La Editura Didactica Militans a CCD Bihor a apărut recent ebook-ul Education Without Barriers. Supplementary Curriculum Materials with Resources and Teaching Projects Adapted for Special and Integrated Education („Educația fără bariere. Materiale curriculare suplimentare cu resurse și proiecte didactice adaptate pentru educația specială și integrată”), la care au colaborat cadre didactice din Croația, Polonia, Portugalia, România și Turcia. Vă prezentăm în continuare o parte dintr-un eseu semnat de dna prof. Adina Cărădan, de la Centrul Școlar de Educatie Incluzivă ,,Orizont” Oradea, inclus în această lucrare.
Prof. Adina Cărădan susține că profesorul de limba engleză trebuie să adapteze conținutul și metodele de predare la nevoile fiecărui elev, inclusiv ale celor cu cerințe educaționale speciale, într-un sistem de învățământ centrat pe elev și bazat pe accesul egal la educație. Autoarea consideră că lecțiile trebuie să fie atractive, interactive și variate (jocuri de rol, muncă în echipă, brainstorming), deoarece elevii implicați activ perturbă mai rar lecția, iar profesorul are astfel de rezolvat mai puține probleme de disciplină. Un rol important are și recompensa: sentimentul succesului este, pentru elevul care întâmpină dificultăți, cea mai bună motivație, iar încrederea pe care o arată adulții în el îi dezvoltă stima de sine. Pentru acești elevi sunt necesare atenție specială și, de preferință, clase cu un număr mai mic de elevi (Dobson, 1987).
Motivația este prezentată ca factorul-cheie al reușitei în învățarea unei limbi străine, deoarece, potrivit cercetărilor lui Gardner și ale altor autori, aceasta prezice succesul mai bine decât capacitățile cognitive: elevii motivați sunt dispuși să investească timpul necesar. Eseul distinge, urmând Gardner și Lambert (1972), între motivația extrinsecă (recompensă, admiterea la facultate) și cea intrinsecă (dorința de a înțelege limba și de a comunica cu vorbitorii ei), subliniind că ambele sunt importante, alături de implicarea afectivă și emoțională (Tomlinson, 2003). Motivația nu este constantă în timp și este mai puternică atunci când elevii au scopuri specifice, nu generale; de aceea profesorii îi pot ajuta stabilind obiective concrete, mai ales că mulți elevi uită motivul inițial și învață doar pentru note. În plus, atitudinea față de limbă poate fi influențată de percepția asupra vorbitorilor ei, de exemplu prin preferința pentru engleza britanică în detrimentul celei americane.
Motivating Students With Special Educational Needs In The Process of Learning English
Every student in the classroom is important to the teacher. While some students can organise their learning effectively and easily understand the material being taught, others experience difficulties in learning, processing, understanding, and using that material.
Students who perform at very high, high, average, or low levels are all part of a class. Teachers must organise and adapt the material they teach so that it addresses the needs of every student in the class. Students with learning difficulties are an integral part of the class, and teachers must adapt learning content and teaching methods to their special educational needs. In this way, teachers can adapt the curriculum and use appropriate cognitive stimulation when working with these students.
Children build and develop their personalities at school. The education system is student-centred. Equal access to education must be provided to everyone.
Children are curious, creative, and eager to communicate. I believe these are three key words that should guide a teacher’s work. Teaching and learning are complex processes. During a lesson, teachers should use a variety of learning methods, such as role-play, teamwork (either groups of students with similar abilities or mixed groups of higher- and lower-performing students), brainstorming, and so on. Whatever teaching and learning method the teacher uses, students should have the opportunity to act, interact, and participate during the lesson.
Human existence depends on communication. Teachers must find ways to communicate with their students. There are many reasons why a student may struggle or experience learning difficulties. Teachers must be prepared to face any challenge.
Each student’s motivation, attitude, mood, needs, wishes, enthusiasm, and energy vary from day to day. The teacher is responsible for providing the initial energy for a lesson: good materials can sustain and even increase that energy. (Tomlinson, 2003: 18)
The most important factor in encouraging interactive behaviour is providing attractive, interesting lessons. Students will enjoy them and will be less likely to disrupt the lesson, as they will be engaged in what is happening.
Reward: “Success breeds success.” The best motivation and reward for a student who struggles academically is knowing that they are succeeding. If the adults in an adolescent’s life show that they believe in them, the adolescent will develop greater self-confidence. In fact, people of every age need the confidence of those around them. We tend to act in ways that reflect how others “see” us. Students with learning difficulties need special attention from their teacher throughout their academic work. (Dobson, 1987: 76)
Dr Dobson states that students who struggle academically because of various difficulties need special attention, which can be provided more effectively in a class with fewer students.
Motivation is important for every individual in every activity they undertake. Students who display disruptive behaviour also need motivation: motivation to pay attention and to want to participate. It does not take an expert to realise that students who frequently disrupt lessons are seeking the group’s attention. For them, anonymity is the most painful experience.
Motivation is the key to success in learning. Motivation predicts success. Although many people believe that students who successfully learn a foreign language must have strong cognitive abilities, research into second-language acquisition has shown otherwise. A number of studies by R. C. Gardner and his colleagues, as well as by researchers around the world, have found that motivation predicts success in foreign-language learning. Motivation may be associated with foreign-language learning because learning a language takes time, and motivated individuals are willing to devote the time required. It is true that a specific reason for learning a foreign language can help people learn more quickly by directing their efforts and sustaining their motivation. (Gardner, 2003: 167)
People may have different reasons for studying a foreign language. Sometimes they study for practical reasons; at other times, they have a special affinity for a particular language and its people. Language teachers are often aware of the advantages of knowing another language, but unfortunately, for many students, learning a language means nothing more than earning a grade. Since Gardner and Lambert’s seminar in 1972, language teachers and researchers have recognised the role motivation plays in learning. Gardner and Lambert identified the types of motivation that foreign-language learners may have. They distinguished between two types: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Students with extrinsic motivation learn a foreign language to obtain a reward or gain admission to college. Students with intrinsic motivation want to learn the language in order to understand and use it better and to communicate with people who speak it. (Gardner & Lambert, 1972: 132)
References
Cole, Robert W. (Ed.). (2008). Educating Everybody’s Children (Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners). Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data, Alexandria, U.S.A.
Dobson, James. (1987). Dr. Dobson Answers Your Questions About Raising Children. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
Gardner and Masgoret. (2003). Attitudes, Motivation and Second Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Conducted by Gardner and Associates.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Tomlinson, Brian. (2003). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. Continuum–Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/learners/02/maintaining.php
prof. ADINA CĂRĂDAN,
Centrul Școlar de Educație Incluzivă ,,Orizont” Oradea
Parcurgeți integral contribuția dnei prof. Adina Cărădan accesând e-book-ul Education Without Barriers. Supplementary Curriculum Materials with Resources and Teaching Projects Adapted for Special and Integrated Education.
Sursă portret: fototeca personală Adina Cărădan
