Psychology for Language Teachers

[fluffyhamster]

I was wondering what people think/know about this. Is it interesting stuff, useful and applicable to the classroom? Is a lot of it common sense, the sort of realizations that come from experience anyway, or does it really have to be studied? If so, is a book such as the one below from CUP any good?

http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projec ... id=2500457

I picked up a couple of books aimed at state school teachers (not necessarily language teachers) a while ago, but haven't really had a chance to look at them yet.

[fluffyhamster]

No Derren Brown-like Jedi mind tricks in woodcutter's classes then, it seems:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewt ... 9057#39057 (Thread begun by Bradwelljackson, entitled, 'Is it true that there are seven parts of speech?')

->

Yes, I just posted the link so you could laugh at the wrongheaded/meaningless verbiage, which I think is all too common in educational writing.

(and which by the way is fairly likely to occur in the psychological textbooks Fluff is asking about in another thread).

Oh dear, I seem to be back in F grade mode again.

Thanks for the indirect reply. Any direct ones?

[woodcutter]

The books could be fantastic, there are many mind tricks and cunning manipulations which are useful for any teacher. However, I fear such a book from CUP is more likely to be full of the sort of useless, colourless burbling that people produce in order to earn PhDs in education, and geared towards the rather unreachable holy grail of empowering learners to learn rather than the teaching of teacherish tricks to teachers. Books about teaching with spirals and triangles on the front invoking "the latest research" tend to be of little practical utility in the classroom. They will probably also mainly consider the sort of nice little multi-national classes that researchers at big universities teach.

I'd be delighted to be proved wrong by someone providing below a list of useful classroom hints they picked up from such publications, especially if they can cite the cutting-edge research which revealed these gems.

[fluffyhamster]

If psychology has or finds little or no practical application in education, where then does it? Like I say, it apparently forms a not-negligible part of state teacher reading if not training. Not that I will be too upset if this topic continues to die a slow death.

[woodcutter]

You didn't ask about psychology in the class. You asked about the book, and I'm just saying I doubt you will enjoy it. Anyway, you are UK based now, so why not go to the library and check it out?

[fluffyhamster]

You didn't ask about psychology in the class.

Eh?

I was wondering what people think/know about this (=Psychology). Is it interesting stuff, useful and applicable to the classroom? Is a lot of it common sense, the sort of realizations that come from experience (=ELT experience) anyway, or does it really have to be studied?

I could go to the local library, but they don't usually have stuff by the likes of Michael Stone, Oswald Cohen-Tiedemann or Zelda von Strugleheiman, and I'm tired of buying it (in every sense LOL).

[woodcutter]

I assumed your first sentences related to the book, since you couldn't possibly be asking whether psychology, in the broadest sense, had some role in the classroom....

Yes. Yes it does. It's important. Classes shouldn't have a negative mood, for example. But not every Cambridge Education PhD person I have encountered has realized that acting like a dull, droning sack of potatoes has a bad psychological effect on an audience.

[fluffyhamster]

Damn. I knew it was risky to have the thread title anticipate the book title I went on to mention, but I just couldn't stop myself from being all "clever". Next time, I'll make sure I break things up with a comma and go easy on the caps (e.g. Psychology, for language teachers).

[fluffyhamster]

It's important. Classes shouldn't have a negative mood, for example. But not every Cambridge Education PhD person I have encountered has realized that acting like a dull, droning sack of potatoes has a bad psychological effect on an audience.

Professor Woodcutter von Tourettes, you've also said that shreiking and crashing about like a sexually-frustrated silverback isn't good for classes either. What then pray tell would be the best way in which to conduct one's teaching?! Surely not in calm and pleasant yet reasonably brisk and lively manner!



This: <<you couldn't possibly be asking whether psychology, in the broadest sense, had some role in the classroom>> contradicts this: <<there are many mind tricks and cunning manipulations which are useful for any teacher>>. So, let's assume you're right and that the CUP book is complete pants. That still leaves me Luke Cageknibbler awaiting instruction by you, Obi Wan-faced Can Not Can-can.

[woodcutter]

There's no contradiction - psychology is useful, of course, but academic books will be too broad and waffly, research the unresearchable, state the obvious. In general I think teacher training should be about lots and lots of hints that you can take or leave rather than dubious broad brushwork.

For example, a group of half-dead Confucian-culture students may be perked up by a randomizing instrument which one student can use to select another to "perform". This is fun and takes away the odium of volunteering.

[fluffyhamster]

For example, a group of half-dead Confucian-culture students may be perked up by a randomizing instrument which one student can use to select another to "perform". This is fun and takes away the odium of volunteering.

Could end up like that scene from The Deer Hunter (you know, the bit where they play Twister). Best thing in Asia is for the teacher to really know their stuff and actually be able to tell the students what's what (using their L1 can help), rather than leave them to figure things out totally for/by themselves (which is what a lot of "communicative" activity does ultimately).

[woodcutter]

That's a viewpoint you'll never find in a CUP book which discusses Asia.

Actually I think generally you have to tell people things, and that sometimes helps them figure it out for themselves.

"Ah! That's what he was rambling on about then!"