The 'What kind of learner are you?' speak while you are walking tour
One of my favourite activities in face-to-face ESL lessons is to make everybody in class move around, go active and take part in their own learning, even if they are not aware of it, and that is why I like doing what I call 'speak while you are walking tours', that is, asking all the students to stand up and move around the classroom while they ask each other questions, exchange information, summarize it and only come back to their seats when they have found out the requested information about everybody else and are ready to share their impressions, feedback and conclusions.
The latest 'speak while you are walking tour' I have put into practice has been of learning styles, with a bunch of C1 ESL students, who have a tendency to be sitting and listening to the teacher. Of course, they were very surprised to be asked to stand up and move, but most of them were receptive and even eager, whereas a minority was quite reluctant.
The goal of the 'speak while you are walking tour' was carrying out a survey on what type of learners they were, which is also a nice ice breaking challenge, and that does not only help the teacher to know the students better, but also helps the students themselves to get to know each other better.
Basically, the challenge helps us all to become aware of how we learn and how we could learn better.
The survey was a simple 'ask and answer' one:
1. Are you always watching videos or reading books in English?
2. Are you analytical? Do you have a tendency to focus on grammar and on being accurate?
3. Are you always looking for opportunities to learn the language outside the class?
4. As a rule, are you happy to take risks with language and to experiment new ways of learning?
5. Are you inclined to look for clues that will help you understand how language works?
6. Are you prone to making mistakes with grammar?
7. Do you have a good ear for language so 9 times out of ten you know you'll just know if something is wrong?
8. Do you use your instinct and guess when you don't know?
9. Did you tend to get frustrated and made mistakes when you started learning the language?
10. And now, have you learned not to be embarrased?
11. Would you spend hours studying grammar but without confidence to speak?
12. Have you set yourself goals to improve your pronunciation and speak as much as possible?
The latest 'speak while you are walking tour' I have put into practice has been of learning styles, with a bunch of C1 ESL students, who have a tendency to be sitting and listening to the teacher. Of course, they were very surprised to be asked to stand up and move, but most of them were receptive and even eager, whereas a minority was quite reluctant.
The goal of the 'speak while you are walking tour' was carrying out a survey on what type of learners they were, which is also a nice ice breaking challenge, and that does not only help the teacher to know the students better, but also helps the students themselves to get to know each other better.
Basically, the challenge helps us all to become aware of how we learn and how we could learn better.
The survey was a simple 'ask and answer' one:
1. Are you always watching videos or reading books in English?
2. Are you analytical? Do you have a tendency to focus on grammar and on being accurate?
3. Are you always looking for opportunities to learn the language outside the class?
4. As a rule, are you happy to take risks with language and to experiment new ways of learning?
5. Are you inclined to look for clues that will help you understand how language works?
6. Are you prone to making mistakes with grammar?
7. Do you have a good ear for language so 9 times out of ten you know you'll just know if something is wrong?
8. Do you use your instinct and guess when you don't know?
9. Did you tend to get frustrated and made mistakes when you started learning the language?
10. And now, have you learned not to be embarrased?
11. Would you spend hours studying grammar but without confidence to speak?
12. Have you set yourself goals to improve your pronunciation and speak as much as possible?
Survey adapted from Speakout Second Edition Advanced ActiveTeach
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