Brain as a Lazy Machine

"Teacher, what is brain?" asked a young boy while scratching his head.

The teacher paused for a couple seconds and explained "It's simply a machine."

"I don't understand", the boy continued.

"Well little one, it is in everyone's head, ...and is like a machine that works non-stop", answered the teacher.

However, many times this machine gets lazy because the machine owner doesn't use it so often.

"So, you mean our brain is lazy if I don't do anything with it?", the boy confirmed.

"That's right boy! You can become the most intelligent young boy ever, if you keep using your brain", the teacher petted on the boy's head and told him to return to his seat.

Brain-based Learning

It is a simple truth that our brain is a machine. Yet, knowing this much would not yet lead to anywhere you wish to be. I believe that knowing how to use this flimsy machine matters most. The secret of a successful learner is Brain-based learning. Actually this learning approach is defined differently according to purposes and fields. Here, Brain-Based Learning is a way to encourage learners to actively use their thinking such as defining, comparing, comprehending, collecting, evaluating, and more as the list goes on. A good learner needs to regularly assign the brain to work on something. The goal is to keep your brain active, engaging and positive. You never know and understand the full power of the brain if you just sit back and be quiet as a passive learner. Confirm this statement to yourself "I am very poor at English." After a moment of pausing, ask another question "How can I be good at English?" Do you feel the difference? To the first statement, when you cite the fact about the matter, you brain will just approve and subsequently does nothing in response. Yet, if you ask questions as if assignments, your brain will double its speed and power which sooner or later you'll have your solutions to your problems. What can we learn from this experience? Answer: Our brain is a problem-solving enterprise.

Engaging Interaction/Performance in Learning

Learning by asking many questions at any appropriate times and any places will keep your brain active and focusing. And because the brain is the subject of your body, whatever the brain believes, the body will simply follow with enthusiasm, more or less. In English there are some expressions that truly describe the true nature of the brain such as the following:

Stay active with your brain.

Tease your brain.

Be alert!

Keep watching!

Stay tune!

Attention!

There are many reasons you are not supposed to miss asking questions in and off class. Asking questions attracts your teacher to involve with you on any particular problems. Your teachers grow to be more positive and finds you a serious learner, and subsequently cherish to fulfill the your desire to learn. Asking questions occupies you from negative thoughts and day dreams. It advances you with more skills such as leadership, speech, management, debate, and more…

It's fun to be active!

Expressing your thoughts and insights

Fear of expressing what you believe to be true is the number one enemy to effective learning. There was a young boy who attended a primary school in Germany. He loved asking questions, and enjoyed contributing ideas around matters of discussions. Sometimes his friends had to stop him from sharing, not because his ideas were not useful, but because they were threatened by his insights and intellect. He was Albert Einstein (A boy of many questions).

There are many discoveries today and from the past which have been rooted from stupid ideas. Who knows what you can become? Learn to share ideas and thoughts meaningfully will change your days and the more days to come. I suggest you to paint your days with comments, ideas, thoughts, insights, advise, suggestion, and other verbal and written expressions to your classmates, friends, home mates, and especially to your teachers. The world wants to hear what you think and believe!

Read more »

Posted in: Learning Tips,Teaching

Vocabulary to Enrich Communicative Competence

A popular saying from the past says "Words are even sharper than a two edge sword." Words could pierce through people hearts and change their attitudes; they are capable of making someone tear and ending up turning to be negative. Words help a user to express himself/herself more clearly. Some words are weak, while some others are strong, potential, affective, and expressive. Thus, the knowledge of words truly determines our capability in performing thinking and carrying out a task.

Vocabulary to Learners 

How are words best learned? Dr. Steven Krashen in his Monitor Model regarding natural ways of learning  language (Acquisition) suggests that a learner must strive to learn many words that are suitable to his ability, which he calls "Comprehensible Input." I personally advise you to learn words, phrases, and any expressions naturally. What does it mean? The fact that students try to crab words by force such as by memorizing will ultimately result in the loss of words, confusion, frustration and time wasting. One could learn vocabulary more effectively and more efficiently by playing with them, making sentences in spoken and written modes, having conversation with friends by using those words you wish to learn, and etc. The below presentation will offer you 7 ideas to learn vocabulary. I hope that those tips could be useful to you.

Vocabulary to Teachers

I have been teaching English over ten years now, and it has been such fun to experience different methods of teaching. I believe that to teach vocabulary productively is to engage active approaches, i.e. Communicative Language Teaching, Task-Based Language Teaching, Content-Based Language Teaching, and Integration of tasks and activities. Allow students to be communicative, exploring, and expressive through performance. Every time students encounter new words, they need to highlight, underline, or circle around. Acting on words helps students to be enthusiastic and thus understand words unto their natures. Teachers need to pay extra attention on words, and spend sometime to explain students. When teaching vocabulary, a teacher should draw students' to the language elements such as:

1. Spelling

2. Pronunciation

3. Defintion

4. Grammatical elements

5. Collocation

6. Synonyms, Antonym, and hyponym

7. Word origin

8. Usage

These language features are to be considered according to the levels of learners. The presentation below will provide more guides and understanding regarding teaching vocabulary.

 

Read more »

Posted in: Learning Tips,Teaching,Vocabulary

Learning= Physical + Mental + Emotional/Feeling + Spirit

The most terrible questions I used to hear unceasingly from many friends and students of mine regarding learning and teaching are the punches circling around the methods of effective learning and effective teaching. The questions per se seem never be able to claim the ultimate answer, despite the pure, awesome means by the askers. What I mean is the quests of being an effective teacher or learner as being understood by many seem to undermine the power of human brain, mental capacity, and spiritual gift because many people ignore this simple fact that we are actually more than our plain body and brain. We possess special powers that many rarely take time to realize about them since they are intangible, untouchable, and even unseen by our physical eyes. In this post, I wish to try my best to explain that you are able to learn language even better if you are will to integrate your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual power together. 

Human, the combination of FOUR

The definition for human and its complexity have been discussed over centuries by many big head philosophers such John Locke, Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and even Buddha. The results found from their search suggest that human is quite above the physical avatar, and not limited to this physical component alone. Many people of recent decades had this firm belief that humans are like computers, in terms of many characteristics. Now, I would like you redirect your mind to an opposite thought that humans are not to compare to a computer. Unlike computer hard wares, our physical body has very close connection to our feelings, which many times arouse our mind to cooperate in actions. For example, every time we are bitten by a mosquito, our brain could immediately detect the pain which is like a sharp needle sticking into our skin through sense of touch. And shortly before we know it, we already smashed that little mosquito dead. Another matter is the error that many people in the past use computer model to compare our mind, thought, and brain with a computer soft wares. I truly find this model even more awkward and illogical. How can that be possible? Imagine the process our brain, mind and thoughts. They are completely random, yet creative. The mind is not limited by any programs. Many times people get confused as they believe habits, attitudes, and norms of our certain behaviors as programs. Actually, they are no programs at all, but are the results of human minds. And as our behaviors operated, our mind forms thoughts and get new elements of information from the environment, and ultimately forms another new thought based on the old ones, which is more sensible, more logical, and more acceptable by the society. What is more, our complete human is holistically built by four components including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual parameters. Computers by nature never come in contact with emotional and spiritual matters. No human could survive without any one of the four parameters. To my understanding, emotion is like the heat releasing from a burning flame. It is intangible, yet powerful that it could affect everyone around. I believe that we can use our emotions as the secondary asset to flame our motivation, and to keep it burning in order to achieve our learning goals which I am going to discuss in the following points. What is spirit? Many people wish to avoid defining the term because they believe that spirits do not exist or they are too mysterious to be comprehend. However, I could assure you we all can understand this matter of spirit as we get involve. See spirit as something like the energy that keep the fire going. it is not the heat. It is not the source of energy (such as wood or charcoal). Spirit is something that keeps pushing you even though your feet and body do not even want to take another step. Spirit manifests and voices in the thoughts when a severely ill person keep whispering to himself saying "my body, why are hurt? Why are you so weak? Why are you so lazy? Get up and walk like a healthy person." The spirit is even more aware, more rational, more logical, and more transient that it never surrender to anything, not even death. Wanting to live forever is not feeling, but a piece of spirit of a trance as your spirit strive to disobey the natural laws. 

Learning by Four

In the past, if one learns by actions such as repairing, rowing, sewing, cooking, and sporting, it is believed to have high effects because students are active, involving, and engaging their FOUR in producing outcome. FOUR means physical, mental, emotional, and spirit. The only way to learn effectively is by acquiring. Unlike learning, acquiring is to get knowledge naturally or subconsciously; not by force; not too intensive. Here is what I am going to suggest you to learn. When you are in class, never sit quietly. Take note while you are listening. Giving filler response in support to the what you teacher raised, by knocking your head; mumbling few words to yourself; circling some points on your textbooks; asking meaningful questions to get more explanation. When you do so, you body is working in associating with your brain. Thus, your physical and mental parameters are working together, and as a result you become even more active, more involving, more attentive, and more energetic comparing to your neighbors who are quietly watching, listening, and yawning. Not enough yet, learn to act your emotions to keep your physical body and mental components to double their speed and capacity. Yes, it is possible. The best quote I truly learned from myself is that I am the most difficult person I ever worked with. It's hard to push ME to the next level. Attitudes are not emotions; they are the results of idleness and passivity of your physicality and mentality. The secrete to push yourself to work hard is by complying your emotions. It's not bad to blame yourself verbally when you are lazy, sitting down all day watching movies from HBO.Get angry with yourself for not doing homework, reading book, and sharing comments in the class. Never sorry for yourself; never tolerate yourself for being arrogant, lazy, unthoughtful, or oversleep. When I was in college, I used to experience crazy things such a staring at the blank wall and doing nothing, and thus saying nothing, and thus doing nothing in classes. And later on I was aware of my passivity and worked bout by being conscious about myself and situations. I become more prepared and more more aware. My emotions turned out to be like an executive manager of my physical and mental employees. They control, push, motivate, supervise, and even punish every time my physical and mental employees don't work to follow expectations. However, most of times our emotions do not come naturally or intentionally. In this case, I suggest you to comply your powerful spirit to navigate your feelings and emotions. How? believing that you can achieve your goals and reach your destination more efficiently. The spirit makes you believe; the beliefs map up your emotions to be on track; your emotions and feelings ultimately manage your physical and mental matters to work. Thus, keep believing that you can learning anything you want to. No matter it is mathematics, languages, laws, business and writing blogs, you shall see results in your enthusiasm more appreciative and satisfactory as you apply the FOUR in your learning and working areas.         

Read more »

Posted in: Learning Tips,Motivation,Teaching

Teaching Mixed Ability Classes

Teaching mixed ability classes is a pain in the butt, yet the obtained experience per se allows a teacher to develop deep understanding of situations and teaching-learning distances. The link below directs you to decipher tips and strategies to perform teaching in ways that are seen to be highly engaging, effective, and affective.

Teaching Mixed Ability Classes.ppt

Read more »

Posted in: Assessment,Teaching

To Train Fluency

Fluency is the prime goal in processes of teaching and learning. Both learners and teachers are sometimes falsely driven by language-foci and forms, and generally forced to ignore Fluency and ultimate goals of messages.

Reality tells us that learners are always confused and limited in their chaos and clumsiness. They need teachers to navigate their paths and scaffold them as much as possible. I believe that a teacher's responsibility is to enforce competency and skills by engaging fluency drills. Fluency drills such as gambit activities and readers' theater are effective when new knowledge and concepts are introduced and bridged.

Fluency drills can be done through the four macro-skills--listening, reading, speaking and writing. These drills are meant to be repetitious and easy. The easier the activities, the more effective and enjoyable learners may experience. Not only repetition empowers practical performances, consciousness and wakefulness of information and experiences, but also links students with pragmatic discourse of reality of life.

Rehearsing new contents in different ways optimize learners' capability to think critically and to enrich personal arts of performing practical tasks, yet teachers need to guide them through communicative and cognitive approaches.

Read more »

Posted in: Learning Tips,Speaking,Teaching

Simple facts bluffingTeaching and Learning

The effectiveness of conceptualizing language in term that language users could grasp up to the extensive viability of language operation is not totally left up to language educators. It was almost a century that most educational stakeholders in both Western and Eastern world appreciated conservative classroom paradigms, such as Audiolingualism, Grammar-translation, and many Direct approaches. ‘Conservative’ here is another term that I must approach, that I believe to have set cultural, social and relational mindset in the field of educational history in both developed and developing countries.

Humankind no different from other types of planetary creatures is suggested, persuaded, colonized, governed, controlled, and commanded to undergo compromises, submissions and changes. I believe that theoretical and empirical discoveries on descriptive, correlational and experimental researches of learning and teaching were totally a natural fitness to their social-ecology. These untwistable facts basically evidence that in the early narrow world learners and educators were slaves of their social bounds, facilitative shortages and limitation in creative ideals. On the contrary, the modern world seeks to uplifts the value of humanity as it opens the front door to creativity, opportunity and round-table discussions on mystical aspects to quests of knowledge. The democratic world believes that everyone is creative, inventive and artistic in many ways. At this point, we as educators no longer oblige to spoonfeed learners in their learning process. That so-to-say, we take the roles as triggerers instead of shooters; Monitors instead of classroom rulers; motivators instead of dictators; Classroom supervisors rather than full-time service educators; outliners instead of narrators. Through the lenses of CLT techniques, the educational responsibility does not become a heavy yoke upon the educators’ shoulders, yet it helps balance social interaction and objectively helps enhance learners’ capacity to reach deep structure level of understanding language.

Read more »

Posted in: Strategies,Teaching

One angle from Behaviourism

Time becomes an undeniable matter for changes. Time is a comparative pathway bestowing motivation, initiation, examination, evaluation, justification, modification, and refinement to the inquiry of knowledge that work. Through time, cultures were influenced and shifted; lifestyles fashioned; Tools and facilities modernized; and noticeably humanity changed. B. F. Skinner with his respected Behaviorism theory may have conducted Operant Conditioning due to the factual, social and individual standard of typical life and behaviours. The past centuries oppressed people to comouflex with their social-ecology or else they would become extinct and lost in their bounds. People in the past were more like natural creatures who lived by coping up with system, discipline, rules, and patterns of nature. Socialism, Monarchism, and Communism were yet the absolute social structures in most countries. With these respects, humanity was more controlled and nourished within the bound of Behaviourism.

Read more »

Posted in: Teaching