A sharing session

By Laura Lima Xalteno July 19th 2011

Session
O Teaching and PhD protocol
O Master degree: a brief summary

English Learning Diaries as a tool to learn a Foreing Language A summary of the PhD Protocol
By Laura Lima Xalteno

Education can transform culture, only if teachers have transformed themselves. Ferguson, 1994

Justification
O Why am I interested in English Learning

diaries?
O A personal experience
O A person

O A student
O A teacher O An investigator

General Objective
O Modify students attitudes towards English

by means of English Learning Diaries.

O 1.

What is the objective of teaching? O 2. What is it necessary to reach this objective (teaching)? O 3. Is there an effective way to attract students attention so they learn meaningfully?

MY METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING AND SOME ADVICE

1.
O Students need to be taught with a

method-in-action: learn to learn (Hofmann, 2008).

Learning to learn
O Learning to learn is a competence area, apart from

understanding and skills, it is about attitudes, values and beliefs that allow people to become more effective, flexible and self-organized learners in a variety of contexts (Hofmann, 2008). It is an empowered competence that can give people the motivation, autonomy and responsibility. O Learning to learn involves entering into the deep meaning structures of material to be learnt and, in its most advanced forms, may lead to critical awareness of assumptions, rules, conventions, and social expectations that influence how people perceive knowledge and how they think, feel and act when learning (Candy, 1990 cited in Hofmann, 2008).

2.
O To have a methodological strategic supported

by a mental attitude.
O A mental attitude is to help students in their

learning considering their values and capabilities.

O Some components of the mental attitude are:

to think positively, to have positive aspects as reference that are present in the classroom play; to learn as a satisfactory experience showing students that English learning can be fun and it can be a great experience; to foster students auto concept telling them they are capable to learn English.

3.
O English learning diaries.
O Literature: Bailey K., 1996 M., Nunan

D.1989, Matsumoto K., 1987, Shumann, F. and Shumann, 1977.

MY METHODOLOGY WITH ENGLISH LEARNING DIARIES

O O O O O O O O O

The starting point in 2005 Classroom research TC students Delivery of diaries Non threatening identification of students written mistakes Teachers comments as feedback Grading Part of evaluation End of the course: questionnaire (likert-scale), anonymous opinion about the experience of writing a diary O Collection of data course after course O Invitation to include English learning diaries in their life

Visualization
O To have inherent positive mentality
O To foster students significant learning O To teach and learn O To focus on quality of knowledge O To foster students to learn and think O To see the process as important as the

product

Foreing Languages Education

O Be part of a new culture of teaching and
O O

O
O O

learning Innovate in teaching Change paradigms Change from the inner (areas: affective, cognitive, conative) Be a teacher and an investigator as well If possible include English Learning Diaries on your teaching

Conclusions
O Students are conscious about their own
O

O O O

learning and their progress in English. Studesnts become more autonomous, reflective, critical, and responsible of their learning. Students use English in a functional way. Students have a better achievement in the course. Students are witnesses of the intelectual comprehension and the experience of learning a foreign language.

Further actions as a teacher

O To detect problems in the class
O Think about a possible solution O become an investigator
O Doing classroom research O Sharing your ideas with other

teachers/investyigators

And last but not least

O Master degree in Aplied

Linguistics

Tema de tsis
O La Actitud hacia una Lengua Extranjera

como Factor en el Rendimiento del Aprendizaje: Estudiantes Universitarios Aprendiendo Ingls.

O El rendimiento es el resultado de una

evaluacin que mide el producto del proceso enseanza aprendizaje (Saracalolu, 2000).

Thank you for your attention

Remember we have humans as students.