Affective variables

Dear all, 

Michaela got me thinking about "attitude" on Wednesday and here is what I have found. It is one out of the many stances on "attitude". Apparently most authors relate this concept to motivation and socio cultural issues.

"With regard to learning of languages, Ellis (1986:293) refers to ‘attitudes’ as sets

of beliefs possessed by learners about such factors as the target language

culture and the learners’ own culture. In the case of classroom learning, the

attitudes would relate to their teacher and the learning tasks they are given,

which influence language learning in a number of ways. Spolsky (1989:149)

claims that “for Gardner and Lambert, motivation comes from attitude”."

KANJIRA, T, (2008) Motivation And Attitudes Towards English As A Second Language (Esl) Among Learners In Rural Kwazulu-Natal High Schools. Master Thesis. Michigan, U.S.A), Dip. Ed Ling. (Stellenbosch)

Gloria

Task-based learning (TBL)

Hope you had some rest and good results at the exams. Here is the presentation on TBL we saw in class. I strongly recommend that you read Willis' book where you will get a complete picture on the method. The book is available at UDA central library. 


http://es.scribd.com/doc/94202900/TBL

Un buen maestro...

Unit III: Young learners

Candice said: I loved this talk! I'm sharing it with you:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html 

These are some of the ideas I got from Ken Robinson’s talk, posted by Candice:

• ·         Enjoy life
• ·         Let your job somehow define you.
• ·         Create circumstances for the development of natural (human) resources
• ·         Innovations is hard
• ·         Challenge things that we take for granted

o   Question: What do we take for granted?

• ·         We must rise to the occasion.
• ·         Fast model of education needs to be challenged.
• ·         We all have different talents.

o   What is your talent? How can you use it to the fullest?

• ·         Everything is about passion.

Thanks, Candice it surely was food for thought!

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939)"He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven"
from the Collected Works of W.B. Yeats

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.