Following on from our initial discussions about a possible project to explore the link between personality and vocabulary learning, we felt that it would good to establish whether the project was actually needed. We circulated a questionnaire to our fellow ESOL teachers at Woking College and also spent some time discussing the issue at a teachers' meeting.
We discovered a number of very positive things:
- We teach vocabulary in multiple ways including pictures, mime, drawing, in context and using props or "realia"
- Most teachers who responded felt that students enjoyed vocabulary learning
- Teachers felt that the methods they used generally worked well
- Most teachers do at least some vocabulary testing as it gives students a sense that they are learning in a very measurable way
- Teachers generally make a special effort to engage with and include students who are seen as quiet or shy
Strategies for helping quieter students included:
- Pair shy students with other shy students or with students that they are comfortable with
- Let them choose if they want to work alone or in pairs
- Don’t put them on the spot
- Try to make a special effort to engage with them in time before and after class.
- Lots of encouragement along the way!
Interestingly, teachers were divided over whether they felt that students preferred individual or groupwork. One teacher said "Group working – you can work on your own at home" whereas another felt that students preferred to work "on their own. They like group work for speaking practice but not to learn new language or practice grammar."
We asked teachers whether they generally tested vocabulary in lessons. Again, the replies were mixed with most teachers aspiring to do so, but two teachers answering "not enough." There was also some concern expressed about retention of new lexis. Teaching new vocabulary in lessons "seems to get the message across, but do they know it next week? "
When we discussed the subject of personality and vocabulary learning in the teachers' meeting and invited our colleagues to complete the Quiet Quiz to informally identify their personality type, the majority of teachers leaned towards the introvert end of the spectrum. In their remarks on the questionnaires, a couple of teachers also particularly commented on their own experiences as a quieter student:
Despite the fact that quiet or shy students sometimes required more time and consideration, teachers felt that:
- Quiet, shy students are often learning a lot more than we realise, so we need to be patient till they are confident enough to join in with the group. .
- From my experience shy students respond to praise and encouragement, however small the piece of learning they have achieved.
Given the results of the teachers' questionnaire and our positive discussions during the teachers' meeting, we felt that it would be useful to try to quantify how well our students learned in different scenarios; working alone, in pairs and in groups. Were our perceptions of our students actually correct? We also wanted to ask the students how they felt about learning in each of these ways, and so included a qualitative element in the project in order to obtain this information.
You can read a summary of all the responses to the teachers' questionnaires here.
You can read more about the study design and the methodology here.
