Are you a Good Language Learner?

1. Do you like working

a.  with other learners in pairs or groups? 

b.  on your own/alone?                

2. During the lesson, are you usually

a.  relaxed and comfortable?

b.  anxious and uncomfortable?            

3. While speaking English, are you

a.  confident and relaxed?   

b.  inhibited & shy?             

4.Do you

a.  look for opportunities to use English in and out of class? or

b.  forget all about English when you leave school?     

 5. Do you

a.  prefer not to worry about grammar rules? or

b.  worry about grammar so much that you can’t speak?      

 6. Do you

a.  Keep a well-organised notebook from which you can revise easily? or

b.  often have to ask your friends for their notes?    

7.  Are you

a.  Aware of your own mistakes? or

b.  Unaware of your mistakes ?      

8.  Are you

a.  Able to notice others’ mistakes? or

b.  unable to spot them?              

9. Do you feel

a.  relaxed about making mistakes? or

b.  worried about making mistakes?        

 10. Do you

a.  recognise similarities and differences in language or

b.  is this difficult  for you?         

11. Do you learn better 

a.   by seeing words and pictures or

b.  by  listening to the language or is this a mystery to you

 12. How do you feel about learning English?

a.  You enjoy it  

b.  You hate  it

13.   Do you 

a.  enjoy participating in classroom activities or

b.  do you prefer to just watch and listen?        

14.   Do you prefer

a.  challenging activities or

b.  easier activities?      

15.   Do you prefer to

a.  experiment with language or

b.  repeat only sentences you were taught?         

16.   Are you 

a.  prepared to take risks or

b.  do you avoid  risks and prefer to be safe?       

17.   Are you 

a.  prepared to be playful and not serious or

b.  are you afraid of appearing foolish?            

18.   To understand a message do you feel

a.  Comfortable if you don’t know all the words or

b.  Uncomfortable unless you know all the words

19.    Do you attempt to communicate orally

a.  even if you don’t know every single word, or

b.  only when know all the words  

20.   Do you 

a.  feel comfortable in your new class or

b.  miss your previous teacher and fellow students?         

21.Are your feeling towards native English speakers

a.  a.positive?

b.  negative?

22.    Are you

a.  an adolescent/adult or

b.  a younger or very young learner?     

23.   Do you know if you are

 a. an analytical learner or 

 b. not sure of what type of learner you are?         

24.   Are you better at

a. listening or b. reading? 

Your Score

 

Quite obviously, the more  a answers you have managed to collect, the closer you tend to be to the ideal profile of the Good Language Learner. Most Good Language Learners average a score of about 70%.  If you have scored more than 90%, well then, you are a rare creature indeed!

If you did not score high

If your score is less than the Good Learner average, identify the areas of difficulty and plan a course of action for yourself.

For instance, if you answered B for Question 23, make it a point of training yourself to be a better listener by listening to more audio and video files, switching regularly to watching English speaking TV  channels, You Tube videos and films, listening to TED talks on topics of interest.

 

Express your opinion on the advice given below. How realistic is it to implement the suggested activities in class. Are they appropriate for all kinds of learners?

How you can help your learners

… Familiarise your learners with these good learner traits

… Remind them of /revise these characteristics actively and often

… Involve your students in deciding on the best ways of acquiring these characteristics

… Show interest in your learners’ progress

… Encourage them to be openly reflective and critical about how they are measuring up