Characteristics of Learners

1. Ministry of Education ELT General Supervision Characteristics of Learners Intermediate & Secondary stage learners

2. Knowing the characteristics of the learners helps the teacher to……. a)communicate easily b)teach effectively c)remedy their weaknesses d)be friendly with them. Why?

3. This stage is called “The Observation Stage” during which pupils are observed to distinguish abilities and tastes and further directed to different types of education in the next stages of study. Intermediate Stage

4. Characteristics & Application

8. In this stage the adolescent’s personality gradually reaches maturity. Most important factors affecting this transformation are home ,school and social treatment. The teenager experiences some emotional as well as physical changes. They are usually moody , needs to feel independent and free. They tend to stick to their personal views and opinions. Secondary Stage

9. Characteristics & Application

12. Don’t punish them for their tendency to discuss or • argue. • Never evade teenagers’ questions. • Help them solve their private problems. • Hold collective meetings to discuss their problems • & envisage effective solutions. • Enhance their sense of belonging. • Encourage them to participate in scientific & • cultural symposiums. How To Foster In Them The Love For Learning

13. Learning Styles Learning styles are various approaches or ways of learning. They involve educating methods, particular to an individual, that are presumed to allow that individual to learn best

14. Learning Styles • Auditory (learning by listening) • Logical, analytical sequential thinkers. • Comfortable with typical school tasks. • Good group leaders. • Preferred activities • Any kind of work with audio cassettes. • Songs, poems, rhymes.....etc

15. Learning Styles • Visual ( learning by seeing) • Recall information through visualizing. • Always notice details. • Are often neat & well organized. • Preferred activities • Working with pictures rather than words. • Visualizing scenes, characters.....etc

16. Learning Styles • Kinaesthetic (learning by moving) • Need to see, hear & do to learn. • Have short concentration spans. • Need to move frequently. • Preferred activities • Moving while learning. • Stories with lots of action & adventures. • Learning by doing.

17. Learning Styles Test 1.    You are about to give directions to a person. She is staying in a hotel in town and wants to visit  your house. She has a rental car. Would you: V. draw a map on paper? A. tell her the directions? K. collect her from the hotel in your car?

18. 2.    You are staying in a hotel and have a rental car. You would like to visit a friend whose  address/location you do not know. Would you like them to: V. draw you a map? A. tell you directions? K. collect you from the hotel in their car?

19. 3.    You are going to cook a dessert as a special treat for your family. Do you: K. cook something familiar without the need for instructions? V. thumb through a cookbook looking for ideas from the pictures? A. ask for advise from others?

20. 4. A group of tourists has been assigned to you to find out about national parks. Would you: K. drive them to a national park? V. show them slides and photographs? A. give them a talk on national parks?

21. 5.     You are not sure whether a word should be spelled "dependent" or "dependant". Do you: V. see the word in your mind and choose the best way it looks? A. sound it out? K. write both versions down?

22. 6- Do you prefer a lecturer/teacher who likes to use: V. flow diagrams, charts, slides? K. field trips. labs, practical sessions? A. discussion, guest speakers?

23. Now go back and count how many V's, A's, R's, and K's you circled. 7.Apart from price, what would most influence your decision to buy a particular textbook? K. using a friends copy? A. a friend talking about it? V. it looks OK?

24. Teaching Styles • Formal authority • Teacher – centred . • Teacher focuses on content . • Teacher doesn’t encourage T/S or S/S interaction. • Used in presentations . The more models the teacher uses, the more satisfaction that teacher obtains from teaching.

25. Teaching Styles • Demonstrator • Teacher – centred. • Teacher focuses on demonstration & modelling. • Teacher encourages students participation. • Used in drilling structural patterns.

26. Teaching Styles • Facilitator • Student – centred. • Teacher focuses on (group) activities. • Teacher encourages problem solving & creativity. • Used in group work & peer tutoring.

27. Teaching Styles • Delegator • Student – centred. • Teacher encourages self-directed learning. • Students design & implement their own learning projects. • Used in problem solving / brainstorming / discussions.

28. Matching Teaching To Learning Styles • Objectives. • Presentations. • Materials. • Activities. • Home assignments. • Verifying teaching styles. • Verifying students groupings. • Classroom design. • Learning environments.

29. Matching Teaching To Learning Styles • Auditory • Participate in class discussions. • Read texts out aloud. • Express ideas verbally. • Create musical rhymes to aid memorization. • Listen to music while studying.

30. Matching Teaching To Learning Styles • Visual • Use colours to highlight important points. • Use multi-media(videos, computers..etc) • Read illustrated books. • Visualize information to aid memorization. • Have a clear view of the teacher.

31. Matching Teaching To Learning Styles • Kinaesthetic • Take frequent study breaks. • Move around to learn new things. • Skim through reading materials to get a general idea before going through the details.

32. Tips For The Teachers • Enhance the power to educate by discovering how a teacher teaches best. • Every teacher has a unique style & teaching preferences of his/her own. • The key optimum performance in the classroom is to discover these preferences and use them in preparation, teaching & managing students.