Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies

4.5.Teaching conditions

This subchapter discusses the time and place of the lessons and their impact on teaching. As has been mentioned the lessons take place from 4 to 5 p.m.. Therefore, they take place after the school, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that the children who went to school were already having English that day and therefore they still have it fresh in their memory. However, they are also tired, because they have already been studying and sometimes they say they want to be home and play computer games. Those still going to kindergarten have lots of energy, most of them are attending other courses after the English course ends and it is mostly them who refuse to leave and want to learn more.

The course takes place in room that is not reserved for teaching English. Even though it is adjusted to teaching languages it is designated for teaching languages to adults. On the other hand the leisure time centre is focused on children, therefore there are lots of toys and materials that can be distracting during the lesson. As the English for children is probably just starting there, there are no posters, English books or games or anything else. It was therefore necessary to bring the materials into the classroom.

4.6.A list of observations

Below all the observations mentioned in the text are provided. The text of the observations is modified in such a way that they can be listed as single observations.

Observation 1: Children need to experience the world with all their senses. They need to learn by experiencing the world; they do not understand abstract principles. Together with the fact that “they have a very short attention and concentration span” it means that they need variety of different activities and for these activities to change in short intervals during the lesson. As “they cannot decide for themselves what to learn” it is the responsibility of the teacher to present them with as many different activities as possible so that the teacher can deduce what the children react to best or where are their weaknesses, and adapt the future activities according to these observations.

Observation 2: Children from 5 to 7 years perform the actions in order the teacher mentions them. When the analyzed group was told to do something with addition to do something else before that, first they did what they were told first. It is therefore important to give them the instructions in the order in which they are supposed to be executed and also to give them only the instructions they need at the moment, otherwise they will follow the instructions even though they are not supposed to yet.

Observation 3: Children from 5 to 7 years do not have the need to share. They are happy to work alone in the company of others. This was particularly evident in comparison of the younger pupils and the older boy. When drawing a picture he had a tendency to comment on the pictures of others that the others did not show.

Observation 4: Eight year olds ask questions all the time. The older boy asks questions about English vocabulary and seems genuinely interested in English. He also asks about the topic of the lesson, when will various topics be discussed and whether it would be possible to add topics that he is struggling to understand in lessons in school to the curriculum of the course.

Observation 5: Eight year olds are able to make decisions about their own learning (see Observation 4).

Observation 6: Eight year olds are able to work with others and learn from them. Even though it is rather the others who learn from the older boy, he is willing to explain the instructions to the others or to translate when asked to.

Observation 7: The teacher should try and simplify the language when speaking with children and not to use expressions they do not understand. E.g.: A term “sanctions” was used with the analyzed group, even though they probably have never encountered the word before. Even though it does not mean exactly the same it is more proper to use the term “punishment” with children

Observation 8: It has proven effective to let the others learn from the oldest boy. E.g.: Let him recite the alphabet or the numbers first so that the others can mimic him.. With most of the children in the group less advanced than him there is a threat of him being bored. To allow him help the teacher stimulates a sense of importance in him and at the same time, by acknowledging his advancement as a positive feature for the group, it does not diminish self-confidence of the others. It is nevertheless important to make sure that the tasks given to the group are challenging enough even for him or to invent a more challenging task to suit his needs. He is also allowed to approach the tasks in a way he chooses.

Conclusion

The purpose of this thesis is to prove that learner’s individuality should be taken into consideration and it should be done from the earliest age. The questions of how far individualisation can go, how to approach it and what should be taken into consideration have been asked. This thesis also seeks to provide reasons for individualisation.

This purpose has been fulfilled by dealing successively with each of these aspects. The thesis is divided into three parts (excluding the case study) in order to illustrate every point thoroughly. The first part deals with the subject of examination. It presents characteristics of the target group of children and the observations made by the writer of this thesis concerning these characteristics. It illustrates how far individualisation can go in case of this age group and presents reasons why it is desirable to start individualisation this early. As the examined children are of different abilities, this chapter also deals with mixed-ability classroom and the way different abilities of the children can be used for the benefit of all. This chapter also deals with the question of why differentiate and presented the many ways in which the learners can differ.

The second chapter treats the question how far in individualisation one can go. It presents the means of individualised teaching a learner can encounter nowadays when they demand individual approach and the pleasant characteristics of this type of teaching. Then, it focuses on the examined age group and presented various methods in which the teaching of these pupils can be executed. As the text argues that the children of the examined age group learn best by incorporating the whole body and all senses the methods incorporating different parts of the body and different senses are provided offering a huge palette of teaching methods.

The last chapter is concerned with individualisation, namely the reasons for and the reasons opposing individualisation. The list of reasons for individualisation has been devised by the writer of this thesis and each reason is dealt with in detail. The reasons opposing individualisation are also presented. However, as an objection to these reasons the advantages of individualisation are presented, namely by list by Tomlinson who is cited extensively throughout this thesis and by illustrating that children from individualised teaching environments achieve comparable if not better results than children from standard teaching environments.

The case study presents each one of the children from the studied group. It has been concerned with their progress, presenting the children’s differences, abilities and illustrating the general characteristics on concrete individuals. It has also dealt with the group dynamics, meaning the contribution of each individual to the functioning of the group and how the differences of each individual influence the group. The case study also includes methods implemented illustrating how the lessons can be differentiated. And, it has also taken into consideration the environment and the teaching conditions in general in which the pupils learn and illustrated how this too can impact the differentiation. At the end there is the list of observations provided.

To proceed to answering the questions this thesis strived to answer: the summary of the points concerning each of them follows. The provided reason why individualisation should be started in early age is, first: children are very perceptive. They experience the world through all five senses, which offers a wide range of possibilities in which to teach them. As they cannot decide for themselves yet what they want to learn, it is up to the teacher. They should be offered a wide range of options so they can find out what methods they prefer and find their individuality. Other reasons are that they are really curious and quick learners and they are easily motivated with games and fun. When they are being entertained, they do not even realize that they are also learning something. Last but not least, when children are lead to respect other children’s individualities, they will grow to respect other people, which is beneficial for the society.

It is the author’s strong conviction that teaching should be individualised, the reason being that everyone has different needs. These needs reflect a person’s age, abilities, gender, the environment a person comes from, his/her interests, motivation and also learning styles that have been subject of many studies and can be distinguished by different factors as biological differences, learning preferences or personality of the learner.

When a person desires an individual approach, it is possible to get either one to one teaching the main advantages of which according to Fialová (see 2.1.1 One to one teaching) are the flexibility and the fact that both the teacher and the student learn or some form of alternative education. Součková presents Waldorf, Montessori and Dalton schools (see 2.1.2 Alternative education) the characteristics of which are that they are learner oriented, they follow the natural development of the learner, the teacher is in the role of a guardian rather than an authority and the children are made to take responsibility for their choices. For the reason that forest kindergartens fulfil the requirements of an educative facility as Fajkusová (see 2.1.2.4 Forest kindergartens) claims in her thesis, they have also been incorporated in this list of alternative education. When focusing on the course of the lessons the things that can be differentiated are the environment and the methods. The methods can work with different senses and body parts or incorporate them all at once. This way none of the methods is favoured and the learners have the opportunity to choose which methods they prefer.

The reasons why the writer of this thesis believes teaching should be individualised are: a healthy mental development of the learners, the fact that their needs are fulfilled and therefore it is easier for them to learn, the focus on knowledge not assessment, the fact that the motivation of the learner is intrinsic which makes learning easier and more beneficial, in individualised environments the learners are less pressured by peers, they are able to live up to their potential and last but not least, they are having fun which is not only a powerful motivation but also makes learning easier.

There are, however, reasons that oppose individualisation. There is no guide book, because it would contradict the point of individualisation, therefore the teacher is dependent on his/her intuition. It also requires certain skill and lots of time. And, as the teacher needs to get to know his/her pupils it prevents him/her from keeping a professional distance, which some people can find undesirable.

Even though there are reasons why individualised teaching can be very demanding the author of this thesis believes that it is worth the effort. To provide an example of efficiency of the individualised teaching the results of Peter Häfner’s research are presented (see 3.4 Comparison of success rate of children from forest and traditional kindergartens). This research illustrates that children from forest kindergartens that were presented as an example of a facility providing individualised education are not only comparably successful in the six examined factors as the children receiving the standard education, in some of the factors they even exceed them. The most evident difference being that children from forest kindergartens are better motivated and concentrated, their social behaviour and cooperation is better. I believe these characteristics are beneficial both for the development of the individual and for the individual’s involvement in the society.

This topic would certainly deserve more attention, preferably from someone with more experience. However, this thesis is the theoretical ground on which the author hopes to build her teaching career. It would be certainly interesting to see how would this topic be approached after several more years of experience. Hopefully, in a few years individualisation gets more attention and the approach becomes more positive. It is only through experience that a teacher can learn how to realize this idea about individualisation. After all it is the observation of the learner that shows the teacher the learners’ differences and the efficiency of their efforts.

Works Cited

Dunning, Donna. Quick Guide to the Four Temperaments and Learning: Practical Tools and Strategies for Enhancing Learning Effectiveness. Huntington Beach: Telos Publications, 2003. Print.
Entwistle, Noel. “Motivational Factors in Students’ Approaches to Learning.” Academia. Web. 3 November 2015.
Fajkusová, Hana. Lesní mateřské školy aneb hodnocení nové alternativy českou populací [Forest Kindergartens Or Evaluation of a New Alternative by the Czech Population]. Diss. Masaryk University, 2012. Print.
Fialová, Věra. Motivational Practice in One to One Teaching of English. BA Thesis. Masaryk University, 2007. Print.
Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex, England: Longman, 2001. Print.
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Co., 1998 (1978). Print.
Koťátková, Soňa. Dítě a mateřská škola [Child and Kindergarten]. Praha: Grada, 2008. Print.
Maslow, Abraham H. Motivation and Personality. 2^nd ed. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1970. Print.
Myers, Isabel Briggs, and Peter B. Myers. Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black, 1995 (1980). Print.
Národní institut dětí a mládeže Ministerstva školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy [The National Institute of Children and Youths of the Ministry of Education, Youth And Sport of the Czech Republic]. Osobnost pedagoga [Personality of an Educator]. 2012. Print.
Prokeš, Josef. “Vývojová psychologie [Developmental Psychology].” doc. PhDr. Josef Prokeš, Ph.D. Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University. Web. 3 November 2015.
Riso, Don Richard, and Russ Hudson. Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.
Scott, Wendy A., and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg. Teaching English to Children. New York: Longman, 1990. Print.
Součková, Tereza. Soukromé předškolní vzdělávání v České republice [Private Pre-school Education in Czech Republic]. Diss. Masaryk University, 2012. Print.
Syrová, Veronika. Návaznost 1. stupně ZŠ na lesní mateřské školy [The Continuity of the Forest Kindergarten and the Primary School]. Diss. Masaryk University, 2012. Print.
Tomlinson, Carol A. Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching. ASCD, 2003. Print.
---. How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. ASCD, 2001. Print.
---. The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. ASCD, 1999. Print.
VARK Learn Limited. The VARK Modalities. VARK. Web. 10 November 2015.
Vošahlíková, Tereza et al. Ekoškolky a lesní mateřské školky [Eco and Forest Kindergratens]. issued by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic. Klatovy: Dragon Press, 2012. Print.

Summary in English

The aim of this thesis is to promote individualisation as a way of helping learners to uncover their potential, building on the fact that every person is different and therefore needs a different approach. To achieve the best results individualisation should start with children. However, there are certain limitations given by the children’s ages, thus this thesis also deals with the question to what extent it is possible to individualise teaching. The findings have been tested on a group of children participating in a course of beginners’ English taught by the author of the thesis.

The theoretical section of the study consists of three parts. The first part deals with the subject of examination: to what extent their age and different abilities affect individualisation. The second part presents methods of individualisation available to a learner nowadays and the methods available for teaching the examined age group dealing with the question to what extent individualisation can be performed. The third part presents reasons for individualisation, admitting there are also reasons against individualisation, however, to prove that it is worth the effort, it also presents an example of efficiency of the individual approach. The case study examines each of the children as an individual and as a part of the group relating the findings to the general characteristics.

The conclusion is that helping children find their individuality leads to better learning results as well as helps them to become fully-fledged human beings.
key words: individualisation, alternative teaching, teaching children, learner’s needs, differentiation, learner’s psychology, learners’ differences, learners’ styles, individualised teaching, young learners, differentiated classroom, individuality, language teaching, teaching English

Summary in Czech

Každý člověk je jiný a tudíž si zaslouží individuální přístup. Tato práce se snaží dokázat, že individualizace výuky je způsob, jak pomoci studentům naplnit jejich potenciál a že nejlepších výsledků je dosaženo, když se s individualizací začne již u dětí. Možnosti výuky dětí jsou ovšem limitovány tím, co jsou schopné ve svém věku pojmout, tato práce se tedy zabývá i tím, do jaké míry je možné individualizaci realizovat. Teoretické poznatky obsažené v této práci byly empiricky ověřeny na skupině dětí účastnících se anglického kroužku vedeného autorkou práce.

Teoretická část práce sestává ze tří kapitol. První kapitola se zabývá objektem studia, konkrétně tím, jaký vliv mají věk a schopnosti dětí na možnosti individualizace. Druhá kapitola popisuje možnosti individuálního přístupu v současnosti dostupné pro studenty a metody individualizace výuky, jež je možné aplikovat na danou věkovou skupinu. Třetí kapitola uvádí důvody, proč je vhodné individualizovat výuku. Připouští, že existují důvody, proč takový způsob výuky může být nežádoucí. Zároveň, nabízí příklad efektivity individuálního přístupu za účelem dokázat, že se takový přístup vyplatí. Případová studie se pak zabývá jednotlivými dětmi i tím, jak fungují jako skupina, přičemž vztahuje objevené poznatky k teoretické části práce.

Závěrem práce je, že když jsou děti vedeny k tomu, aby našly svoji individualitu, vykazují lepší studijní výsledky a zároveň jsou schopny vyrůst v plnohodnotné lidské bytosti.
klíčová slova: individualizace, individualizace výuky, individuální přístup, individualita, alternativní výchova, výuka dětí, mladí studenti, potřeby studentů, rozdíly studentů, psychologie studentů, výuka angličtiny, výuka jazyka, diferenciace, diferenciovaná třída

1^ in their mother tongue (author’s note)

2^ see Works Cited

3^ see Works Cited

4^ see Works Cited

5^ see Works Cited

6^ Tomlinson: The Differentiated Classroom p.16, Fig. 2.2

7^ see Works Cited