JOURNAL #1

·         Suppose your younger brother, nine year old, did not read in English yet, so your mother decided to send him to Hakwon. But 3 months later he ended up feeling that English was simply nightmare. He hated doing phonics workbook and memorizing words. He didn't want to go to Hakwon anymore. Your mother was now anxious and worried about her son. Your mother asked for your help. How would you help your brother enjoy reading in English?

In this example, we can see the problem of excessive teaching of phonics and memorizing words. The problem is that the students become too conscious of forms and rules of English and lose their interest in English. This is a problem in that when learning to read in English, without interest and intrinsic motivation, it is hard to prolong the learning. In this example, we can see that Hakwon has turned English into a nightmare for the boy. It has also turned Hakwon into a place he does not want to go to. In this case I would consider the features of a good learning program categorized into affective, cognitive and social factors and suggest a more appropriate program.

First of all, the affective features of a good learning program include: (1) Keep learners motivated. (2) Make learning fun. Firstly, to keep the boy motivated I could use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For intrinsic motivation I could praise the boy verbally so that he could build his self-confidence and realize that English is something he can do and can do it well. Building interest and confidence in English could make English fun and enjoyable. Also, for extrinsic motivation I could reward the boy with prizes for his accomplishments. Secondly, to make learning fun I could use diverse visual aids to support his learning. Also, constructing interesting activities and games regarding phonics and vocabulary could stimulate his interest. Furthermore, using competition as a stimulus could also create interest in the activities, considering the fact that he is a 9 year old boy.    

Secondly, the cognitive features of a good learning program include: (1) Encourage thoughtful processing. (2) Plan for repetition and revision. (3) Provide training. (4) Organize the items to learn in helpful ways. (4) Plan for transfer of training. Firstly, to encourage thoughtful processing and repetition I could provide many chances for practice. Instead of having the boy memorize phonics and words without any processing I could provide meaningful activities that make the boy think about the relationship between sounds and words. Also, I would not have the boy memorize but have him acquire English nature by repetition and practice in meaningful contexts. This way, the boy may not feel so overwhelmed by the fact that he has to ‘memorize’. Secondly, training could be provided to the boy so that when the boy meets an item he is unfamiliar with he could use the strategies to process it. The boy may become less afraid of English and more adventurous with learning new items. Lastly, grouping the items to learn into manageable chunks or grouping them into related items will be easier for the boy to learn. By providing items in an organized way the boy may be less overwhelmed with English.

Thirdly, the social features of a good learning program include: (1) Provide peer support. (2) Aim for individual responsibility. In most cases, learning phonics and memorizing words are not incorporated into social activities. They are activities that are done alone. However, if peer work in encouraged and peers support each other, learning may become fun. To help the boy enjoy English I could provide him with several partners and diverse peer work instead of having him learn alone. Also, I could give him chances to make choices and take control of his learning.   

Overall, to make learning reading and English more enjoyable I would consider the three categories of a good learning program and build activities and learning methods based on the features mentioned.