Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Len8]

came across this term in an ESL book, and it apparently refers to the humanistic side of English teaching. Seems to be concerned with getting students to feel and have emotional attachments to the English they learn.

Anyone out there used methods remotely related to this concept

[Wrench]

I haven't but you could beat your kids while have them cry out please stop teacher, your hurting me

[voth]

Here are a couple of links that may help you.

Reference links
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003319.htm
http://www.inspiritive.com.au/nlp-research.htm
http://maxpages.com/teachenglish/Games_in_Language_Teaching
http://www.gu.edu.au/school/art/text/oct04/mills.htm

[seoulunitarian]

[Fredbob]

My background is in Counseling Psych so I pretty much do this naturally.

I use it to teach writing, it does seem to have a good impact on retention and I've seen some pretty dramatic results in improving sentence structure. It also tends to motivate them to take risks with more difficult sentence structures and more complicated words since their use is required to adequately express their thoughts. In particular I have the students write journals based on personal objectives I give them based upon previous journal entries and they write essays about topics that are individually important to them according to the style or grammar lesson I'm teaching. Sometimes they complain that it is too difficult but usually they see the results and that motivates them. It's very different from how they've been taught in the past and so during the first class I tend to explain (very dumbed down) how the class will go to them with examples of how having an emotional connection to an experience, word or concept helps you remember it.

I might be taking it a little to far and the way I do it has one very big negative, it takes a lot of time, especially with less advanced students who still have major sentence structure issues.

[Paji eh Wong]

Boink.

I'm interested in NLP. Primarilly for myself, but also for my students. I'm looking at taking a big, expensive course in the UK, but I have some reservations about NLP and Korean students.

So what do you think. Should I take the expensive NLP for teachers course or take a cheaper "personal" course?

[Woland]

Go to the Skeptic's Dictionary for an overview of what a waste of your money that class would be.

http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html

I like to think of NLP as:

Non-Neurological

Laugh-Out-Loud Linguistics

Pure *Beep*ing Bull*beep*

It is basically a New Age self-help scam designed to suck money out of people's wallets.

If you want your humanism cheaper and more scientifically grounded, take a look at Self-Determination Theory, a humanistic theory of motivation developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan at the University of Rochester. You can get a lot of information at Deci's website:

http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/

A good popularization of the work can be found in Deci's book, Why we do what we do (1996, Penguin). Here's one of 3 reviews rated 5 stars on amazon.com (out of 4 reviews total; the other is 4 stars):

This book will be a great addition to any teachers, managers, or parents bookshelves. It explores the psychology of intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) motivation and shows how supervisors, and other people in "one-up" positions, can be more than managers, but true leaders who foster autonomous, authentic growth and responsible decision-making in their subordinates. A must read for anyone who recognizes the lack of responsiblity and accountability in people today and would like to foster positive change in our schools, our companies, and our society.

They have copies for less than $11.

Another approach you might look up is Mihalyi Csikszentminhalyi's Flow theory. Flow is a theory of optimal experience in activities. Again, the work has a long pedigree in psychological research. Try any of these books, all less than $11 from Amazon:

Flow: The psychology of optimal experience
Finding Flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life
Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention

For a broader view of positive psychology, you can pick up Wiiliam C. Compton's An Introduction to Positive Psychology at Kyobo for W20,000. I did the other day.

You can save money and get smarter. There is so much stuff better than NLP out there. Don't get ripped off.

[schwa]

I watched a program on Discovery channel a couple nights ago about oddball humans (a contortionist, a guy who liked sticking skewers through his body, & so on) & one guy who was using neurolingusitic programming (he called it "mind control") to get passersby to place their hand on a window then convince them they couldnt unstick it. They seemed genuinely stuck. Hidden in the spiel was the fact he had an eye for gullible types. He relied a lot on hypnotic-like repetition & eye contact.

I prefer the tried & true method of having your students eat a dictionary.

[Paji eh Wong]

Thanks for the post, Woland.

Yes, I was some-what aware of criticisms of NLP. No, NLP is not empirical and not verifiable. No, there doesn�t seem to be any central, unifying theory; I guess a precise definition of it is impossible. In the reading I have done, the authors have acknowledged these points. I found a lot of the other objections in the article, like �obscure terminology� and the changing positions of NLP�s founders, to be muck raking. Something that has come out of this that I hadn�t considered is the misuse of the word technology in NLP.

I can live with NLP not being scientific. I don�t believe science is the be-all-and-end-all of human knowledge. I have a degree in psychology, so I think I�m somewhat entitled to my opinion that the social sciences �work�, except when they don�t. Admittedly, I�m not well read on humanistic psychology, but from what I know, I don�t see how it�s compatible with the reductionism of science.

I�ve heard of Csikszentminhalyi but haven�t read his books. I hadn�t heard of Deci and Ryan, but they sound interesting. I�ll check out their books when I get the chance.

As for the suggestion that I read books instead of take a course, it�s been my experience that that isn�t the way to go. I�ve read books on ELT methodology, but my cert course was far more useful.

Just so we�re on the up-and-up, tell us about your experience with NLP.


Schwa, good luck with the dictionaries.

[Corky]

I find hitting the students with a stick works best for memory retention. Some of them actually enjoy it. One had a hard on, I'm sure of it. The class goes great now. It's a class on auto-erotic language learning. The students are exposed to pleading, requesting, asking (so boring), grovellling, and whining. In return, they are also exposed to critical analysis of behaviour patterns. I find that this intimate way of interacting with my students builds a level of respect I've found in few other classrooms. May I suggest then, that you try S&M in your own classrooms, or with your partners, especially if they are Korea (for the language acquisition).

[Paji eh Wong]

Sweet. Now I have a reason to wear my chaps to class.


Thanks for coming out spud boy.

[Hotpants]

Does Suggestopedia count as a strand of NLP? It was one of the most bizarre educational theories I have heard about. Could be kinda fun!!!...

These are my summary notes on Suggestopedia from 'Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching' for those who don't know about it:

- Suggestopedia is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist educator Georgi Lozanov. It is a specific set of learning recommendations derived from Suggestology, which Lozanov describes as a �science�concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or nonconscious influences� that human beings are constantly responding to.� The most conspicuous characteristics of Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the classroom, the use of music, and the authoritative behaviour of the teacher. The method has few direct links to Western methods. It has a lot of archane terminology. Yoga and soviet psychology are part of the influences. Suggestion and association in a semi hypnotic state. People remember best information coming from an authoritative source.
- A Suggestopedia course lasts 30 days and consists of 10 units of study. 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. Students are given a new name and a new biography to detach themselves from past learning experiences. They may be given a name to help their pronunciation. Groups of learners must be balanced. 6 men and 6 women. Sitting in symmetrical arrangements. Learners must remain in a pseudo passive state at all times. Students are expected to tolerate and in fact encourage their own infantilization.

[Paji eh Wong]

[coolsage]

It's the 'progamming' aspect that bothers me. At its best, it sounds like Scientology. At its worst, it seems rather Orwellian. Perhaps a change of label would give more credence to the practice, which, no doubt, is filled with sincere adherents. I'd like to hear more from anyone on this turf who is actually applying that philosophy down here on the ground with actual students.

[Woland]

Suggestopedia and NLP are unrelated except in that they are both forms of nonsense.

A complete response to the earlier response to my post will come to tomorrow evening. It's been a long day and I'm too wiped to respond in detail right now.