Teaching Boys how to embrace language learning through global thinking Presentation given by Sharon Cashen and Pamela Burns at AFMLTA conference Sydney 2009

1. BOYS & LANGUAGES
Teaching Boys How To
Embrace Language Learning
through Global Thinking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKaUL2mtAqA

2. GOALS
 Where do boys go after Secondary
School?
 Why is it that language teaching
attracts the female school leaver?
 How can language teachers
encourage and promote languages
for boys?

3. Where does decision-making
take place?
 Home: food, clothes, behaviour, TV,
computer
 Leisure: sport, weekends, holidays,
parties
 School: subjects, friendship
(mates), relationships (girls), part-
time work
 Future: work, travel, study, marry,
home, family

4. What influences Boys’ choices?
 Intrinsic motivation: learning preferences;
personality; physical attributes; what makes me
feel good (5 senses?); desires; limitations
 Extrinsic motivation: expectations family and
friends; siblings (how many); economic; time;
rules and regulations (family, school, community)

5. RELATIONSHIPS
 Relationships are the fundamental
key to success
 The single most influential factor in
the success of a boy is his
relationship with his teacher. (Michael Gruin)
 Young men are looking for guidance
and role models

6. An old saying:
I don’t care how much you know until
I know how much you care.

7. Boys:
 like jargon or code
 are bored easily
 need more physical space
 use movement to stimulate the brain
 deal with symbolism
 have low serotonin (irritability,impulsivity,aggression)
 learn better by doing
 are more likely to take risks
 have less oxytocin (empathy)
 take hours to process emotively
 don’t seek help
 speak 7,000 words for every 20,000 female words

8. Get Boys Thinking Globally
 Move beyond the here and now
 Get them thinking about what comes
next

9. Get Boys Thinking Globally
 Students who are in Junior School
now will be working in jobs that do
not yet exist and with technologies
that have not yet been invented.
 These students’ lives will be global.
Our challenge is to open their minds
to the importance of languages in
their future.
 How do we accomplish this?

10. What about girls????
 Strategies used to engage boys can
work equally well for girls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcT8dS-
OwPI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCD57wVjFMM

11. MAKING LANGUAGES
RELEVENT TO THEIR FUTURE
 http://www.vistawide.com/careers/langu
 http://www.maynereport.com/articles/2

12. Useful Links
 Michael Gurian: Gurian Institute
http://www.gurianinstitute.com/
 Visual thinking:
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/
 Win Win Discipline:
www.langfordlearning.com
 British Education (BECTA)
http://www.becta.org.uk/