Teza Methodology

8/8/2019 Teza Methodology

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Introduction

In the field of TEFL language is taught to a person. A good English teacher must be able to

draw upon a set of principles in order to design classes, to meet pupils` needs and make decisions

while teaching.

There can be no doubt today about the importance of affect for learning a foreign language. If

we were looking for a golden rule for language learning, one possible candidate would be

Stevicks (1980) in Brown(2000) in statement about how success in this process depends less on

materials, techniques and linguistic analysis and more on what goes on inside and between the

people in the classroom. No two individuals attain exactly the same ability in language. That is

why among many variables influencing language teaching and language learning, affective factors

are considered important and sometimes determining.

During the recent years more and more researchers have begun to study the

affective factors. Brown, 1941; Coopersmith, 1967; Beebe,1983, Ely,1986; Spielberger,1983;

Scovel,1978, Moody, 1988; MacIntyre & Charos, 1996; Dewaele & Furnham, 1991 are only some

of the researchers who have investigated the relation between personality factors and foreign

language acquisition.

This research is presented in the belief that a knowledge of personality factors and foreign

language acquisition will allow the development of natural strengths and predispositions, suggest

areas for growth and help motivation. For teachers, such an research will also have beneficial

effects, aiding in methodological choices, helping in the recognition of individual differences and

improving teacher-student understanding. English teachers should refresh and improve their own

teaching methods and techniques by utilizing varied tools. In order to maintain students

motivation and interest in learning TEFL in Moldovan schools, we hope the discussion in the

paper can provide some useful ideas for readers.


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CHAPTER I. PERSONALITY FACTORS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1. Affective Factors and Foreign Language AcquisitionHuman beings are emotional creatures. At the heart of all thought and meaning and action is

emotion. As intellectual as we would like to think we are, we are influenced by our emotions. It

is only logical then, to look at the affective (emotional) domain for some of the

most significant answers to the problems of foreign language acquisition.

The Affective Domain

What is the affective domain? The affective domain is difficult to describe scientifically. A large

number of variables are implied in considering the emotional side of human behavior in the

second language learning process. Affect refers to emotions or feelings. Understanding how

human beings feel and respond and believe and value is an exceedingly important aspect of a

theory of second language acquisition. Brown (2007, p.153) defines the affective domain as the

emotional side of human behavior, and it may be juxtaposed to the cognitive side. The

development of affective states or feelings involves a variety of personality factors, feelings about

ourselves and about others with whom we come into contact. The affective domain includes

many factors: empathy, self esteem, extroversion, inhibition, willingness to communicate,

anxiety, attitudes the list could go on. Some of them may seem at first rather far removed from

language learning, but when we consider the pervasive nature of language, any affective factor

can conceivably be relevant to second language learning.

More than three decades ago, Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues ( Krathwohl, Bloom &

Masia 1964) in Brown (2007,p.153) provided a useful definition of the affective domain that is

still widely used today. At the first level, the development of affectivity begins with receiving.

Persons must be willing to receive, listen to teacher or trainer, take interest in session or learning

experience, take notes, turn up, make time for learning experience, participate passively, be

willing to tolerate a stimulus, not avoid it, and give a stimulus their controlled or selected

attention. The second level of affectivity is responding. Persons must react and participate actively

in group discussion, manifest interest in outcomes, enthusiasm for action, question and probe

ideas, must suggest interpretation. The third level of affectivity involves valuing, placing worth on


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a thing, a behavior, or a person. Individuals must decide worth and relevance of ideas,

experiences; accept or commit to particular stance or action and express personal opinion. The

fourth level of affective domain is the organization of the values into a system of

beliefs, and establishing a hierarchy of values within a system. Finally, individuals become

characterized by and understand themselves in terms of theirvalue system. Individuals act

consistently in accordance with the values they have internalized and integrate beliefs, ideas, and

attitudes into a total philosophy or world view. It is at this level that problem solving, for example,

is approached on the basis of a total, self-consistent system. Understanding how human beings

feel and respond and believe and value is an exceedingly important aspect of a theory of foreign


In recent years the importance of affective issues has become a matter of debate and

extensive research among language teachers, linguists and researchers; and some variables were

found as having a high impact on success in EFL learning. Below will be briefly described some

of the most important affective factors in foreign language acquisition.

1.1 Self-esteem

Self-esteem is one of the most important factors of the affective domain. According to

Coopersmith (1967) in Brown (2007, p.154), the definition of self-esteem is a personal judgment

of worthiness that is expressed in attitudes that the individual holds towards himself, and indicates

the extent to which the individual believes in himself to be capable, significant and worthy. Self-

esteem is nothing else than the evaluation an individual makes with regard to him or herself, it

expresses an attitude of approval or disapproval and indicates the extent to which an individual

believes himself to be capable, significant and successful. Previous research indicates that self-

esteem plays an important role in language learning process. A person with higher self-esteem

tends to achieve better than the others and to have more success in the second language

acquisition because the person would not feel embarrass if they make mistakes. As Douglas

Brown (2007, p.154) beautifully expressed it, self-esteem is the most pervasive aspect of any

human behavior. People derive their self-esteem from the experiences with themselves and others

and from assessments of the external world around them.

In Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, Brown(2007, p.155) presents the general

levels of self-esteem : general or global self-esteem, which is self-appraisal over time and resistant


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to changes, specific self-esteem, which refers to one`s self-appraisals in particular life situations,

such as social interaction, work, education or home, and task self-esteem, which relates to

particular tasks within specific situations. Studies have shown that self-esteem can be modified

through direct instruction and that such instruction can help to improve the results of foreign

language acquisition (http://www.self-esteem-international.org/content/5-research.htm ). In such a

way, self-esteem can be modified and enhanced in a foreign language classroom. This is our task

as teachers to have influence both on the performance and emotional well-being of our students.

As Brown (2007, p.156) says, good teachers succeed because they give optimal attention to

linguistic goals and to the personhood of their students.

1.2 Inhibition

Another affective factor very important in language learning process is inhibition, referring tothe defense one build around himself. Inhibition is closely related to self esteem: the weaker the

self-esteem; the stronger the inhibition to protect the weak ego. As Douglas Brown (2007, p.157)

noted all human beings try to protect the ego. Only the newborn babies have no concept of their

own self, but they begin to create it in the childhood together with the growing degrees of

awareness and responding. The physical, emotional and cognitive changes of the adolescents

make them create defensive inhibitions to protect the fragile ego. And the adulthood continues

with more building of defenses and inhibitions.

Alexander Guiora et al. (1972) in Brown (2007, p.158) proposed a fascinating theory called

the language ego to explain a persons identity which he develops with his/her second language

acquisition. He explains that young children are very egocentric and do not recognize a separation

between themselves and the world around them. But as they become adults they develop

inhibitions about this self identity which is associated with second language acquisition and the

language ego. They become anxious about making mistakes and seeming foolish in their new

language identity. An adaptive language ego enables learners to lower the inhibitions that may

impede success.

As Brown (2007, p.159) stated, language learning implies a great deal of self-exposure as it

necessarily involves making mistakes. But these mistakes can be experienced as threads to the

self. Classroom experience shows that the teacher`s attitude towards mistakes can reinforce these

barriers creating learning blocks. In short, this produces in the learner a deep-seated fear of


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inadequacy and deficiency. And only the removal of defenses promotes language learning.

Fortunately, our aim as teachers focuses on students` strengths rather than weaknesses, what is a

powerful way to break down learning blocks and overcome inhibition.

1.3 Risk TakingLinguists defined risk-taking as an ability of being eager to try out new information

intelligently regardless of embarrassment in linguistics. Risk-taking is not only the third affective

domain in personality factors but also one of the important parts in learning second language.

Although it may be impulsive and too awkward to make a mistake, a good learner should require

this characteristic in order to succeed in Second Language Acquisition. According to Brown

(2000), interaction requires the risk of failing to produce intended meaning, of failing to interpret

intended meaning, of being laughed at, of being shunned or rejected. The rewards, of course, aregreat and worth the risks.Good language learners are never afraid to take the risk and to makeintelligent guesses. In other words, risk-taking is a crucial interactive process to learn a language

in the TEFL classroom.

Beebe (1983, p.40) in Brown (2007, p.160) illustrated that encouraged dread of risk-taking

both in classroom and in natural settings can cause some of negative ramifications, such as a bad

trade in the course, a fail on the exam, a scolding from teacher, a sneer from a classmate,

punishment or embarrassment either inside the classroom or outside the classroom. It means that

any negative factors inside or outside of the classroom may weaken second language learners

intention of risk-taking.

In the conclusion, risk-taking is one of qualities in the affective domain of the personality factors

which is associated with success in foreign language learning. In many research shown, the key

point to accomplish the goal on speaking a fluent language is to risk-take inside and outside the

foreign language environment.

1.4 Anxiety

Anxiety as an affective factor is defined as "an abnormal or overwhelming sense of

apprehension and fear marked by physiological signs" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

1998). Spielberger defined it as the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and


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worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system (Spielberger, 1983 in Brown,

2007, p.161).

Moreover, it is one of the significant affective factors for foreign language learners. Most

people have experienced feelings of anxiousness when they learn a foreign language. According to

Scovel (1978: http://tesl-ej.org/ej41/a2abs.html), anxiety is associated with feelings of uneasiness,

frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, or worry. Foreign language anxiety can produce physiological

symptoms such as sweaty palms and increased heart rate, psycholinguistic effects on performance

such as freezing up when required speaking, and behavioral symptoms such as absenteeism. It is

quite common amongst students to have oral expression anxiety and it can have some effects on

their second language performance.

Research suggests that anxiety can be experienced at various levels, trait anxiety and stateanxiety (Oxford 1999). Trait anxiety is the permanent predisposition to be anxious while state

anxiety is experienced in relation to some particular situation (Brown 2007, p.161). Language

anxiety is part of state anxiety. There are three components in the language anxiety:

communication apprehension, fear of negative social evaluation and test anxiety.

Douglas Brown (2007, p.162) makes also the distinction between debilitative and facilitative

anxiety, or what Oxford (1999,

http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/resourcesitem.aspx.resourceid=1315 ) called harmful and

helpful anxiety. Many studies (Horwitz et al.1986; MacIntyre and Gardner1991; Young1991;

Phillips 1992) on state anxiety indicate that foreign language anxiety can have a negative effect on

the language learning process. Conversely, Bailey (1983, in Brown, 2007) notes that a certain

concern some apprehension - over a task to be accomplished is a positive factor. This kind of

anxiety is described as facilitating the learning process. Bailey (1983, in Brown, 2007) describes

facilitative anxiety as one of the keys to success in learning foreign languages. In such a way, a

certain degree of anxiety can be useful and even necessary to achieve, but too much anxiety can

have an inhibiting effect and impede the process of successful language learning. It is apt to every

good teacher to analyze his anxious students and to understand if their anxiety is a trait

(permanent) or a state (momentary) one to help the students to promote a facilitative anxiety

which will help them succeed in foreign language learning process.

1.5 Empathy


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Empathy is another important affective factor in TEFL. It is a concept that has its origin in

the Greek word empathius, meaning understanding others by entering their world. Brown (2007,

p.165) defines it as "the process of reaching beyond the self to understand what another person is

feeling. Empathy refers to peoples willingness and ability to identify with others. Empathy is

not synonymous with sympathy. Empathy implies more possibility of detachment. Guiora et al.

(1972) in Brown (2007) defines empathy as a process of comprehending in which a temporary

fusion of self-object boundaries permits an immediate emotional apprehension of the affective

experience of another. It means putting oneself into someone elses shoes of reaching beyond

the self and understanding and feeling what another person understands or feels.

Brown (2007, p.165) holds that there are two necessary aspects to the development and

exercising of empathy: first, awareness and knowledge to ones own feeling, and second,

identification with another person. Empathy is thought to contribute to the attitudes people have

towards a person or a group with a different language and culture from our own, and it may

contribute to the degree of success with which a person learns another language. With empathy,

one does not necessarily give up his own way of feeling or totally agree with the position of the

other, he is just able to imagine and share the thoughts or feelings. Empathy is perhaps the most

important factor in the harmonious coexistence of individuals in society.

As applied to foreign language learning, it is believed that individuals who are sensitive to the

feelings of other would be expected to recognize unique characteristics in the other language, and

thus acquire it more readily than those who are less sensitive. When learners pronounce the

foreign language in a more or less foreign language way, they temporarily lose their first language

identity and take on that of another personthey empathize. The ease with which learners are

able to empathize depends on the flexibility of their ego boundaries. Some people are more

flexible and less inhibited than others and they find it easier to accommodate two identities, the

native language and the foreign language. It is believed that highly empathic Foreign Language

learners are more likely to identify with the communicative behavior of users of the target

language.

1.6 Extroversion

Extroversion and its counterpart, introversion, are also potentially important factors in the

acquisition of a second language. The terms are often misunderstood because of a tendency to


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In order to provide successful instruction, teachers need to learn to identify and understand

their students individual differences. A feature of individual differences, which enters almost every

area of life is that of personality type. This can be assessed with an instrument know as the Myers

Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Briggs Myers, 1998, http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-

personality-type/mbti-basics). The MBTI is based on Jungian psychology and is used to describe

different personality types and the different ways individuals with these traits approach a task. The

MBTI is used to present four scales representing four pairs of preferences: Extraversion and

Introversion; Sensing and Intuition; Thinking and Felling; and Judging and Perceiving. These

preferences result in 16 learning types. MBTI theory believes that people have individual

preferences concerning what they pay attention to, how they make decisions, draw conclusions and

how they approach, and respond, to tasks.

2.1 The Pairs of Preferences

As it was said before, the theory identifies four pairs of preferences. A person will choose one

preference from each pair, giving them a profile of four; usually they will be guided by their

questionnaire results and a licensed coach but the basic theory is easily understood and

applied(http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/an-introduction-to-the-myersbriggs-type-

indicator-mbti-2031091.html). The key word here is "preference". It does not identify ability or

skill, which can be learned and developed, but rather an inborn preference similar to left- or right-

handedness. After all, you can learn to sign your name with the other hand quite competently but

your preferred hand will always feel more natural. The four pairs are as follows.

Extroversion (E) Introversion (I). An Extrovert is said to receive energy from outside

sources, whereas an Introvert is more concerned with the inner world of ideas and is more

likely to be involved with solitary activities. This trait does not just describe whether a

person is outgoing or shy, but considers whether a person prefers working alone or feels

energized and at home working in a team.

Sensing (S) Intuition (N). A Sensing preference relies on gathering information

through the five senses, attending to concrete, practical facts. Sensers are less likely to see

the bigger picture and more likely to follow a step by step approach. An Intuitive thinker

is more likely to be drawn by abstract possibilities, meanings and relationships and will be

drawn by the innovative and theoretical.


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Thinking (T) - Feeling (F). A Thinking person is more likely to prefer decisions made

in an impersonal, logical, objective manner. A Feeling person will make decisions based

more on personal values, relationships and the feelings of others. Women are more likely to

be Feelers.

Judging (J) Perceiving (P). This personality preference describes how a person deals

with the outside world. The Judger is more likely to look for a planned and controlled life,

seeking closure, preferring planning and regulation. The Perceiver deals with the outside

world through sensing or intuition, but prefers spontaneity, flexibility, freedom and

autonomy.

2.2 Individual Differences of Learners in FL Classroom

A few comments are given below relating personality indicators to classroom practice. This

information is offered to help clarify the relevance of the four indicators to language learning

experiences. While it is recognized that the ability of teachers to take student personality into

account may be limited by class size, it is felt that an awareness of these individual differences by

both student and teacher is essential for the most effective use of the methodologies available in the

classroom.

There is some clear evidence that extroverted students learn foreign languages better because

of their willingness to interact with others and because of their reduced inhibitions. Extroverted

students are more likely to prefer interactive role-plays and group work (Ehrman & Oxford, 1995 in

Brown, 2007). Introverted personalities may not have so many friends, and have a preference for

working in pairs or smaller groups. They may prefer individual activity, perhaps with one clear

purpose. Working in groups may well be less successful, because of a reluctance to participate in

speaking activities.

Sensing students use strategies, which prefer concrete facts and use a methodical approach,

with less interest in the abstract principles of language. Thus, teaching suggestions might include

making learning goals very clear and consistent. Sensing learners are less likely to be creative.

Intuition students may use abstract principles of language in a more divergent way and feel

relaxed with guessing, predicting and other compensation strategies.


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Those with a Thinking preference, rather than a Feeling preference prefer more analysis of

language data and have a greater ability to see details rather than the global picture. They prefer

learning strategies that dissect and analyze and find contrasts and cause-effect relationships.

Thinkers are less likely to guess or use compensation strategies like paraphrasing.

Those with a Feeling preference see things more globally and seek holistic strategies such as

guessing, predicting, paraphrasing, with avoidance of grammatical analysis. Differences between

Thinking and Feeling seem to relate to field independence andfield dependence - the degree of

ability to separate insignificant detail from significant detail. Field dependence types performed

best in classrooms where there was less language analysis. Field independent was better in

classrooms where analytical concerns dominated. It may be that field dependent (Feeling) students

outperform field independent (Thinking)(http://www.personalitypathways.com/MBTI_intro.html).

Judgers need clear direction and clear grammar rules. Perceivers accept higher levels of

confusion and are more persistent in their language learning, treating language learning more like

a game (Ely, 1989, http://www.esl-lab.com/person1.htm). Cross-culturally there may be a strong

connection between Judging and Perceiving and learning strategy use. Perceivers often use more

communicative strategies and are generally better language learners than Judgers (Horning &

Sudol, 1997 http://www.esl-lab.com/person1.htm,).

3. Motivation the neglected heart of language teaching

Motivation is another affective variable, but probably the most important and the most studied

one. Most researchers and educators would agree that motivation "is a very important, if not the

most important factor in language learning" (Van Lier 1996, http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lile-

Motivation.html), without which even 'gifted' individuals cannot accomplish long-term goals,

whatever the curricula and whoever the teacher. The word motivation is coined from the Latin word

"movere", which means to move. Motivation is defined as an internal drive that activates behavior

and gives it direction (http://ezinearticles.com/?Motivation-Theory&id=410700). The term

motivation theory is concerned with the processes that describe why and how human behavior is

activated and directed. It is regarded as one of the most important areas of study in the field of

organizational behavior. Even though there are different motivation theories, none of them are

universally accepted. Motivation has been called the neglected heart of language teaching. Without

student motivation, there is no pulse, there is no life in the class. Motivation provides a source of


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energy that is responsible for why learners decide to make an effort, how long they are willing to

sustain an activity, how hard they are going to pursue it, and how connected they feel to the

activity. A number of studies conducted in the field of TEFL have shown that motivation is crucial

to successful foreign language learning.

3.1 Instrumental and Integrative Motivation

Gardner and Lambert (1959) in Brown (2007, p.171) have done pioneering work to explore

the nature of motivation specific to language study. Gardner highlights two different types of

motivation:

1)Instrumental motivation : the desire to learn a language because it would fulfill certain

utilitarian goals, such as getting a job, passing an examination, etc. Do your best at school, it is

so important for your future is a motivating advice that many parents and teachers use around the

world. Schooling is future-oriented. Many students are motivated to do their best and to do well

because they want to follow a particular type of education in high school, college or graduate

school and to have a particular profession in adult life.

This component of their total motivation that derives from the future goals that are contingent

upon present schoolwork and school grades is called instrumental motivation. Learning and

getting good grades have a utility value

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/alexenoamen/ways-motivating-efl-esl-students-

classroom ) when they are perceived as instrumental for achieving other goals in the near or

distant future. This implies that instrumental motivation requires that students have set goals for

themselves in the near and distant future, that they developed a future orientation or future time

perspective (FTP). Future time perspective is motivationally relevant because it gives utility value

or instrumental value to present learning activities. As a consequence additional instrumental

motivation will be added to the already present intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

2)Integrative Motivation. Integrative motivation is the most elaborate and researched

aspect of Gardner's motivation theory, which is defined as a "motivation to learn a second

language because of positive feelings toward the community that speaks that language" (Gardner,

1985, www.stanford.edu). So, integrative motivation means a desire to identify oneself with the

FL community. The learner is interested in other cultural groups and wants to make contacts with


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speakers of other languages or wants to be fully a member of target language community.

According to Gardners socio-educational model (www.stanford.edu ), An integrative

orientation involves an interest in learning an FL because of a sincere and personal interest in the

people and culture represented by the other language group. To sum up, learners with integrative

motivation are more active in class and are less likely to drop out. However, integrativeness is not

always the main motivational factor in FL learning; some learners, such as those living in

bilingual areas, may be more influenced by other factors like self-confidence or friendship.

A distinction has been made in the literature between integrative and instrumental

motivation: the desire to identify with and integrate into the target-language culture, contrasted

with the wish to learn the language for the purpose of study or career promotion. Gardner and

Lambert (1959, http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/motivationvariables ) showed that success

in a foreign/second language is likely to be lower if the underlying motivational orientation is

instrumental rather than integrative. But research since then has cast doubt on the application of

this claim to foreign language learners in general. In any case, at least one other study has

indicated that it may be impossible in practice to distinguish between the two.

3.2 Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation: According to Brown (2007, p.172), extrinsic motivation is fueled by

the anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self. Extrinsic motivation comes from

rewards and incentives that are positive reinforcements. An example of extrinsic motivation is a

student studying and getting a 10 on an exam because the reward of a ski trip motivated him.

Completing a project for work ahead of schedule because an employee knows that raises are

coming soon is an example of extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation comes from within a person. While this motivation

is often strong, it is hard to maintain at times especially when something bad is happening in a

persons life. Everyone wants to be happy, to achieve life goals, have high morals and values,

have plenty of friends, and simply be able to survive in the world. Intrinsic motivation makes a

person strive for these things in daily life. Intrinsic motivation will make a person take a look in

the mirror and say, I can do it. This type of motivation will also make someone take a few

minutes and reflect on what is important in his or her life. It will make them question why they are

seeking out their goals and what they are willing to risk in order to attain them.


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Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are time and context dependent. They

characterize people at a given point in time in relation to a particular activity. The same activity

can be intrinsically or extrinsically motivating for different people. Jons English class is

extrinsically motivating for Paul but intrinsically motivating for Julia. As another example,

assume that Scott and Rhonda play the banjo. Scotts intrinsic motivation is high because he plays

for enjoyment, whereas his extrinsic motivation is low. In contrast, Rhondas extrinsic motivation

is high because she plays largely as a means to the end of playing well enough to earn money in a

Dixieland band. Rarely does she play for intrinsic reasons.

Because intrinsic motivation is contextual, it can change over time. Many things that young

children find interesting (e.g., Sesame Street) gradually lose their appeal as children become older.

Do students learn better when they enjoy the content, or can they learn just as well if their goal is

to please the teacher, earn good grades, or stay out of trouble with parents? We can all remember

times when we were intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn. Students can learn for

intrinsic or extrinsic reasons. Nonetheless, working on a task for intrinsic reasons is not only more

enjoyable, there also is evidence that across grade levels, intrinsic motivation relates positively to

learning, achievement, and perceptions of competence, and negatively to anxiety (Gottfried, 1985,

http://www.education.com/reference/article/characteristics-intrinsic-extrinsic/?page=2).

These benefits presumably occur because students who are intrinsically motivated engage in

activities that enhance learning: They attend to instruction, rehearse new information, organize

knowledge and relate it to what they already know, and apply skills and knowledge in different

contexts. They also experience a sense of self-efficacy for learning and are not burdened down

with anxiety. In turn, learning promotes intrinsic motivation. As students develop skills, they

perceive their progress and feel more efficacious about learning. Heightened self-efficacy and

positive outcome expectations raise intrinsic motivation and lead to further learning

The main difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is the goals of the students.

With intrinsic motivation, the student studies subject material for the sake of learning. These

students find studying enjoyable and learning new ideas as a reward itself. Extrinsically motivated

students study for the sake of outside influences such as getting teacher and peer praise, acquiring

a good grade or some other type of reinforcement that a teacher or peer might offer.


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to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and

after the game (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005

www.muve.gse.harvard.edu/.../Dede_Games_Symposium_AERA_2005 )

y The variety and intensity that games often may lower anxiety (Richard-Amato, 1988, http://tesl-ej.org/ej41/a2abs.html ) and encourage shyer learners to take part, especially when games are

played in small groups.

y Games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing, anda number of skills are often involved in the same game (Lee, 1995).

y Games are student-centered in that students are active in playing the games, and games can oftenbe organized such that students have the leading roles, with teachers as facilitators.

1.1 When and how to use games?

Games can play a range of roles in the language curriculum. Traditionally, games have been

used in the language class as warm-ups at the beginning of class, fill-ins when there is extra time

near the end of class, or as an occasional bit of spice stirred into the curriculum to add variety. All

these are fine, but games can also constitute a more substantial part of language courses. Children

often are very enthusiastic about games, but precisely for that reason, some older students may

worry that games are too childish for them.

As with other learning activities, teachers need to pay careful attention to the difficulty level of

games. Part of the appeal of games lies in the challenge, but if the challenge is too great, some

students may become discouraged. The challenge can be of two kinds: understanding how to play

the game and understanding the language content.

1.2 Types of language games

Classifying games into categories can be difficult, because categories often overlap. Hadfield

(1999, http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/lessons/index.pl?read=3080 ) explains two ways

of classifying language games. First, she divides language games into two types: linguistic games

and communicative games. Linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as supplying the correct

antonym. On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information


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and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are

similar to one another but not exactly alike. Correct language usage, though still important, is

secondary to achieving the communicative goal. As with the classification of games as linguistic

games or communicative games, some games will contain elements of more than one type.

Sorting, ordering, or arranging games. For example, students have a set of cards with

different products on them, and they sort the cards into products found at a grocery store and

products found at a department store.

Information gap games. In such games, one or more people have information that other people

need to complete a task. For instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needs to

create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing.

Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game justdescribed, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in

a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person has a slightly different picture, and the task is to

identify the differences.

Guessing games. These are a variation on information gap games. One of the best known

examples of a guessing game is 20 Questions, in which one person thinks of a famous person,

place, or thing. The other participants can ask 20 Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess

who or what the person is thinking of.

Stick a card- Word Guessing Game: With this game the teacher splits the class into two teams

and calls up a student from one team to the front of the class. The teacher sticks a card or word on

the students back. Make sure the other students sitting down know what is on the students back,

but not the student standing. The student standing has to ask the others many questions to guess

what is stuck on his/her back. Needless to say that other the students cant tell the student directly,

what the word is. Also, discourage the use of the mother tongue in helping the student guess. Any

student looses a point if they try and tell the student directly or use the mother tongue. Students

can help him/her guess the word by giving him/her only verbal clues, but only after the student

standing has ask a question. For example if the word PIG was stuck behind a students back, s/he

should ask questions like this: Is it a person?, Is it an animal?. Then the class says Yes it is

animal. The student standing can follow up to ask Is it a farm animal?.The student asks


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questions until s/he has guessed the word correctly and scores a point for his/her team. Set a time

limit if need be.

Guessing the numbers game....You choose a number on the white board, then u hide the number

with your hand or with small object like small board...etc. then the students start guessing the

numbers. for example if you choose the number 5, then the student guess number 7 you say down,

then if someone says 4 you say up until u get to the number 5 and then they win the game ...you

play again..

Word game or tailing or word tail..you choose a letter like s, then the students try to find a word

that start with the letter s- study, y- young, g- go, o- open, new, w- window.....etc. you can play

many letters.

Bingo Game...You have the kids to play bingo and have great fun, they need a sheet of paper

and you need to choose how many words in that bingo game. You can choose for example, 16

boxes and then tell the students to fill them up with words you choose. After you are finished

filling out the boxes with the words you have chosen then you can start calling out the words, each

word you call the students have to cross it out, and at the end you see how many horizontal lines

and how many vertical line they have. The one with most lines would win the game.

Search games. These games are yet another variant on two-way information gap games, with

everyone giving and seeking information. Find Someone Who is a well known example. Students

are given a grid. The task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fits

that cell, e.g., someone who is a musician. Students circulate, asking and answering questions to

complete their own grid and help classmates complete theirs. There can be included also all the

word searches and crosswords. This icebreaker is a fun way to get ESL students working together

and feeling comfortable with one another. Divide the class into teams of 3-5 students. On the

board write a list of 15 or so objects that the teams have to find in their bags, pockets, etc Go

through the list making sure everyone understands the vocabulary. Teams have 5 min. to try to

find as many things as they can from the list. Students must put the things together on their table

Give each team one point for each item they can produce from the list. The team with the most

points wins! Students in each team warm up to each other quickly as they scramble to get all the

items together!


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Matching games. As the name implies, participants need to find a match for a word, picture,

or card. In each game you have to find a matching pair,that is two words that correspond with

each other. In Matching Opposites, for example, you have to find two words that have opposite

meanings (ex: good and bad), or to practice differentiating grammatical forms. Another example,

students place 30 word cards, composed of 15 pairs, face down in random order. Each person

turns

2. Using Pictures

Pictures have the advantage of being easy to prepare, easy to organize, being interesting,

meaningful and authentic. Visual images encourage the learner to predict, infer, and deduce

information from a variety of sources. Color pictures are a great way to attract students attention

giving them an option to learn with pleasure. Many ESL teachers who used our English lessonplans told us that students enjoyed matching words and pictures and even asked for more tasks

with visual aids and suchlike. Images help to bring the outside world into the classroom, and thus

help to make the situation more real and in turn help the learner to use appropriate associated

language. They especially contribute to interest and motivation. For example, try this "Spot the

similarity" activity. Ask the students to get into pairs, give each student or pair of students a

picture that the other(s) must not see. Tell them that they have pictures that are very different from

each other, and ask them to describe these pictures to each other with the aim of finding as many

similarities as they can. After several minutes, ask them to look at the two pictures and see what

other similarities they can find.

We can use also English Vocabulary Games with Pictures. Ask the student to find word to

picture or picture to word correspondence. This activity is very good for reinforcing the new

vocabulary and keeping the students motivated.

Pictures can be used also for:

Discussion

Ask the students: Who/what is in the picture? (Give the characters names, ages, etc.)Where are

they?*What is happening now?What do you think has happened before this point?What do you

think will happen next? (Try to elicit more than one outcome.)Will there be a happy ending?


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Vocabulary.

As you go through the questions above, list all the vocabulary suggested on the board. Try not to

preempt the students: this should come from their reactions and their ideas about the picture, not

yours.

Writing.

Depending on your students, have them work either on their own or in pairs to write out the story.

It should have a beginning, a middle and an end, as discussed during the question time. Encourage

them to make it funny.

Variations on a theme.

Find a number of pictures (6-10) that are not very different in theme. (For example landscapes of

various places.) Place them so that each student can see them well. Ask the students to choose oneof the pictures and write a description of it within a given time limit. When they are done, put all

the descriptions on the wall/board. Give each picture a letter and each description a number, and

ask students to match them.

Notes: If you want to make it into a competition, you can award a point for each correct guess, and

give the author of a description points according to the number of students who guessed his/her

description correctly. You can also take these descriptions home and get valuable data on the

common mistakes in your group.

Speaking

Which picture is it about? Give each student a picture (their topic can be anything). Ask them to

write a sentence about the picture they have, but in a way so that it shouldn't be very easy to guess

which picture the sentence is about. Stress that the sentence must be true. Ask the students to

hand their pictures over to their neighbour on the right and write a sentence about their new

picture. Continue until everybody's had each picture. Put all the pictures on the wall/board and ask

the students to read one of their sentences. If the others can't guess which picture it's about, he/she

gets a point.

Notes :You can also practice grammar with this activity by requiring students to use a certain

structure, for example "There is/are ...". You can also take these descriptions home and get

valuable data on the common mistakes in your group.

How to get to my house


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Prepare a (simple) map of a town. Name some of the buildings, and make sure you've got a

railway station. Make as many copies as the number of students in your group. Mark a different

building on each map. Assign each pupil a partner to whom he/she will be writing. Tell them that

their task is to write a letter to their penfriend explaining the way to their home from the railway

station. (The marked building on their maps is their house.) When the letters are finished, the

students 'send' them to their penfriends, who try to find the building on the map based on the

description they got. Ask them to compare their maps for checking. The above activities can be

used as warm-up exercises that cultivate students' interest and help students enjoy their class. The

activities have a positive effect on students and make them want to listen and speak more.

eading Concrete Words Using Matching. This task uses pictures that illustrate settings

common to the students' daily lives and school experiences. The pictures depict a number of

concrete nouns. Sample Task.Instructions (In two languages)"Look at the picture (Pause). Look at

the words around the picture (Pause.) Find the biggest word. What is that word? (Students will

say, "Table.") A line has been drawn from that word to the TABLE to match them. In the same

way, please find all the words that you know and draw a line to match them with the right object

in the picture. Make sure that the ends of your lines touch the words and the things in the picture.

You will have five minutes to complete the exercise."

Instructions. Written Words Should...Be concrete nouns. Not be highly culture-specific.

Consist of 12 to 20 different words. Be scattered around the picture but not too far from the


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objects. Be scattered randomly, so that the directions of the lines, when drawn by the students,

will show random patterns to prevent students from guessing from a systematic pattern of lining.

Have one example word that is familiar to all students and is bigger than the rest of the words.

Difficulty ofItems. The task will contain words of varying degrees of difficulty, ranging from

very easy items to difficult items. About 10% of the written items will be words that may be

challenging to the advanced level students of the test-taker group. About 20% of the words will be

very easy. The difficulty will be determined on the basis of the frequency of word use, complexity

of the graphic image, and the meaning of the word.

3. More Motivating Techniques

3.1 Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an ideal warm-up activity because it takes little time. Also, it can be

explained easily and be used with any chosen topic. There was only one type of brainstorming

used in this study. However, some others are listed below with brief examples and many other

types can be imagined.

Simple Word Lists List all the animals that live in Moldova. Write down a food that begins

with each letter of the alphabet. Make a list of animals starting with the smallest animal and

getting bigger.

Brainstorming on a Picture Pictures are a rich source of inspiration for brainstorming.

Strange events evoke the biggest variety of responses. Most students will let their imagination

roam if the pictures are strange enough. Ask the students: What are these people doing? List the

objects in the picture. What is this man thinking about? Write four words to describe this person.

Brainstorming Using a Song Songs are wonderful for reducing nervousness. They seem to be

particularly effective in whole-class brainstorming when the teacher is writing the ideas on the

board. Play a song for the class and ask questions like the following: How does the singer feel?

What do you think the singer looks like? Suggest titles for this song. When do you think that this

song was written?


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Word-mapping or Phrase-mapping Around a Central Theme. Write a word or phrase in the

center of a page. All the other words or phrases should link off this in a logical manner. Word-

mapping can be useful for establishing groups of similar things, for example animals or food.

Phrase-mapping can be useful for developing topics or functions.

Changing One Word in a Sentence Each Time. Each word must be changed, but each

sentence must have a meaning. This can be useful to show the students the role of each word in a

sentence prior to a substitution drill or other activities. It can be a fun activity to do on the

blackboard. Example :Peter played flute in the orchestra. Peter played flute in the park. John

played flute in the park. John played soccer in the park.

Prediction. Guess what the speaker will say next. This can be used in conjunction with

dialogues in textbooks. It is a powerful technique to encourage students to take a risk. If thedialogue is recorded, stop the tape and ask the students to predict what the speaker will say.

Free Association. This is best done orally and can be a lot of fun. One student gives a word in

your chosen topic and asks another student to say the first word that she thinks of. The second

student continues to make associations. The first student simply repeats the word in each case.

After making about 10 associations, the first student should try to work backwards from the last

association to the original word. Example :A : apple B : red

Variation : Free association in pairs or in groups. Students make the associations from the

previous student's word.

Group StorytellingStudents work in groups and take turns adding to a story, either spoken or

written. It is usually better to give the first line of the story. Example: John was late for school

becauseStudent A : he missed the train Student C : so he went to a game center. If the students are

writing, it is interesting to write several stories at the same time.

Brainstorming is a very useful activity that can be easily introduced into language classes.

The research study previously discussed shows that it helps our students to become better learners.

In addition, it is a fun activity which students enjoy and well worth trying out in your own classes.

3.2 Role-play


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Role play is another technique to vary the pace the lesson and to respond to the fundamental

notion of variety in teaching. Teachers are advised to use the role- play activity in order to

motivate their students and to help the less motivated learners take part in the lesson. Besides,

certain tasks in the students book are followed by a role- play activity where it becomes a

necessity to undergo such an activity. As good examples of that we can state: the hide (item) and

guessing game, dramatizing an interview of customer and shop assistant, doctor and patient

conversation, etc

Lost Person - Role-play(past simple/continuous) Draw a stick figure on the board, choose a

student to be the customer and the teacher plays detective. Mix up past simple/continuous

questions. Put the students in groups of 2 or to carry out the activity. Context: You lost a friend 10

years ago ...now you want to find him /her again.....for some reason: money, love; you go to a

private detective to find your friend.

Private Detective - May I help you?

Customer- Yes, I lost my best friend 10 years ago.

I'm trying to find him.

Ok. Where/lose....?

I lost......................

What happened?

Well...................What did.....?

What

When

How

Why

Where

...................... work?

.......................wear?

......................live?

....................look like?

....................name?

3.4 Tongue Twisters


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Using tongue twisters is a common EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching technique

because it helps EFL students to learn correct pronunciation of English words, to correctly use

vowels and consonants and to become familiar with common English words, all while making the

learning process fun. To incorporate tongue twisters into ESL teaching, create games that

challenge the students' minds and motor skills, while still keeping the learning of a language fun.

Tongue Twister Race

During this game, each row of students is a team. If you only have a few students, each student

could be her own team. Write a tongue twister on the board and then give the students a few

minutes to practice it. Then, pick a team to go first, start a stopwatch and have each student stand

up and say the tongue twister. When one student finishes, the next one stands up. After the whole

team has said the tongue twister, you write their time on the board. The team with the shortesttime wins. This helps the ESL students learn to quickly and correctly speak the English words.

Teamwork Tongue Twister

Write a tongue twister on the board and allow the students to memorize the tongue twister for a

few minutes. Then, erase the line from the board, which forces the students to use their memories.

Have each student take turns saying one word of the tongue twister. For example, student one

would say "how", student two would say "much" and student three would say "wood" and so on.

Keep going down the line. When someone messes up, have him sit down and continue with who is

left. This helps the ESL students to remember and understand the English words.

Tongue Twister Telephone

Using a variation of the game Telephone, have students sit in a circle in small groups. Have one

student from each group come to the front of the room and receive a tongue twister written on

paper. Have that student read the phrase, run back to her group and whisper it in the next student's

ear. Then that student will whisper it in the next student's ear and so on, until the end of the circle

is reached. The last person to hear the tongue twister says it out loud. The group that is quickest

and closest to the original phrase wins. This gives the ESL students practices in speaking correct

pronunciation of the English words.

These are some of the most popular tongue twisters we used in our EFL classes:


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Conclusion

In recent years the importance of affective issues has become a matter of debate and extensive

research among language teachers, linguists and researchers. Personality factors, such as

motivation, anxiety, self-esteem, inhibition and personality type are very important in foreign


Research has shown that a learner who feels good about himself is more likely to succeed.

Introverted or anxious learners usually make slower progress, particularly in the development of

oral skills. They are less likely to take advantage of opportunities to speak, or to seek out such

opportunities. More outgoing students will not worry about the inevitability of making mistakes.

They will take risks, and thus will give themselves much more practice. Intrinsic motivated

students are the ones who enjoy language learning and take pride in their progress will do better

than those who don't. Extrinsic motivated EFL students are the ones who need to learn English in

order to take a place at an American university, or to have a better mark or a better job. They are

likely to make greater efforts and thus greater progress. Low motivation causes low achievement

in English language learning

Every affective factor is very important in EFL and must be taken into consideration at every

EFL lesson. The teachers need to be aware of individual learning styles and learner diversity.

Every foreign language learner requires first to be noticed, to be attended to, to be valued, to be

affirmed. Out of that attention and affirmation grow the confidence and, yes, the courage to learn.

Students who are given continuing, appropriate encouragement to learn by their teachers and

parents will generally fare better than those who aren't.

I n order to provide successful instruction, teachers need to learn to identify and understand

their students` personality factors. Teachers should motivate students into the lesson. The content

of the lesson needs to be relevant to their age and level of ability, and the learning goals need to be

challenging yet manageable and clear.

It is also very important to vary the activities, tasks, and materials in order to increase students

interest levels. The successful learners use anxiety positively and pair-work seems to have a good

effect on their learning. Therefore, pair-work and cooperative learning should be introduced in the


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language class more positively. There are different types of language games that are very

important in EFL classroom, such as: matching games, search games, guessing games,

information gap games, sorting, ordering, and arranging games. An EFL teacher can use also a lot

of motivating techniques, like brainstorming, warm-ups, tongue-twisters, role plays, songs and

pictures.

Teachers should take learners individual differences into account and to create a learning

environment in which more learners can be successful in learning a Foreign Language.


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Bibliography:

1. Veronica de Andres. Volumne VII 2002-03The Influence ofAffective Variables on EFL/ESLLearning and Teaching, from New Jersey website: http://www.njcu.edu/cill/vol7/andres.html

2. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lile-Motivation.html3. http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html4. http://tesl-ej.org/ej41/a2abs.html5. http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Article_1_June_as_2004.doc6. Brown, D. H. (2000). Principles of language learning & teaching. (4th ed.). New York:

Longman. (pp. 152-165)

7. Michael Rost Generating Student Motivation from www.longman.com/worlview8. Brown, D.H.(2007).Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (5ed.).New York: Pearson

Education, Inc (p.152 180)

9. http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?read=330010.http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Farmer-WarmDowns.html11.http://genkienglish.net/Warmup.htm12.Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, New York: Longman,199813.http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/motivationvariables14.http://www.education.com/reference/article/characteristics-intrinsic-extrinsic/?page=215.www.muve.gse.harvard.edu/.../Dede_Games_Symposium_AERA_200516.http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/lessons/index.pl?read=308017.http://tesl.tripod.com/tongue_twisters.html18.http://www.download-esl.com/tonguetwisters/easy/easytongue.html19.http://esl.about.com/od/englishlistening/a/ttwister_master.htm20.Dimitrios Thanasoulas Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom from

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Motivation.html

21.Michael Lessard-Clouston Language Learning Strategies: An Overview for L2 Teachers fromhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Lessard-Clouston-Strategy.html

22.http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-and-Suggestions-For-Motivating-ESL-Students


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