There are many students who are left behind in the educational systems, not because of bad intent, but because they have a ‘problem’ that very few understand: they are INTROVERTED.
Are you one of these students? Well, then (secondary) school generally is not a great experience for you because of how you are perceived by teachers and your classmates. On the surface, you seem to be outsiders, you seem to be uninterested in your lessons, you seem to be uninvolved in the activities of the school community, you seem to avoid opportunities for socialising and you keep yourself to yourself. If you are introverted and you want to have a more fulfilling experience at school, try these 5 top tips that might change things for you. Tip #1: Find out more about what it means to be introverted. There are some great blogs and articles about this topic. Here is a selection of resources that might help you to understand yourself better:
Tip #2: Be proud and don’t worry about what others think! Feel good about the way you are. Just because the majority of people are extroverts and generally will not get you, does not mean that you have to feel bad about yourself. If you are not treated the way you want to, if you feel misunderstood, then always keep in mind that most extroverted people do not know much about introverts and how you feel. Tip #3: Find opportunities to relax and be alone. Find a quiet place during break time or lunch where you can relax. If you have the choice, bring a packed lunch instead of eating lunch in the crowded dining hall with all this noise and people. Go to the library during break or lunch time or any other quiet area that you have at the school. Tip #4: Try to get more involved in the school life Although this might seem very difficult for you, try to get more involved. Clubs and activities are a great idea because this helps you to socialise with others without feeling too much out of your comfort zone. Do you like sports? Then join a sports club. Do you like acting? Join the drama club. Singing? School choir. Drawing or painting? You know what to do. Or try to become a buddy or join the school council. It might seem counterintuitive and you might need time to get used to the feeling but this step will greatly enhance how others view you as a person and often will change their perspective. They will see that there is more to you than meets the eye. No matter if you are introverted or extroverted, you have a special talent or interest. Don’t be afraid to show it, show others what you are capable of. Tip #5: Be open about being an introvert and connect with other introverts. You can do this in any form you like, be creative and confident. Try to get your (introverted) teachers involved. They generally are the teachers who seem to understand and get you. Join their clubs or the activities they offer and engage with them. If you feel very courageous, try to connect with other introverted students. Form a club or society at your school with the goal to increase awareness. Build a community so that you can support each other, be courageous and put yourself out there, educate others and you will feel better about yourself.
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Myth #5: Quality is more important than quantityNot true: Too often do language learners (and teachers) forget about the importance of quantity in the language learning process, in terms of input as well as output. Being the perfect student during your lessons at school or in any other formal classroom environment is not enough to become proficient in the foreign language.
So many students are left behind in school settings because they are not engaging with the content presented to them by a teacher or the course book. Too much time is spend on explicitly teaching the learners about various aspects of the foreign language and too little time is spend on letting the learners become creative and make the language their own. If students would receive more input and be asked to produce more output without a focus on perfection, they would be much quicker in learning the language, especially in the beginning, and enjoy the process much more without sacrificing accuracy in the long run. If you want to become proficient in the foreign language, try to expose yourself to as much input as necessary. Read and listen to a variety of sources without being too worried that they are not sophisticated enough. If you want to read tabloids, then do it. If you like watching films, watch films that are available in the foreign language. If you want to get better at writing, start writing. You don't need a teacher to constantly tell you what you could do better. Start writing as much as you can and about anything you want to. Have fun, enjoy it. Speak as much as you can without overthinking every sentence. It does not matter if it the outcome of your efforts is not perfect, in the long run you will get much better. If you want to become proficient in a foreign language, you will need to focus as much on quantity as you do on quality. Myth #4: You can 'learn' the grammar of a foreign languageTrue: Of course you can explicitly learn and memorize the rules of a particular grammatical feature and then reproduce it in a grammar test. If that is what you understand by learning the grammar of a foreign language, then it is not a myth.
Not True: However, if you want to be able to use the grammar of a foreign language proficiently, i.e. use it correctly and spontaneously in speaking, listening, reading and writing, then it is a myth. Explicit grammar knowledge or instruction is not going to help you to get better in using the grammatical features of a language. I don’t know of any research study that proves that it actually benefits the language learner. On the contrary, the findings from the research show that the way we think grammar is learned and how it should be taught is based on assumptions, not on actual evidence. If you are more interested in the theory, have a look at the following research articles / studies:
If you are interested what this means in more practical terms for you as a learner, you might find the following resources helpful:
And last but not least my blog entry about this topic: Myth #3: You can learn a foreign language with software or an online programGood luck! Only very few people will accomplish this feat and become proficient in a foreign language without the help and support of a teacher. A software or online program cannot replace the guidance of a teacher.
Learning a language on your own is very difficult. By ‘teacher’, I do not only refer to a classroom instructor because any person can theoretically become your language teacher as long as they are more proficient in the language than you. Just to give you an example: I know two Brazilians who speak English incredibly well. They have a wide range of conversational vocabulary, they make no grammatical mistakes and their language sounds very natural. But they never had a single lesson, instead, they learned English by playing ‘World of Warcraft’ online. In order to enjoy their favourite game, they needed English as a lingua franca so they could connect and communicate with the other players. However, having a well-trained and knowledgeable language teacher who can guide you through the zone of proximal development and provide the right scaffolding for you will greatly increase your chances of becoming proficient in the foreign language. MYTH #2: Native Speakers are the better foreign language teachersNot true: Many think that having a native speaker of the foreign language that they are trying to learn as a teacher is an automatic guarantee for success. Of course this is not true because teaching a language requires so much more knowledge and skill than just being a competent user of the language.
The only true advantage that a native speaker has over a proficient non-native speaker when teaching a foreign language is ‘authentic competence’ in the language. A proficient non-native speaker can be as good or even better than a native speaker especially when it comes to supporting a language learner on their learning journey. The non-native speaker teacher has gone through a very similar experience with the foreign language and is more aware of the difficulties their students might encounter. However, the #1 factor that will guarantee your success in learning a foreign language is to have a teacher with a high level of theoretical knowledge about language learning and teaching and extensive teaching experience. Both is necessary, an expert in the theory cannot perform to the best of their ability if they are lacking teaching experience and a teacher who has decades of teaching experience but lacks the theoretical knowledge will not be able to get the best out of their learners. Myth #1: You can learn a foreign language in 3 monthsHalf-True: A child who is younger than 8-10 and moves to a country where a different language is spoken can become proficient in the foreign language within 6 months to a year if they are exposed to the language on an every day basis, for example at nursery or school. But even 3 months is a bit too optimistic.
Not true: For anyone older than 12-14, it is much more difficult to learn a foreign language, and in will take longer than for a 8-10 year old, even if they move to another country and are exposed to the foreign language on a daily basis. (Critical Period Hypothesis) Absolutely impossible: For anyone studying a foreign language as a teenager, for example, at secondary school or as an adult at a language school, with several hours of instruction per week, will (almost) never become proficient in the foreign language and definitely not in 3 months. The process of becoming proficient will take several years and this is the scenario that is probably the most common way how foreign languages are learned nowadays. There is a variety of other factors which also influence the progress in the language learning process, e.g. motivation, confidence, perseverance, resilience, interest. |
AuthorDavid Koch- Language Teaching Expert Follow Me
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