Learner Strategy Training

2 Pages 460 Words

Learner Strategy Training

It has its early roots in studies of “good” and “bad” language learners.
Relevant factors, believed to be contributing to their success, were extracted by using tests of
psycolinguistic factors, interviews and other data analysis.

Good learners...

... find their own way, taking charge of their learning
...are creative, developing a “feel” for language
...practice language inside and outside the classroom
...learn to continue talking and listening without understanding every word
...make errors work for them and not against them
...use knowledge of their first language in learning a second language
...learn to make intelligent guesses

They´re aware of general personality and cognitive characteristics or tendencies.
Learners can, through a program of self awareness, understand who they are and take steps to
change their style.
There is a number of informal (not scored) and formal (scored) personality and cognitive style tests.


How to teach strategies in the classroom:

1) Teach strategies through interactive techniques

- to lower inhibition, you can play guessing and communication games, do group work, laugh with
your students
- to encourage risk- taking, praise students for trying out language
- to build students self confidence, tell them that you believe in them
- to promote cooperative learning, play down competition among students

2) Use compensatory techniques

Several dozen techniques can be “prescribed” to help students to overcome problems.

- to overcome low tolerance of ambiguity you can do brainstorming, role- play or skimming tasks
-to overcome caution ( they want to get everything right before they speak) you can work with
small groups, do role-play and work with fluency techniques.

3) Develop awareness of strategies/ styles

- use strategy/ style check lists


Review of our presentation

We tried to demonstrate t...