We achieve or learn when learning satisfies or rewards us. | Photo credit: Freepik
LEarning is not the privilege of a small elite! Social status, economic prosperity, location advantage, and so on are not requirements or necessary conditions for learning to happen. You don’t have to be extremely intelligent, especially talented, or ‘good at languages’ to learn a foreign language. Every normal person is pre-programmed to learn. All we need to stimulate learning is a favorable atmosphere and an internal drive to learn. A persuasive appeal to a topic that is understandable and provides ample opportunity for interaction in the target language during the process of understanding issues and solving problems related to the topic ensures that a learner learns both the content and the medium. What is encouraging is that it is not impossible to introduce these options into our schools and colleges.
Making the abstract visible
In a sense, learning, like seeing, is involuntary. No one needs to learn to see another normal person. All you have to do is open your eyes and everything in front of you becomes visible. You just need to determine what you want to understand and wisely omit anything that distracts. Some help from a caring expert or colleagues will help you not ignore what is crucial but not obvious in what is visible. This helps focus your attention on what is essential and on subliminal features that may go unnoticed upon superficial observation, such as the implied arrow in the Amazon logo that connects the A to Z, and the hidden 31 in the Baskin Robbins logo that appears on subtly suggests the types of ice cream. offered. An additional difference that the expert can make is to make the abstract concrete and visible.
At this point we must face the daunting fact that not all of us acquire everything we wish to acquire. Despite firm intentions and repeated attempts, many seem to be making no progress. Let’s explore what makes them give up their pursuit halfway through. Think of the three resolutions you made in the last six months, the things you needed to acquire, the three skills or information you wanted to achieve. Such as learning to drive a car, mastering a computer package or language, cooking something new, learning to speak a new language, trying to lose weight, or publishing an article in Scopus or UGC journals.
Which of these were you able to achieve? Which one did you leave? If you analyze the factors for both, you will agree that the main reason for giving up is one of the following: the task was beyond your capabilities; had no immediate use or relevance; was dull and boring.
Thus it becomes clear that we achieve or learn what we really desire, what we desire and what we enjoy because it satisfies or rewards us. It is when our passion grows into persistence and becomes a pleasure that we begin to realize a symbiotic attraction; that what we are looking for is also looking out for us.
Tips from games
Watch the amazing mastery kids achieve when learning video games like Minecraft or Roblox. These are the same students who find subjects in class abhorrent. Yet they easily master computer games that are much more confusing than the rules governing language construction! They master complex concepts involving multiple interconnected parts, which operate under specific conditions and require an understanding of the rules. Playing the game requires them to calculate their most successful route, anticipate the likely move of the competitors, develop strategies to counter them and take advantage of favorable assistance. Their mastery, competence and expertise is astonishing.
Their success is due to the fact that the game creates in them a compulsive need to learn and a pleasure and passion so captivating that they do not worry about the burdens and demands that put them on the winning path. To replicate this in the classroom, we must consider characteristics that make learning so compulsive, engaging, and effective. A striking feature is that the game is adapted to their learning level, both in terms of speed and cognitive demand. The game becomes attractive because it is dynamic and takes place in an almost natural context. The fact that the player earns and collects rewards is a highly motivating factor. The ability to track someone’s progress and the on-demand, just-in-time, just-for-you feedback is non-threatening and helps keep them on track and improving progress.
Classroom activities that incorporate these characteristics ensure that students learn what teachers teach. Learning would become a joy, transforming students’ current ‘have to’ attitudes and struggles with learning into a welcome ‘wanting’ process of proactive learning that produces more certain and desirable results.
The writer is Provincial Advisor, Educational Resource and Research Center and Director of Joseph’s Hub for Languages (JHL), Tiruchi.
Published – Nov 2, 2024 6:30 PM IST