Cognitive Skills and Language Learning. 

When teaching young learners there are many factors to take into account. But one that called my attention when reading the text by McKay about teaching young learners, was the factor of the cognitive skills. As it is mentioned in the text, young learners not only face the challenge of learning another language, they are also developing their cognitives skills. Now, the question is, how is that language learning can help them go through this process successfully?

Well, research shows very interesting outcomes in cognitive development in language learners. Language learning gives us tools to give students stimmuli and tools to reach high cognitive skills. According to the Theory of Cognitive Development of Jean Piaget; every person goes through certain stages depending on their age and their success in achieving them depends on the environment the person is exposed to. In the best of the scenarios we would like to get our students to what Piaget calls the formal operational stage. As McKay (2012) explains "...when they begin to hypothesize, build abstract categories and handle more than two variables at the time. Their interpretation of symbols in stories and art becomes less literal and their understanding of abstract social concepts, such as democracy, becomes more sophisticated".

If we make an analysis on language learning and the goals you have to reach in this stage according to Piaget, language learners have an advantage getting there. Learning a new language is a new way of seeing the world, as you start to learn new ways of calling the world around you, and not only that, a language reflects a whole culture, a way of living, that is where our tools are to help students reach cognitive goals. 

By learning a language students hypothesize, as when they try new ways of expresing and see if it works to communicate, they can build abstract categories, as when they categorize the language you use in different situations as well as cultural codes and like that so many possibilities. 

To conclude, this reading made me thought of our role as educator, we not only have our students learning a language, but we can be facilitators in their personal growth.

Oops, that wasn't what I was supposed to do! 

In test instructions there are two factors that seem to be crucial. First, make them clear enough, two that students actually read them.

As teacher we have the job, when assessing with tests, to make instructions clear and second to help our students know the importance of reading them. 

In my opinion one of the strategies we can do for our students to read the instructions, is to make some rehearse activities before the test, so they can get use to read the instructions. For example, if in the text you will have them answer specific information of a reading, help your students before, testing the instructions you plan to put in the test and revise them to see if they are clear and effective.

On the other hand, when planning how to write instructions you have always to have present that the purpose of the instructions is not to see if students can understand them, but that they help in the process of collecting your students performance and that they give all facilities for them to do their best in their tests. 

Now, what would you think could be another strategy to make instructions more effective?

Creating Rubrics to Score Portafolios

Alternative Assessment: When Procastination Attacks.

To see the Slideshare presentation click HERE

Assessing Reading: A Sample of a Test to Tackle some of the Skills when Reading.

Designers: Zulma Xiomara Rueda, Sulma Julexy Quijano, Sebastián Acevedo, Juan Pablo Triana

This is  sample that we designed taking into account two Micro and two Macro skills which we want to assess in our students when reading.

These skills were presented by Brown (2000) in his book "Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices" 

By clicking below, you will be redirected to a scribd document to see the test:
     

TO SEE THE TEST CLICK HERE

CHALLENGES WHEN ASSESSING READING

"Even when we are bombarded with an undenying supply of visual media and auditory media, the written word continues in its function to convey information, to amuse and entertain us, to codify our social, economic, and legal conventions and to fulfill a host of other functions" (Brown, 2000) When reading this quote this reminded me of my experience at one airport for the first time. I was completely lost and, therefore, scared, untill, I saw my salvation: Information signs! My ability of reading helped me get through that situation. And like that, reading gives us a number of opportunities to access new information.

Now, knowing the importance of reading, and helping our students to find proper strategies and ways of developing this skill, there is a big challenge in front of us. How to assess it?

Certainly, many are the factors which make assessing reading a challenge; I will focus this entry on one which is define in one word: Schemata

Brown (2000) defines schemata as background information and cultural experience. This represents a challenge. When learning a second language we are also getting closer to a set of different cultural aspects; but, students bring their own cultural background. I think the challenge is presented when assessing reading specially interactive and extensive reading. Two different students may bring different ideas and comprehend a text differently. In addition to that, we as teachers bring our own. the challenge is to guide our students by presenting them not only texts but the proper schemata, and so, when assessing, having a clear idea of what are the goals we want our students to achieve and taking into account what our students bring to the text.

My strategy would be having a rubric which does not limit to "correct" answers, but that is directed to the analytical abilities of the students. Now, dear partners, what would be your ideas?

TESTING, ASSESSING AND TEACHING


When reading this chapter there were four questions (which I will discuss here)  that came to my mind:

-Do tests always need to be "monsters" to be afraid of?




I can say there is one time in any academic institution when students look like dead-walkers: EXAMS WEEK
For almost everyone, exams represent fear and anxiety. What is funny to me is to remember a couple of expiriences were I was told "X teacher is great, almost no one passes the subject with him/her", or the typical "I suffer in this subject, but for sure I learned a lot". Now, is fear a way of pushing students to take a subject seriously? Or on the other side we are killing creative minds with fear?
I must addmit once I thought I wanted to be a feared teacher, and as I go along my evolution as a future educator I questioned myself, why do we admire and respect what causes fear?


- How little importance we give to positive informal assessment. How much positive informal assessment am I used to recieve and give?



I've been wondering this from a little ago. When I was abroad I had to take care of two little kids (3 and 5 years old) When I had just arrived something very peculiar happened, the mom (who was herself an educator) told me she needed to talk to me. She said " Zulma, I think you're doing a good job with my kids, but there is one thing I would like you to take into account. I would like to hear more motivation from you to them, that they feel you're noticing and giving more importance to the things they do well". That change the things completely for me. I started noticing how little I was used to hear and say "good job" Now, as a teacher I am trying this "new thing" with my students, sometimes it is funny to see their surprise when they hear positive comments and I can see they feel motivated to keep trying. I think sometimes we give little power to this informal way of assessing and we forget how empowering it can be.



-  Although we all talk about the different "intelligences", do we really take them into account in our classroom when assessing our students?




When reading the materials for this subject and when being in the class I keep thinking "well, I am not the teacher I want to be yet". I say this, because although I know all the theory, I see I haven't been able of changing radically the way I teach which is the way I was taught. I have been reading about Howard Gardner and his theory of the multiple intelligences since my second year at the university, but still I haven't found a way were I can assess my students taking this into account. When I think why is that, all I can answer myself is: It takes more work. That makes me realize that I need not only to put the motivation to my practice as a teacher, but also the investment of taking the time and the brain to do the job. Now, the question that come to my mind is, how can I make my students and parents understand we are all smart in different ways?