Cultivating Confidence ETP Issue67 March 2010

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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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    professional-

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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

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    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 .

    [email protected]

    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.