cultivating confidence etp issue67 march 2010
TRANSCRIPT
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Jane rnold and Verónica de ndrés argue that
building self es teem has benefits for everyone
rawings are often used as a
data collection technique in
research with young
children. 8elow is a drawing
of how Juan, one of the students in a
study by Verónica de Andrés in
Argentina, saw himself. What do you
see in his self-portrait? Perhaps that he
feels afraid or rejected?
And what about this drawing? How does
this student see himself? Open, friendly?
What is very interesting is that the
drawings are by the same child at the
beginning and then at the end of a three-
month-long research project in a primary
school English class in Buenos Aires,
where activities designed both for
teaching English and supporting the
students self-esteem were used. At the
bottom of his second drawing, Juan wrote
Llearned that I am normal . Not only
were there noticeable improvements in the
students attitudes towards themselves
and others, there was also significant
progress in their use of English.
Affect and at ti tude
If someone asked you to make a list of
affective factors, it is quite possible that
one of the first to come to mind would
be self-esteem. Learners self-concept
how they see themselves) and their self-
esteem how they feel about what they
see) are very closely related to their
learning, as we can observe in the case
of Juan.
Self-esteem is a term that is used
very freely but often imprecisely. Stanley
Coopersmith desc ribed self-esteern as a
personal judgement of worthiness that is
expressed in the attitudes the individuaIs
have of themselves, and in his research
he found that young children s self-
esteem was a strong predictor of their
reading ability. Important work with
self-esteem has been done over the years
in many educational contexts. Yet there
have also been misunderstandings, and
there are critics who have affirmed that
working with self-esteem can lead to
egocentric behaviour and to unrealistic
expectations on the part of students.
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ssue 67 March 2010 • ENGLlSH TEACHING
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However, the issue is healthy self-
esteem. This means that students have
both a positive, accurate belief about
themselves and their abilities and also
the
commitment
and
responsibility
that
comes when they see themselves as able
to complete worthwhile goals. It is not
about giving empty praise or relaxing
standards but, rather, providing a
supportive atrnosphere in which we can
better encourage our learners to work
hard to reach their learning potential.
Self-esteern can be thought of as
one s attitude towards oneself. Our
attitude towards something is generally
conceived of in terms of ABC:
affect
our feelings about it), behaviour how
we behave regarding it) and cognition
what we believe about it). Applying this
to language learning, we could say that
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our attitude about the self as a language
learner includes what we believe I
am
capable of learning lhe language or / can
never learn),
which leads to our feelings
about the learning process
pleasure
or
pain)
and this, in turn, will determine
our behaviour
approaching
or
avoiding
opportunities tofurther our learning).
Expectations and
experience
According to Herbert Puchta,
negative
beliefs influence our students
expectations. LOlV expectations lead to a
1011
leveI of motivation and every failure
is seen as confirmation of the initial
beliefs
The feeling that is generated
does not depend on objective,
observable facts but on beliefs, often
very subjective, but, for this very reason,
amenable to change, and this change
can occur in the classroom. There is no
question that self-esteem can be
nurtured through successful learning
experiences that enable the learners to
see themselves as competent - and a
student who feels this way is likely to
take the risks and challenges involved in
the language learning processo
Self-esteem is, then, important for
learning. But can we really do anything
about it? Shouldn t we just teach our
subject and let self-esteem and similar
things take care of themselves? Many,
like Adrian Underhill, feel that the
answer to the question of what makes
teaching really effective lies precisely in
doing work in areas of affect. What we
do with self-esteem or any other area of
affect does not need to be heavy-handed
and obvious; many times the greatest
changes can come from very subtle
actions. Perhaps the most important
factor in promoting learners self-esteem
is a caring attitude on the part of
teachers. As has often been said,
Students don t care how mucli you know
until they know how mucli you care .
Confidence and
classrooms
Robert Reasoner, founder of the
International Council for Self-esteem,
established five components of self-
esteem that can be dealt with in the
classroom:
• Security - knowing that
am safe,
physically and emotionally
• Identity - knowing who I am
• Belonging - knowing others accept
me
• Purpose - knowing what
want to do
and to achieve
• Competence - knowing
can
In our language classes we can work to
promote ali of these at the same time as
we develop the students language skills.
One reason that language teaching
activities which focus on self-esteem are
successful is that they have strong
personal meaning for learners.
Let s take Reasoner s components
one by one to see why they are important
and to explore some suggestions as to
how teachers might work with each of
them in the ELT classroom.
Security
Teachers who promote a sense of
security:
• define procedures and routines so
their learners know what is expected
of them);
• involve the learners in defining rules
and norms;
• enforce rules in ways that support the
learners self-respect;
• promote individual responsibility.
Both research and common sense point
to the need to establish a secure
classroom atmosphere where the learners
are willing to take the risks involved in
trying to express themselves in another
language. One way to do this has to do
with the area of dealing with mistakes.
We know that students want and need
to get feedback about errors they make,
but insensitive correction can lead to
insecurity. To model the concept of
learning to accept one s mistakes, Tim
M urphey recommends that we tell
rnistake stories , stories about times
when we have made funny little mistakes.
y
doing this, in a sense we set an
example for what we want our students
to do: to feel at ease in the classroom
and not be so afraid of making
mistakes that they greatly reduce their
opportunities for learning the language.
Another way to promote a sense of
security is by using routines: once in a
while doing something students find
familiar. For example, in the first week of
class you could ask the students to write
down on a strip of paper a question
that they think would be interesting to
answer. You can then collect these and
begin the class each day by going around
the room and getting everyone to give a
brief answer to one of lhe questions.
Identity
Teachers who promote a sense of
identity:
• celebrate the uniqueness of individuais;
• promote the development of a positive
self-concept;
• show acceptance of their students, and
interest in them as people;
• help the students recognise their
strengths and the points that need to
be developed.
Language is a very significant part of a
person s identity. It is through language
that we communicate who we are to
others and through interaction with
others that we learn more about who we
are. My sense of identity is knowing
who I am and who I can beco me and it
involves awareness of my abilities and
of things I need to develop.
We reinforce our sense of identity
when we remember positive things about
ourselves and even more if we talk about
them. One way to incorporate this in
the classroom and to get students using
the language freely is in the context of a
game. You could prepare a number of
boards like the one on page 6 or with
other items appropriate for your students.
and get the students to sit in circles in
groups of three or Iour. They toss a coin
and move one square for heads, two for
tails and tell the rest of the group about
the topic on the square they land on .
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u l t iv t in g
on fi en e
Afterwards, eaeh student ean tell the
whole c1ass something they learnt about
the person on their right in their eircle.
One thing Something
START
I can do nice that
well
happened
this week
A good Something Something
friend Iam
that makes
grateful for
me happy
Someone
A time I A value
I admire
helped that is
someone important
for me
Agood One thing A place
memory I hope to that is
do next special
year for me
Ifeel good Something
when ...
Iam proud
FINISH
of
Another way to deal with identity in
the c1assroom at the beginning of the
term would be to have eaeh student
prepare a eollage with pictures, drawings,
words, ete related to themselves. Vou
eould put these eollages up on the walls
as a gallery of art for the students to
walk around and look at.
Belonging
Teaehers who promote a sense of
belonging:
• create a elimate of aeeeptance;
• reduee the number of isolated
students;
• develop group identity;
• promote a feeling of pride in the
c1ass;
• support interpersonal relationships in
the c1ass.
A feeling of being aecepted and being
eonneeted to others is essential to healthy
self-esteem. To have a sense of belonging
in the c1assroom, students need to get to
know each other, Finding different ways
to divide them into pairs or groups is a
useful teehnique to ensure that they mix
with eaeh other and don t always work
with people they already know well.
Rather than telling them to work with the
person next to them for an activity in
pairs, you could prepare some interesting
sentences or quotations on individual
strips of paper, one for every two students
in the c1ass. Vou can then cut them in
half, hand them out randomly and let the
students walk around the c1ass locating
the other half of their sentence - and
their partner for the activity. Then, before
moving on to the activity, give them a
few minutes to find out something
interesting about each other and go
around the c1ass having each student
say what they learnt about their partner.
Purpose
Teachers who promote a sense of
purpose:
• transmit positive expectations;
• show confidence and faith in the
abilities of their students;
• strengthen their students values;
• help the students to set realistic and
reachable objeetives.
One of the keys to successful learning is
setting goals because then we know
where we want to go. However, as the
Freneh writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
pointed out, A goal 11 i1I/Oula plan is just
a wish ,
To work with goals and plans it is a
good idea to get your students to think
of a language learning goal they have-
not just to learn English but
something more specifte, eg
to read
things in English on the internei
or
to
understand songs/jilms in English , Then
either orally in pairs or on their own in
writing they eould answer questions
sueh as:
What is your goal? Why do you
want to achieve it? What would help you
do so? What is your main challenge?
What are you going
10
do to achieve your
goal? Vou might want to try having
them do this ftrst for a life goal.
Competence
Teaehers who promote a sense of
competence:
• offer options or alternatives;
• provide incentives and support;
• give feedback;
• celebrate achievements.
The sense of competence is our
conftdence in our potential to reach our
goals, the can do t spirit. Here, our
attitude towards our students is a key
6•ssue 67 March 2010· ENGLlSHTEACHINGprofessional- www etprofessional com •
issue. Some things you can do in the
c1assroom include trying to catch
students doing something well and
acknowledging this; highlighting points
that are well written and making
positive comments whcn you correct
written work; providing encouragement
and special help for students who may
take longer to learn; celebrating when
major c1ass goals have been reached;
using reading texts about people who
have overcome obstacles and become
successful.
An extra benefit we have found from
working with self-esteem in the
c1assroom is that as our students
progress and shine, our
own
self-esteem
is enhanced in lhe processo ~
De Andrés,
Self-esteem in the
classroom In Arnold, J Ed Affect in
Language Learning
CUP
1999
Coopersmith, S
The Antecedents of
Self-
esteem Freeman Co 1967
Murphey, T Language Hungry Helbling
2006
Puchta, H Creating a learning culture to
which students want to belong In Arnold,
J Ed) Affect in Language Learning CUP
1999
Reasoner, R Building Self-esteem:
Comprehensive Program
Consulting
Psychologist Press 1982
Underhill, A Process in humanistic
education
ELT Journal 43 4 1989
Jane Arnold has taught
in the English Language
Department at the
University of Seville,
Spain for over 20 years.
Her publications inciude
Affect in Language
Learning CUP and
Imagine That Mental
Imagery in ELT
with
Herbert Puchta and
Mario Rinvolucri
Helbling .
Verõnica de Andrés
teaches at the
Universidad dei
Salvador, in Buenos
Aires, Argentina and is
an author and coach
specialising in personal
growth. She is an
executive member of
the International Council
for Self-Esteem and co-
creator of Confidence
Time Productions.
www.veronica-andres.com
Together they have written Seeds of
Confidence.
Self-esteem
activities for the
EFL classroom published by Helbling.