Human Development and Learning

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT LEARNING

Students in a class of learners may be divided into two major groups-

Native English speakers , for whom English is the first language

Non-native speakers , whose native language is other than English language

Generally a learners ' class is a mix up of both these categories and different groups and sub-groups are formed out of them- Emergent Language Learners are learners who are mere beginner .Under LEP category come the students who have reached a certain level of Basic Interpersonal communication (BIC ) that enables them to interact on a

br social level (Deborah J . Short 1991 . If besides being a LEP a student also has some level of cognitive academic language proficiency , he /she is placed in the CALP category Being in the CALP is an indication that the student is able to interact on a deeper level . An `integrated class is a mix up of these various groups . Such an integrated class is always a living challenge to the teacher . The teacher has to have great presence of mind and resourcefulness to produce the atmosphere for optimal learning for all the students in a class . Besides , the teacher has also to create a safe environment in the class so that each student may risk trying the language . The teacher has to adopt certain strategies that may encourage and enable the students to learn the language . The teacher has to bring the students closer to the language and

also to bring the language within easy access of every student

Given Problem :- It is a middle school classroom comprising 30 students 50 of them speak English only i .e .15 students . 13 of the students are Emergent Learners while the remaining 12 possess some proficiency between BICS and CALP . Listed below are some research based E .L .L strategies :- (1 )Pre-instructional activities such as semantic webbing (2 ) Visual Aids such as maps , pictures , multi-media (3 )Co-operative groups , peer coaching (4 ) Repeat and Rephrase (5 ) Music Jazz chant activities

Pre-instructional activities such as semantic webbing

Generally a class consists of students of different levels and backgrounds

Students differ not only in their start levels but also in their learning speeds (Smith , 2001 ) a miraculously big juggling act that a conscientious teacher has to perform through the session and ensure (1 maximum growth of each individual child (2 ) satisfaction of the Children 's parents and guardians (3 ) feeling that all the effort put through the long session had been worthwhile

Educational psychologists have proved it beyond all doubts that unconscious learning is always faster and more effective than the deliberate act of learning which is slow and tedious . Children love to indulge in the pre-instructional activities and indulge with all their interest and concentration . In doing so , quite unconsciously they learn a lot many things and learn them really well . Semantic webbing is an activity that teaches the learners so many new words and their meaning while children remain busy playing (Susan Brady , 1997 . The knowledge thus acquired is acquired...