Monday Noverember 23 Week 4 Vark Lesson

Monday, November 23rd 2009 –

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Week 4 TESOL

Upload/watch files from iPod to computer. At least first week (3 online – one file too large) Do individual feedback for each video, based on criteria for warm-ups and wrap-ups. Talk about Multiple Intelligences/learning styles Do activity in class Assign task for Wednesday

Extra activities for Learning Styles 1) Write up VARK on the whiteboard. Show (or elicit) how each letter represents a different

learning style (visual/auditory/reading-writing/kinesthetic). Another way here. 2) As an aside, you could point out that V.A.R.K is mnemonic device (pronounced /nə’mɒnɪk/) called an acronym and elicit some more examples. Some examples could be: NATO, FAQ, USA. Some interesting examples would be: scuba (self-contained underwater breathing device) and laser (light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation)! A mnemonic device is useful for what kind of learners, especially? 3) Ask students to place the following learning strategies under the correct letter: reading aloud, watching a program, playing a game, keeping a language diary, highlighting, listening to a program on the radio, rewriting ideas and principles into other words, building a model. 4) It would be helpful to first learn a bit more about different learning styles. Reading/writing learners learn best by reading or writing, auditory learners learn best by listening to things, visual learners learn best by seeing things and kinaesthetic learners learn best by touching, feeling or holding things. Together, these four learning styles are also known by the acronym VARK (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinaesthetic). 5) Much research has been done on VARK which has resulted in the VARK questionnaire, which can be found online here. 6) Divide students into groups of three or four. Using the white boards – or a large B4 piece of

paper – assign each group a letter (V, A, R, or K). Give students time to make a poster describing what their type of learner is and what kind of strategies that student could use to make the most out of his/her learning. Talk about one activity they could use for each style. Some help can be found here. 7) Each group gives a 5-10 minute presentation about their posters.