skills. The left side is concerned
by logic and the right side by creativity.

When we combine the right and the left side, this will enable our students to be on the one
hand, rational and spontaneous, and then analytical and creative on the other.

We usually use both sides of our brain. As an example, the right side of the brain interprets
language and the left side controls speech. We all have a dominant side in certain behaviors.
A mathematics expert’s is left brain dominant. A painter, right brained.

4 QN-04-SE10-D02-V1
 Learner Psychology Lesson Transcript

The left side of our brain is called the logical side. When we use our left side, we are being
analytical, attentive, objective and rational. The left brain functions are speaking, writing,
reading, numbers, and also science, mathematics, listening, grammar.

What activities can we include to stimulate our left side of the brain? Activities like crosswords
puzzles, activities that involves writing or reading, or anagrams. Did you know that learning a
new language stimulates the left side of our brain?

Our right side of the brain can be defined as the creative side as it is driven by feelings, beliefs
and emotion. Right brain functions are music and art, imagination, intuition and colors.

To activate the right side of our brain, we can include activities like observation, word
associations, memory games or even sketching.

With this in mind, we need to include activities that will stimulate both sides of the brain;
combine analytical exercises with creative activities, and multi-channel messages will be
stored simultaneously in the left and right brain and therefore multiply the chances of recall.

We can now see just how complex our brains are. This is why scientists still study the brain
today trying to explain how we learn. What we do know is that our brain is just like a muscle
and to keep it fit, we need to exercise and practice. And the more we practice, the better it
gets. However, what matters the most is how we practice and at Wall Street English we help
our students practice by providing a supportive and motivating learning experience.

5 QN-04-SE10-D02-V1