Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Professional Development NLP and Motivation
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation In the beginning… In the early 1970s, Richard Bandler was an undergraduate maths student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Doctor John Grinder was an associate professor in linguistics. Discovering similar interests at a time of increased interest in humanistic psychology, Bandler and Grinder set about combining their respective skills of computer science and linguistics, along with their ability to copy non-verbal behaviour, and developed ‘a new language of change’, soon to become NLP. They studied some successful therapists of the time, chiefly Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and Milton Erickson, and found that they followed similar patterns regarding language and types of behaviour used with their clients. Bandler and Grinder decided to find out what these specific patterns and beliefs were, and whether they could be used by others for personal development. These patterns developed into Neuro-Linguistic Programming, at the heart of which lie a group of presuppositions which guide and feed the whole approach. NLP has developed greatly since its early days and is still being rigorously investigated by exponents and opponents alike. There is little doubt that it has important ramifications for the way we live our lives, and NLP thinking is being drawn on for courses in self-development in fields as diverse as management, parenthood and teaching. Joseph O’Connor & John Seymour Introducing NLP Thornsons 1990
Task: • • • • •
Look at the list of NLP presuppositions How do you interpret each presupposition? What are the implications of each for you a) personally and b) as a teacher? What are the implications for your students as learners? Are there any presuppositions you would want to question?
NLP Presuppositions : •
Mind and body are interconnected : They are parts of the same system, and each affects the other
•
The map is not the territory : we all have different maps of the world
•
There is no failure, only feedback… and a renewed opportunity for success
•
The map becomes the territory: what you believe to be true either is true or becomes true
•
Knowing what you want helps you get it
•
The resources we need are within us
•
Communication is non-verbal as well as verbal
•
The non-conscious mind is benevolent
•
Communication is non-conscious as well as conscious
•
All behaviour has a positive intention
•
The meaning of my communication is the response I get
•
Modelling excellent behaviour leads to excellence
•
In any system, the element with the greatest flexibility will have the most influence on that system Adapted from: Jane Revell and Susan Norman In Your Hands NLP in EFL Saffire Press 1997 2
Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation Quiz – Teaching and Learning
Adapted from: Jane Revell and Susan Norman In Your Hands NLP in EFL Saffire Press 1997
Everything we do in the classroom is based on what we believe about teaching and learning. The purpose in this section is not to tell you what to believe. However, you might like to do this quiz to help you think about what you do believe and to know where NLP practitioners are coming from. Look at the statements and tick the right box for you. 1.
The most important person in the classroom is the student.
% agree
2.
% ????
% ????
% agree
% ????
7.
8.
% Disagree
Mistakes are good.
% agree
% ????
% Disagree
% ????
% Disagree
% ????
% Disagree
‘Chalk and talk’ is still the most efficient way to teach.
% agree 5.
% Disagree
It is essential to teach grammar to language learners.
% agree
9.
% ????
You should leave your private life outside the classroom.
% agree
% Disagree
Learning is a serious business.
The teacher’s job is to teach the subject.
% agree
% Disagree
There is no one right way to teach or learn anything
% agree 4.
% Disagree
The responsibility for learning lies with the teacher.
% agree
3.
% ????
6.
% ????
% Disagree
10. The teacher should know all the answers.
% agree
% ????
% Disagree
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation Teaching and Learning – What NLP practitioners believe
1. The most important person in the classroom is the student. Of course we agree. We believe in the importance of self-esteem and that each student has the right to be considered individually. Each student is important. All the students are important. And of course we disagree. The teacher is important too. We believe in respect and consideration for and from everyone in the classroom. 2. The responsibility for learning lies with the teacher. Yes – and no. The only person who can learn is the learner. Learning is a shared responsibility and depends on co-operation between students and teacher. We let the students know what we’re doing and why, both for the immediate benefits in the classroom and to give them the ability to continue learning beyond the classroom. ‘Learning to learn’ is an essential component of our lessons. 3. There is no one right way to teach or learn anything. Different students learn in different ways, just as they have different needs, different personalities and different contributions to make. There may be one right way for each person to learn, but even so, most people benefit from a variety. Many roads are good. We’ll try anything that works. What is important is to find the right way for each and to be flexible in our approach. 4. Learning is a serious business. Of course it is. And that’s why it’s crucially important to laugh about it, have fun and enjoy it. We believe that people learn best when they’re enjoying themselves. 5. Mistakes are good. Making a mistake when you’re driving a car can cost someone their life. On the other hand, practice makes perfect, and there are bound to be mistakes while we’re practising. The important thing is that our students know it’s OK to make mistakes and so are happy to take risks and experiment while they’re learning.
6. The teacher’s job is to teach the subject. Yes…but it’s the teacher’s job to teach the students in such a way that they learn the subject. We are educators and while teaching language, we are also communicating our values and beliefs. 7. You should leave your private life outside the classroom. Nonsense! Use your humanity, your experience. Use theirs. Of course, the focus needs to be on those aspects of life that enhance language learning, but we acknowledge when we’re feeling bad – and good – and encourage learners to do the same. We also encourage them to put their problems aside in the classroom and use the time for learning. For our part, teaching is a terrific way of letting go of our own worries. 8. It is essential to teach grammar to language learners. It’s essential to teach grammar, functions, vocabulary, the four language skills, pronunciation, fluency, accuracy… and lots more. We’ll teach anything that helps students learn to use the language better. It’s not either / or. We believe in and / also. 9. ‘Chalk and talk’ is still the most efficient way to teach. We disagree, although we do occasionally do it, along with all the other ways. In the main, we believe in eliciting rather than telling. We believe in a multi-sensory approach and learning through activity. We believe in engaging the learner’s intelligence and emotions. 10. The teacher should know all the answers. Whoops! If that were true, the profession would disappear! However, we do feel that teachers should always be learning and that our main responsibility is to learn how to help other people learn more effectively. We know we don’t know everything. Our students know it too, probably. So we share what we do know and we share the quest of finding out what we don’t know. Teaching is an excellent way of finding out exactly what we do know and of learning more – which is why we encourage our students to be the teacher sometimes too.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation Strongly agree = 2
0 = Disagree
1 = in between
A ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
B
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
C
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
I like to read books, magazines and newspapers I think I am a good writer I like to tell jokes and stories I can remember people's names easily I like to say tongue twisters I have a good vocabulary in my native language I often do arithmetic in my head I am good at chess and/or checkers (draughts) I like to put things into categories I like to play number games I love to figure out how my computer works I ask a lot of questions about how things work I can read maps easily I enjoy art I draw well Films and pictures really help me to learn new information. I love books with pictures. I enjoy putting puzzles together.
D ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
E
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
It is hard for me to sit quietly for a long time. It is easy for me to follow exactly what other people do. I am good at sewing, woodwork, building or mechanics. I am good at sports. I enjoy working every day. I enjoy running and jumping. I can hum the tunes to many songs. I am a good singer. I can play a musical instrument or I sing in a choir. I can tell when music sounds off-key. I often tap rhythmically on the table or desk. I often sing songs.
F ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
G
......... 1. ......... 2. ......... 3. ......... 4. ......... 5. ......... 6. How many?
A
I am often the leader in activities. I enjoy talking to my friends. I often help my friends. I have many friends. My friends often talk to me about their problems. I am a member of several clubs I go to the cinema alone I go to the library (or study centre) alone to study. I can tell you some things I am good at doing. I like to spend time alone. My friends find some of my actions strange sometimes. I learn from my mistakes
B
C
D
E
F
G
Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
What are you strongest at? Look below to see what it means... A.
You think... in words
Things you love... reading, writing, telling stories, playing word games
Things you need... books, tapes, pens and paper, diaries, discussion, debate.
B.
by reasoning
questioning, experimenting, working out logical puzzles, calculating, codes.
things to explore and think about, science materials, trips to science museums.
C.
in images and pictures
designing, drawing, visualising, doodling
art, lego, video, movies, mazes, puzzles, illustrated books to art galleries and museums.
D.
body awareness
dancing, running, building, touching, gesturing.
drama, movement, things to build, sports and physical games
E.
through rhythms and melodies
singing, whistling, clapping, humming, tapping feet and hands, listening.
concerts, music, musical instruments, pronunciation work
F.
by bouncing ideas off other people
leading, organising, relating, manipulating, partying.
friends, group games, community events.
G.
deeply inside yourself
setting goals, meditating, dreaming, being quiet, planning
secret places, time alone, choices
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Howard Gardner (1943-), a developmental psychologist at Harvard, has had a profound impact on teaching in the Unites States. He felt that intelligence tests: “value what we can measure, rather than measure what we value.”
An Intelligence: An ability to solve problems or to fashion products that is valued in a society A persons intelligence is made up of ‘parts’ Gardner identified eight types of intelligences Gardner insists that: all intelligences are ‘learnable’ – we can improve with practice our intelligence profile will change / develop over time none of the intelligences are mutually exclusive -it is possible (even desirable) to be both inter- and intra- personal.
Books of interest: Michael Berman: A Multiple Intelligence Road to an ELT Classroom Howard Gardner: Frames of Mind. The theory of multiple intelligences
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Activities to develop the Intelligences Linguistic Intelligence • group discussions • completing worksheets • giving presentations • listening to lectures
• reading • wordbuilding games • storytelling
Logical-mathematical Intelligence • logic puzzles • logical sequential presentations
• problem solving • guided discovery
Spatial Intelligence • charts • mind maps • visualisations
• diagrams • videos
Bodily-kinaesthetic Intelligence • mingling • role-play
• running dictation • acting
Musical Intelligence • songs • jazz chants
• background music
Inter-personal Intelligence • group work • brainstorming
• pair work • peer teaching
Intra-personal Intelligence • project work • learner diaries • reflective learning activities
• self-study • personal goal setting 8
Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Can you add any more?.................... VAKOG: How we experience the world We experience the world through our five senses or ‘representational systems’. In NLP the five systems are called ‘VAKOG’ for short: Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic Olfactory Gustatory
we look and see we hear and listen we feel externally (= tactile) we feel internally (= visceral or emotional) we feel movement (=psycho-motor) we smell things we taste
Unless we have physical or psychological problems, we all use all five systems, although the three most people predominantly use are V, A and K. Consider the following animals. What do you think their predominant systems are: cats and dogs bats fish eagles The systems we use to experience the world are called our primary representational systems. Depending to some extent on context, most people naturally tend to use one system more than the other two, or one system before the others, either when noticing things around them, or when learning something new. In NLP this is called the preferred primary representational system. There are some people who have such an extreme preference for one of the systems that they tend to ‘translate’ anything they experience into that system. There are people who ‘see’ music and ‘feel’ colours. Again, this is natural and you can probably do the same if you think about it enough. Try the following exercises: smell a new book feel some classical music taste the colour purple •
People who experience the world visually like to take information in through their eyes. They like to see things written down, read books, look at pictures, etc. They take notes (often neatly) to look at them again.
•
People who experience the world auditorily like to get information through their ears. They like to hear things being said, listen to cassettes and maybe repeat things in their own head. they would rather record a lecture than take notes.
•
People who experience the world kinaesthetically like to get information through their hands or bodies. They like to touch things, move their hands or feet and move around the room. They also take notes, not necessarily 9
Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation to look at them again but because the movement of their hand across the page helps them to absorb information. Adapted from: Jane Revell and Susan Norman In Your Hands NLP in EFL Saffire Press 1997
Finding out the intelligence profile of your learners, using, for practical reasons the VAKOG system further simplified to the dominant three, VAK, means a more effective, personalised learning programme can be created. NLP provides us with other important guidelines for improving our effectiveness as teachers.
The meaning of your communication is the response you get.
55%
Body language Voice tonality Words 7%
38%
Communication is non-verbal as well as verbal. From: Jane Revell and Susan Norman In Your Hands NLP in EFL Saffire Press 1997 Discuss: • • • •
How aware are you of your body language in class? Are the three channels (voice, body, words) in harmony? How loudly do you speak? Why? How do you use silence?
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Which of the following five senses do you associate with the following words? word
See
Hear
Feel
Smell
Taste
VAK Implications 1. If you know your preferred primary representational systems, you can make sure you get your information in the right sort of way. 2. But – the more the merrier! It’s also good to develop those systems you tend to use less, because the more systems you learn and store something in, the better chance you have of remembering it. 3. The traditional classroom has focused primarily on writing and listening, which mainly favours those with a visual or auditory system. Students who are strongly kinaesthetic have tended to lose out academically, while continually being told to stop fidgeting and sit up straight! 4.Your students will have different preferred representational systems or learning styles. You need to satisfy all of your students and not just the ones who share your own preference. you can also help your students become more flexible in the systems they use and enhance the ones they use less. This means teaching in multi-sensory ways, using as many channels as you can as much of the time as possible: stimulate your students visually, auditorily and kinaesthetically; olfactorily or gustatorily if you can! 5. Improving auditory acuity will obviously be of great benefit to students’ pronunciation when learning a foreign language. 6. When you revise or re-cycle language, try to do it using all three representational systems. – or at least in a different system from when you first presented it.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Teaching activities: Which of the following teaching activities favour the different representational preferences of the students? Write in the letter V, A or K against each activity. V /A/ K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Using lots of pictures, graphs, colours and shapes Using cassettes with varied voices, songs, music, rhythm and rhyme Having real objects for students to touch as they talk about them Oral drills (e.g. in the language laboratory) Decorating the classroom with pictures, students’ work, etc. Pausing when you speak from time to time to allow students to repeat what has been said (in their head or our loud) Allowing student to take notes Using mime and activities that get students moving Drama and role play Giving an overview of what you are going to teach Practical project work Engaging students’ feelings
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
A guided visualisation: the ice cream cone Make yourselves comfortable and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to help you relax. Just let your body breathe for you …. and be aware of the air coming in …. and the air going out …. breathing in .... breathing out .... breathing in .... breathing out .... Go inside now. imagine you’re standing in front of a whiteboard with a coloured marker in your hand. Now reach out to the board and draw a large circle on it .... Good .... Now step back and look at the colour and shape of your drawing, Now imagine an ice cream cone come appearing inside that circle .... It has all Your favourite flavours and toppings .... Perhaps you can see the colours of the ice cream and the cone .... Now reach into the circle and take the ice cream cone into your hand. (Pause.) It’s a very warm day and the ice cream is starting to melt .... just a bit .... so you’ll want to lick it all around .... tasting the creamy flavour .... and perhaps feeling the coolness on your tongue and the feeling as it slides down your throat .... and it can be fun to take a bite of the ice cream and get a mouthful .... How delicious that can be .... Now it’s time to let that image fade .... Just let it disappear, ..... and as I count slowly from five to one, you can get ready to open your eyes: 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Welcome back! Now take a few minutes in silence to write a description or draw a picture of the ice cream cone you enjoyed. You can then compare your ice creams with the others in the group. Berman, M Idioms newsletter Oct 99; Anglo World Publications
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
NLP Spelling Technique
Spelling phonetically is easy in phonetic languages like Japanese. However, English is not a phonetic language, so people (even native speakers) who use an auditory phonetic approach, tend to be poor spellers. (The word ‘phonetic’ isn’t even spelt how it sounds.) Good spellers in English are people who visualise the word (eyes looking up). They often then check how it feels kinaesthetically to write the word. Learners who try to remember Chinese style pictograms often draw the pictogram on their hand using their finger in an effort to remember or show which character they are referring to. you can teach an alternative technique to people who do not naturally spell well, and we find it is also very effective for foreign students learning the written form of new vocabulary. The steps are: 1. Hold a card up high with the word on it, or write it high on the board, so that students have to look up to see it. 2. Tell the students consciously to blink their eyes to take a mental photograph of the word. 3. They close their eyes and picture the word clearly, looking up inside their heads to see the ‘photograph’ they have just taken. 4. They write down the word from memory. 5. Repeat 1 – 4 as often as necessary until the students know the word. If necessary, break long words into shorter sections, or ask students to imagine any problem parts bigger. they can also try making the whole word bigger in their head. 6. To prove their success, ask them to visualise the word and then spell it backwards by ‘reading’ the letters from their heads. This is only possible if they can ‘see’ it.
“At its most basic level, motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes people to do things in order to achieve something.” 15
Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Harmer The Practice of English Language Teaching 2001 Longman Most people would agree that the more and better the motivation, the better the learner. What factors have motivated students in your experience?
David Ausubel (quoted in Mackey Language Teaching Analysis) lists six basic needs underpinning the construct of motivation:
6 Basic Needs contexts
Classroom
activities/
The need for exploration The need for manipulation The need for activity, movement and exercise (both physical and mental) The need for stimulation (by the environment) The need for knowledge The need for ego-enhancement. What classroom activities/contexts provide for (or could provide for) these basic needs? Write them in the space next to each need.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Skehan puts forward 4 hypotheses for motivation: 1. The Intrinsic Hypothesis: Motivation derives from an inherent interest in the learning tasks the learner is asked to perform. 2. The Resultative Hypothesis: Learners who do well persevere. Those who do less well will be discouraged and not try as hard. 3. The Internal Cause Hypothesis: The learner brings a certain amount of motivation to the learning situation as a given. 4. The Carrot and Stick Hypothesis: External influences and incentives will affect the strength of the learner’s motivation. More commonly – four main types of motivation have been suggested – can you match a type to a definition? TYPE
1. INTRINSIC
2. EXTRINSIC
3. INSTRUMENTAL
4. INTEGRATIVE
DEFINITION
a – carried out in anticipation of a reward from outside. Typical rewards might be money, prizes, grades and certain types of positive feedback. b – there is no apparent reward other than the activity itself. Activities are engaged in for their own sake and not for any reward. Behaviour aimed at bringing about rewarding consequences such as feelings of competence and selfdetermination. c – stems from learners’ desire to be part of a speech community – an externally generated “want” rather than an external need. d – reflection of an external need. Learners are not learning the language from any desire to learn the language, but learning the language is a necessary means to a desired /needed end – getting a job, selling things to speakers of the language, getting into university, etc.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
Here are some factors which might de-motivate learners – can you add any?
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Anxiety Fear of failure Fatigue Boredom Perceived Purposelessness Failure to identify or accept the roles implicit in a given task Disparity between instruction and assessment Failure of teacher to specify objectives
What reasons can you suggest for these behavioural problems? Can you suggest any ways of dealing with them? BEHAVIOUR Student never does homework.
POSSIBLE REASONS
POSSIBLE REMEDY
Students are hostile to English classes. Students doesn’t like to work with classmates who make mistakes. Student doesn’t feel teacher corrects enough. Student doesn’t speak in class. Student seems to find it difficult to concentrate for any length of time.
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Overseas Teachers of English NLP and Motivation
From Revel and Norman In Your Hands Saffire
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