Common beliefs about dyslexia

Dyslexia is primarily a language-based reading disability, not a visual-based disability.

Research has shown that people with dyslexia are more likely to have children with dyslexia. A child with one parent with dyslexia is about 40% to 60% likely to have dyslexia themselves.

In dyslexia identification there are clear and well-defined cut-off points. An individual either has dyslexia or not.

Because the core difficulties associated with dyslexia are related to how the individual sounds of language are processed in the brain, and not visual perception, coloured overlays do not improve reading accuracy or comprehension for dyslexic students. Research evidence shows no significant benefit in terms of objectively measurable reading gains when using colored overlays despite the fact that many dyslexic students report that they find them useful.

People with dyslexia have difficulties with processing and manipulating the smallest sounds of language, called phonemes. Research shows that, in students with dyslexia, the part of the brain that processes those sounds and connects those sounds to letters is under-activated as compared with typically developing readers. People with dyslexia also perform more poorly on tasks that require analyzing, synthesizing, and manipulating phonemes.

There is no scientific evidence that seeing letters and words backwards is a characteristic of dyslexia.

There is a significant and pronounced difference between males and females when it comes to ‘identified’ dyslexia and reading difficulties. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them is that females and males use different behavioural and emotional compensation techniques and react differently when faced with these challenges. Therefore boys are more easily identified as dyslexic in school settings. When researchers identify dyslexia in the general population, there is less pronounced difference between males and females in the prevalence of dyslexia. Researchers examined gender differences based on the variation in reading abilities among males and females. They found that males show more variability and depending on the cut-off point for identifying dyslexia, indeed there might be more male than female dyslexics (Hawke, J. L., Olson, R. K., Willcut, E. G., Wadsworth, S. J., & DeFries, J. C. (2009). Gender ratios for reading difficulties. Dyslexia, 15(3), 239-242.)

This statement might be true although research evidence is often contradictory on this question.

Research suggests that there are significantly more dyslexic individuals among art students than non-dyslexic ones (Wolff, U., & Lundberg, I. (2002). The prevalence of dyslexia among art students. Dyslexia, 8(1), 34-42). There is also neuroimaging evidence that shows that lower reading skill is associated with a visuospatial processing advantage (Diehl, J. J., Frost, S. J., Sherman, G., Mencl, W. E., Kurian, A., Molfese, P., … & Pugh, K. R. (2014). Neural correlates of language and non-language visuospatial processing in adolescents with reading disability. NeuroImage, 101, 653-666). However, some studies have found that the visuospatial superiority is more apparent in dyslexic men than women (Brunswick, N., Martin, G. N., & Marzano, L. (2010). Visuospatial superiority in developmental dyslexia: Myth or reality?. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(5), 421-426.)

Because dyslexia is caused by difficulties with processing individual sounds of language in the brain, researchers know that effective instruction includes explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness (practice manipulating the individual sounds in our language) and phonics (practice connecting those individual sounds, or phonemes, to letters). There are no scientifically proven benefits of eye-tracking exercises.

Source: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/dyslexia/8/steps/1399907

Why is it so hard to choose broccoli 🥦 over doughnut 🍩

https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.e.bbcmail.co.uk%2F%3Fqs%3D049b2d130e05460c2ca5f9559a7e08ee078020af04d45252da88fee2b5dcd7716c30361f1b6bf181e87ebbaaff2b7ae2afabcd4dcac88081&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc908feb7816442326bdb08d835f1d640%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637318660077042065&sdata=1aBxTj06htn02wUH35nn61I3wU8hhHRq3zb0OgYWBjM%3D&reserved=0

A história por trás do Black Friday.

As primeiras origens e história

O termo “sexta-feira negra” foi realmente associado à crise financeira, não às compras de vendas.

Dois financistas de Wall Street, Jim Fisk e Jay Gould, compraram juntos uma quantidade significativa de ouro dos EUA na esperança de que o preço global subisse e, por sua vez, pudessem vendê-lo com lucros enormes.

Na sexta-feira, 24 de setembro de 1869, no que foi chamado de “Black Friday”, o mercado de ouro dos EUA entrou em colapso e as ações de Fisk e Gould deixaram os barões de Wall Street em falência.

Não foi até anos posteriores que o período pós-Ação de Graças se associou ao nome.

Nos últimos anos, circulou um boato impreciso, sugerindo que os proprietários de plantações do sul poderiam comprar escravos a um preço com desconto após o Dia de Ação de Graças, no século XIX.

Como melhorar suas habilidades em inglês

Ouça inglês o máximo possível

Pode ser nas músicas, séries de TV, filmes, vídeos na internet e tudo mais que você conseguir. Mesmo para quem está começando a explorar esse idioma agora e entende apenas algumas (poucas) palavras, criar o hábito de ouvir é fundamental. Assim, pouco a pouco você vai se familiarizando com a pronúncia dos vocábulos e como uma palavra acaba se “emendando” na outra em uma frase.

Não tenha medo de se expor ao inglês em vários momentos do seu dia, independente do quanto você consegue compreender no início.

Não se assuste quando não entender

É perfeitamente normal não compreender algumas coisas que você ouve em inglês, especialmente se estiver no início da sua empreitada. Lembre-se que, algumas vezes, você não entende nem mesmo algo em português que é dito em um primeiro momento, mesmo sendo a sua língua materna.

Quando não entender, continue ouvindo, porque pode ser que o contexto torne aquele trecho indecifrável dispensável. Se desejar, ao final daquele vídeo ou música, volte ao que não entendeu para tentar novamente. O importante é não desistir.

Foque na pronúncia

Quanto melhor for o seu domínio da pronúncia, melhor será também o listening. Procure ouvir e repetir o que você ouve: palavras soltas, frases, pequenos textos. Tente gravar a sua voz e depois ouça novamente. Sinta o que você ouviu e veja se lhe parece bom.

Noticiários em inglês

Procure vídeos de telejornais apresentados em inglês e assista. Eles costumam abordar temáticas do cotidiano, então, vão ajudar você a entender contextos importantes e corriqueiros, que provavelmente vão ser necessários se um dia você viajar para o exterior ou enfrentar qualquer situação em que precise se virar no inglês.

Leia bastante

A prática regular da leitura ajuda imensamente o desenvolvimento da sua capacidade de memorização e de uso correto do vocabulário e da gramática necessários no momento da fala. Leia o máximo que puder, livros de qualquer estilo. Não importa, o importante é a leitura

Bons estudos!

Food for Thought

Frases ou dizeres para nos levar a pensar.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”

John A. Shedd

“Courage is found in unlikely places.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”

Michelle Obama

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

Winston Churchill

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”

CS Lewis

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”

Helen Keller

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.”

Mary Anne Radmacher

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

As Novas Palavras Criadas em Inglês na Atualidade

Cat café’ and other words added to OxfordDictionaries.com

NBD, but are you ready to fangirl over our dictionary update? Abso-bloody-lutely. We’ve got some awesomesauce new words – no, rly – that will inform and entertain whether you’re hangry or it’s already wine o’clock. Mic drop.

Mic drops, awesomesauce, manspreading, and more

Let’s pick that mic up again and check out some of the words that have been added to OxfordDictionaries.com in the world of informal language. The mic drop in question can be a literal ‘instance of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a performance or speech one considers to have been particularly impressive’, but it’s more likely to be figurative – or an exclamation to emphasize a particularly impressive point: Nuff said. Mic drop.

If you want to describe something as excellent, you can use awesomesauce; on the other side of the coin, anything of a poor or disappointing standard is weak sauce. Weak sauce came first, and has a more comprehensible origin as a metaphor; an inadequate sauce would certainly let down an otherwise decent meal. Though awesomesauce clearly comes from the words awesome and sauce, the former is currently beating the latter in the Oxford English Corpus and Oxford Twitter Corpus.

Why say banter (‘playfully teasing or mocking remarks exchanged with another person or group’) when you can save a syllable with bants? (Be careful where you use it, though; the term might be recognized in the UK, but is likely to get bemused looks elsewhere.) And, speaking of brevity, the initialism NBDcan take the place of no big deal, while rly is handy textspeak for really. SJW stands for social justice warrior, which is also added in this update. It’s ‘a person who expresses or promotes socially progressive views’, but the word is used derogatively, usually by those who do not share these views.

You may remember mansplain from last year’s update. It’s now joined by the noun manspreading: ‘the practice whereby a man, especially one travelling on public transport, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats’. If you’re a gentleman reading this on the bus … can we suggest you arrange your legs considerately? Rly.

Manic pixie dream girl has been added from the world of film criticism: find out more in our video post.

Other informal terms in this update include brain fart, bitch face, bruh, butthurt, fur baby, MacGyver, mkay, rando, and swole.

Mx, Grexit, and other words in the news

Among the additions in the August update, there are those that relate to recent news and events. The blends Brexit (British/Britain + exit) and Grexit (Greek/Greece + exit) were coined in 2012, relating to potential departures of the United Kingdom from the European Union and Greece from the eurozone (those countries which use the euro as their national currency).

The honorific Mx has also been added to OxfordDictionaries.com. It’s used (in the same way as Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms etc.) before a person’s surname or full name as a gender-neutral title. Katherine Martin, Head of US Dictionaries, recently spoke with the New York Times about the rising popularity of the term, which is first found in the late 1970s and has gained significant traction since.

Hangry?

Some fanciful words relating to food and drink are also included in the August update. Beer o’clock and wine o’clock are humorous terms for the (supposedly) appropriate times of day for having your first glass of either drink. You might need to start the meal earlier if you’re feeling hangry: a blend of hungry and angry, meaning ‘bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger’. Anything snackable will come in handy.

English often forms new words using existing suffixes, and the realm of food and drink shows several such innovations. From the –y ending comes cheffy (relating to, or characteristic of, a chef) and melty (melting or partially melted); from the –ery ending, we get cidery (a place where cider is made) and cupcakery (a bakery that specializes in cupcakes). The latter is a venue where you’re unlikely to have the option of cakeage, which is ‘a charge made by a restaurant for serving a cake that they have not supplied themselves’, and another word created by the inclusion of a common suffix. The word is modelled on the pattern of corkage, where the same rule applies to wine. And if you can’t bring yourself to have the finest things in life separately, there is now the option of a cat café, where café patrons can eat while surrounded by feline friends.

Edible additions to OxfordDictionaries.comfrom Australian English include Anzac biscuit, barmaid’s blush (typically red wine mixed with lemonade or beer mixed with raspberry cordial), battered sav (battered saveloy sausage), and lolly cake (a cake containing sweets, known generically as lollies in Australian and New Zealand English).

Gaming and the Internet

Whether you’re a Redditor, a YouTuber, or more used to handling physical meeples(playing pieces in certain board games), this update has terms that’ll come in handy. Some don’t show the finer side of the human character: rage-quit is a verb meaning to ‘angrily abandon an activity or pursuit that has become frustrating’, and is especially used in relation to video games.

One reason you might rage-quit is because you are being pwned: that is, utterly defeated by an opponent. This informal term is used more often in video gaming, and supposedly resulted from a common mistyping of own with this sense, as a result of the proximity of p and o on a computer keyboard. Along with pwn comes pwnage(and ownage), being ‘the action or fact of utterly defeating an opponent or rival’.

A Redditor is a registered user of the website Reddit; the word is formed on the pattern of editor, and the site relies upon user-submitted content, posted in subreddits(forums dedicated to specific topics). Users might well post content that they consider glanceable, shareable, and even snackable – which can refer to online content designed to be read or viewed quickly, as well as to food.

Other additions from the sphere of technology and the Internet include spear phishing (‘the fraudulent practice of sending emails ostensibly from a known or trusted sender in order to induce targeted individuals to reveal confidential information’), and blockchain (‘a digital ledger in which transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly’). Nor are mobile phones left out: butt-dial and pocket-dialhave been added, denoting that awkward moment when you dial someone’s number by mistake while your phone is in your pocket.

Dislexia e outras diferenças de aprendizado

Quais são as diferenças específicas de aprendizado?

Vários termos são usados para descrever alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem em diferentes partes do mundo. Neste breve artigo, mostramos algumas das maneiras pelas quais as dificuldades de aprendizagem são agrupadas e definidas no Reino Unido e nos Estados Unidos da América.

No passado, as dificuldades de aprendizagem foram classificadas em sub-tipos distintos, tais como:

“Dislexia” ou “deficiência de leitura”

“Disgrafia” ou “incapacidade de escrever”

“Discalculia” ou “incapacidade de aprendizagem matemática”

«Dispraxia» ou «Transtorno de coordenação do desenvolvimento» (dificuldades de coordenação de movimentos)

Estes sub-tipos de dificuldades de aprendizagem representaram diferentes áreas do desempenho acadêmico que também influenciam a vida das pessoas fora da escola. Verificou-se, no entanto, que existe uma considerável sobreposição entre estes tipos de dificuldades de aprendizagem. Isso tornou muito difícil diferenciar os vários subtipos de maneira confiável.

A solução proposta no Reino Unido foi agrupar essas várias dificuldades de aprendizagem sob o rótulo de Diferenças de Aprendizagem Específicas. O Departamento de Educação do Grupo de Trabalho no Reino Unido (2005) propôs a seguinte definição:

“Os spLDs têm dificuldades particulares, que podem incluir ortografia, adquirir habilidades fluentes de leitura e redação e / ou manipular números que podem indicar que seu desempenho está bem abaixo de suas habilidades em outras áreas. Eles também podem ter problemas de memória de trabalho, habilidades organizacionais, linguagem receptiva e expressiva ou habilidades orais e auditivas, mantendo a concentração e a coordenação. ”

Essa definição inclui dislexia, dispraxia, discalculia e transtorno de déficit de atenção. A Associação Americana de Psiquiatria tomou uma decisão semelhante no DSM-5 (Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico de Transtornos Mentais – American Psychiatric Association, 2013) e agrupou diferentes dificuldades de aprendizagem sob o termo “transtornos de aprendizagem específicos” (SLD).

Estes incluem três subgrupos de desordem:

distúrbio de aprendizagem específico com prejuízo na leitura

expressão escrita

matemática

O SLD na leitura inclui dificuldades de leitura no nível da palavra (isto é, dislexia) e dificuldades na compreensão da leitura em nível de texto. SLD em matemática é equivalente a discalculia na definição de SpLD utilizada no Reino Unido. O SLD, por escrito, está preocupado com a exatidão ortográfica, precisão gramatical e pontuação e clareza e organização da expressão escrita, e sua contrapartida no Reino Unido é disgrafia.

No DSM-5, o transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade (TDAH) é classificado nas doenças do neurodesenvolvimento, juntamente com os Transtornos do Espectro Autista (TEA). TDAH e TEA não pertencem diretamente ao grupo de LLDs, pois seus efeitos impactam áreas mais amplas da vida cotidiana, não apenas aprendendo dentro e fora dos contextos escolares.

In English

Various terms are used to describe students with learning difficulties in different parts of the world. In this brief article we show you some of the ways in which learning difficulties are grouped and defined in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America.

In the past learning difficulties were classified into distinct sub-types such as:

• ‘dyslexia’ or ‘reading disability’

• ‘dysgraphia’ or ‘writing disability’

• ‘dyscalculia’ or ‘mathematics learning disability’

• ‘dyspraxia’ or ‘developmental co-ordination disorder’ (difficulties with co-ordination of movement)

These sub-types of learning difficulties represented different areas of academic achievement which also influence people’s lives outside school. It was found, however, that there is a considerable overlap between these types of learning difficulties. This made it very difficult to differentiate the various sub-types in a reliable manner.

The solution proposed in the United Kingdom was to group these various learning difficulties under the label of Specific Learning Differences. The Department for Education Working Group in the UK (2005) proposed the following definition:

“SpLDs have particular difficulties, which may include spelling, acquiring fluent reading and writing skills and/or manipulating numbers which may indicate their performance is well below their abilities in other areas. They may also have problems with working memory, organisational skills, receptive and expressive language or oral and auditory skills, maintaining concentration and co-ordination.”

This definition includes dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and attention deficit disorder. The American Psychiatric Association took a similar decision in DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and grouped different learning difficulties under the umbrella term specific learning disorders (SLD).

These include three subgroups of disorder:

• specific learning disorder with impairment in reading

• written expression

• mathematics

SLD in reading includes word-level reading difficulties (ie dyslexia) and difficulties with text-level reading comprehension. SLD in mathematics is equivalent to dyscalculia in the SpLD definition used in the UK. SLD in writing is concerned with spelling accuracy, grammar and punctuation accuracy and clarity and organisation of written expression, and its counterpart in the UK is dysgraphia.

In DSM-5 attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is classified under neurodevelopmental disorders together with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). ADHD and ASD do not directly belong to the group of SpLDs as their effects impact wider areas of everyday life, not just learning in and outside school contexts.

Terminologia sobre Plano de Aula e Gerenciamento da aprendizagem

Segue um glossário com uma lista de termos usados na confecção de um plano de aula eficaz, necessário para uma boa aula com a interação e motivação do aluno.

Lesson aim

What the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson or in the course. The main aim is the most important aim.

Stage aim

The aim or purpose of a stage, step or short section of a lesson.

Subsidiary aim

The secondary focus of the lesson, less important than the main aim. It could be the language or skills learners use in order to achieve the main aim of the lesson, or a skill or language area which is practised while the teacher is working on achieving the main lesson aim.

Personal aim

What the teacher would like to improve in his/her teaching.

Anticipated problems and solutions

When teachers are planning a lesson, they think about what their learners might find difficult about the lesson and about how they can help them learn more effectively at certain points in the lesson.

Assumptions

When teachers think about what they believe their learners will or will not know or how they will behave in a particular lesson.

Class profile

A description of the learners and information about their learning, including their age, ability, strengths and weaknesses in language and skills.

Interaction patterns

The different ways learners and the teacher work together in class, e.g. learner to learner in pairs or groups, or teacher to learner in open class, in plenary. When teachers plan lessons, they think about interaction patterns and write them on their plan.

Language analysis

A breakdown of vocabulary and grammar covered in the lesson which provides information about the structure of the language, what it means and how it is used.

Procedures

A set of actions that describes the way to do something. Teachers write lesson plans and provide details of exactly what is going to happen in each stage of a lesson. The details of the different actions are the procedures of the lesson.

Resources

The materials or tools which teachers use in class to help learners learn.

Stage

A section of a lesson. Lessons have different stages or steps such as lead-in, presentation, practice.

Timetable fit

Teachers plan timetables which provide details of the lessons they will teach in the near future. Timetable fit is about how a lesson fits logically into the sequence of lessons in a timetable.

Timing

The likely time different activities or stages in a lesson plan should take. When teachers plan lessons, they think about how long each activity will take and they usually write this on their plan.

Differentiation

This is when teachers identify and address the different needs, interests or abilities of their learners by providing a range of activity types and using a range of approaches.

TTT

This is the commonly accepted abbreviation for teacher talk time and refers to the amount of time in a lesson that the teacher talks to the learners. It is important that TTT is helpful to the learners.

STT

This is the commonly accepted abbreviation for student talk time and refers to the amount of time in a lesson that the students talk. There needs to be a balance of TTT and STT in a language lesson.

Grading language

This is when teachers use language they know the students have already studied to ease the cognitive load. This can be done by avoiding informal, colloquial language or complex grammar structures.

Eliciting

When the teacher asks learners questions, or prompts them, to come up with ideas or language. It can be used to activate their existing knowledge of a language point in order to base new knowledge on what they already know.

Monitoring

When the teacher observes learners during an activity to check their understanding of the activity and assess their progress.

Feedback

This happens at the end of the activity cycle when the teacher gives the learners feedback on their performance by going through the answers with the class and/or finding out what they have talked about. This stage can be used for further clarification if the learners still need help with the language point.

Source: British Council

Tradições de Ano Novo pelo mundo

Algumas dessas tradições, nós tbm fazemos no Brasil, outras já estudamos durante as aulas. Vale conferir e praticar sua leitura.

Many New Year traditions that we take for granted actually date back to ancient times. This year, ring out the old and ring in the new with a new New Year tradition—or two!

MAKE SOME NOISE

Making a lot of noise—from fireworks to gun shots to church bells—seems to be a favorite pastime around the world.

• In ancient Thailand, guns were fired to frighten off demons.

• In China, firecrackers routed the forces of darkness.

• In the early American colonies, the sound of pistol shots rang through the air.

• Today, Italians let their church bells peal, the Swiss beat drums, and the North Americans sound sirens and party horns to bid the old year farewell.

EAT LUCKY FOOD

Many New Year traditions surround food. Here are a few:

• The tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight comes from Spain. Revelers stuff their mouths with 12 grapes in the final moments of the year—one grape for every chime of the clock!

• In the southern US, black-eyed peas and pork foretell good fortune. See our recipe for Good Luck Hoppin’ John!

• In Scotland—where Hogmanay is celebrated—people parade down the streets swinging balls of fire.

• Eating any ring-shaped treat (such as a doughnut) symbolizes “coming full circle” and leads to good fortune. In Dutch homes, fritters called olie bollen are served.

• The Irish enjoy pastries called bannocks.

• In India and Pakistan, rice promises prosperity.

• Apples dipped in honey are a Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) tradition.

• In Swiss homes, dollops of whipped cream, symbolizing the richness of the year to come, are dropped on the floors—and allowed to remain there!

HAVE A DRINK

Although the pop of a champagne cork signals the arrival of the New Year around the world, some countries have their own beverage-based traditions.

• Wassail, a punch-like drink named after the Gaelic term for “good health,” is served in some parts of England.

• Spiced “hot pint” is the Scottish version of Wassail. Traditionally, the Scots drank to each others’ prosperity and also offered this warm drink to neighbors along with a small gift.

• In Holland, toasts are made with hot, spiced wine.

GIVE A GIFT

New Year’s Day was once the time to swap presents.

• Gifts of gilded nuts or coins marked the start of the new year in Rome.

• Eggs, the symbol of fertility, were exchanged by the Persians.

• Early Egyptians traded earthenware flasks.

• In Scotland, coal, shortbread and silverware were traditionally exchanged for good luck.

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD

In Scotland, the custom of first-footing is an important part of the celebration of Hogmanay, or New Year’s Eve Day.

After midnight, family and friends visit each other’s home. The “first foot” to cross a threshold after midnight will predict the next year’s fortune. Although the tradition varies, those deemed especially fortunate as “first footers” are new brides, new mothers, those who are tall and dark (and

handsome?) or anyone born on January 1.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF

The dawn of a new year is an opportune time to take stock of your life.

• Jews who observe Rosh Hashanah make time for personal introspection and prayer, as well as visiting graves.

• Christian churches hold “watch-night” services, a custom that began in 1770 at Old St. Georges Methodist Church in Philadelphia.

• The practice of making New Year’s resolutions, said to have begun with the Babylonians as early as 2600 B.C., is another way to reflect on the past and plan ahead.

NEW YEAR’S FOLKLORE

Some customs and beliefs are simply passed down through the ages. Here are some of our favorite age-old sayings and proverbs.

• On New Year’s Eve, kiss the person you hope to keep kissing.

• If New Year’s Eve night wind blow south, It betokeneth warmth and growth.

• For abundance in the new year, fill your pockets and cupboards today.

• If the old year goes out like a lion, the new year will come in like a lamb.

• Begin the new year square with every man. [i.e., pay your debts!] –Robert B. Thomas, founder of The Old Farmer’s Almanac

So, whether we resolve to return borrowed farm equipment (as did the Babylonians) or drop a few pounds, we’re tapping into an ancient and powerful longing for a fresh start!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Aprendendo Inglês na Terceira Idade

There are many benefits of studying for older learners, such as increased self-confidence, increased feelings of health and well-being, reduced feelings of isolation, and increased engagement in the community.

Many seniors wish to study a foreign language and there is now substantial evidence that they can learn a new language effectively. My experience is that senior learners are excellent language students for a number of reasons.

Life experience

Senior students have a wealth of life experience and when they bring this to the classroom they enrich the learning experience of the whole class. Our teachers comment that older learners are excellent students to have in the classroom as they are always happy to talk about their experiences and give their opinions on a wide range of topics.

Great motivation

Senior learners do not normally need a certificate, diploma or university credit; their motivation is intrinsic. They may study for intellectual enjoyment, to socialise with their peers or because it is something they have always wanted to do. In fact, senior learners are very often more highly motivated than younger learners. Their high level of motivation is a great advantage as this has been identified as one of the most important factors in determining successful language learning. The motivation of senior learners is reflected by the fact that they rarely miss a class, participate very actively in the classroom and always do their homework.

Social element

We have discovered that there is a strong social component in seniors attending English classes. They often attend class to mix with their peers, forming very strong friendships and socialising together after the class and even in their free time.

Attitude

Our experience is that senior learners have an extremely positive attitude toward language learning and life in general. They treat both their teachers and their classmates with the utmost respect and politeness. Our teachers often comment on how kind, considerate, and hardworking senior learners are, and what a pleasure they are to teach.

So our experience is that the life experience, motivation to learn, and positive attitude of senior learners provide them with many advantages as language learners. However, there are cognitive, affective and physiological factors which can affect senior language learning. We are going to identify these factors and then look at how you can adapt your courses and practices to meet the needs of older learners.

Helping students hear

Hearing loss may have a direct impact on learning and performance for senior learners. In order to decrease the negative effects of this auditory loss, teachers should try to accommodate the aging ear in a number of ways by:

• speaking clearly and ensuring that the students can see their face and lips.

• adjusting the volume for listenings and videos.

• repeating listening texts.

• using short films and videos which aid listening comprehension as students can see the face and lips of the speakers.

• ensuring that your classrooms have little background noise.

Helping students see

Defective vision increases dramatically as people age. Visual ability is particularly important in education as it is generally accepted that approximately 80% of all learning occurs through vision. To accommodate this loss in vision, here are some steps to follow:

• Use a larger print type for printed text.

• Make sure that senior students sit as close to the board as possible.

• Write very clearly on the board.

• Ensure that classrooms have a lot of natural light and that there is direct lighting for the whiteboard.

Mobility

As people age the body tends to lose some strength, flexibility and mobility. They may also suffer from arthritis and rheumatism. These changes may make it difficult for older learners to move around the classroom. To compensate for these changes we recommend doing the following things:

• Ensure that older learners have comfortable chairs and tables.

• Allow more time for older students to do whole class communicative activities where students have to stand up and move around the classroom.

Memory

Research indicates that cognitive development, recall, and problem solving may show decline with aging. In order to overcome this cognitive decline which may make it more difficult to learn a new language, teachers can help seniors develop and maintain their cognitive ability in a number of ways:

• Integrate memory exercises into classes. Use visual and auditory mnemonic devices, examples and memory associations to help seniors rehearse and later retrieve vocabulary and expressions from long-term memory.

• Systematically repeat and recycle grammar, vocabulary and expressions.

• Encourage students to draw on their wealth of experiences and to use cognitive strategies they have used successfully in the past in their current language learning environment.

• Allow more time for students to produce language without being interrupted.

Building confidence / Reducing stress

Many older learners fear failure and are more anxious than younger learners, perhaps this is because they accept the stereotype of the older learner as a poor language learner or because of previous unsuccessful attempts to learn a foreign language. Older learners need to feel comfortable and trust the teacher and the other students before they participate fully in the language classroom. A key role of the teacher is to reduce anxiety and build trust and self-confidence in the senior learner.

Here are some of the things teachers can do to reduce stress and build self-confidence in older adult learners:

• Find out what our older learners’ motivations are for learning a language and adjust our methodology accordingly.

• Use humanistic techniques to build empathy between the teacher and students, and among the students.

• Reduce the focus on error correction to build learners’ self-confidence and to promote language production.

• Avoid timed tests which may make senior learners anxious.

• Give senior students more time to complete activities.

• Promote a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom.

My experience is that any difficulties which senior learners may experience in the language classroom can be overcome through adjustments to the learning environment and material, attention to physical, affective and cognitive factors, and the use of an effective teaching methodology which focuses on the learning process rather than academic achievement.

Kieran Donaghy is teacher at UAB Idiomes, Barcelona. He is also the creator of http://film-english.com/, an award-winning website providing free resources for teachers wishing to use video effectively in their classrooms.

Author:

Kieran Donaghy

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