Воробйова Т. В.

Східноєвропейський національний університет імені Лесі Українки, Україна

V.A.K.-FRIENDLY TECHNIQUES IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

One of the best ways for presenting new information in education is the use of the visual, auditory and kinesthetic channels. These channels are known as V.A.K. in their abbreviated form. V.A.K. are referred to as personal learning styles or learning preference channels. Visual learners learn by seeing. They work best with textbooks that have graphs, photographs, and charts. Auditory learners learn by being read to, and by discussing what has been read. They will also be more likely to be distracted by sounds. The kinesthetic learner will enjoy being able to move while learning. They have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time and may become disturbing if they are not allowed to get up quite often during the day. The kinesthetic learner needs hands-on experience to “get it».

It is really important for every educator to teach students according to their learning styles. But it becomes extremely important with the teachers of foreign languages. Almost all students who start learning any foreign language are visual or kinesthetic learners. But the most traditional approach today is to treat foreign language learning in the same way as any other academic subject. This is especially true at the higher levels of education when the auditory, lecture-based model is predominant. There is little visual input and even less recognition of the kinesthetic channel. Vocabulary lists and sets of grammar rules are used to define the target of learning and memorization is encouraged. In this case, the focus is on the language itself, rather than on the information which is carried by the language. Therefore, the goal for the teacher is make sure that students learn the vocabulary and grammatical rules of the target language. The learners’ goal in such a course is often to pass an examination rather than to use the language for daily communication.

It is recognized by everyone that a teacher expounding to the class full of students in front of the whiteboard doesn’t fulfill everybody’s needs. That’s why the adjustment of V.A.K.-friendly techniques in the foreign language classroom is crucial. In English language teaching there are now several textbooks containing activities that combine all three channels. But is the usage of such activities enough to make difference? An activity designed to reach students through one channel can keep certain students engaged for some time. But if the instruction, talking, feedback (everything, that surrounds the activity) does not appeal to different channels, there can be very little positive effect. The main task is getting educators to realize that they could add some valuable teaching techniques to their repertoire.

Jamie Duncan and Laura Szmuch have outlined several steps that educators with little or no knowledge of V.A.K. can take to integrate the three sensory channels in their teaching. Let us consider the most important among them.

Step 1. Be aware of yourself.

Here are some questions to work through.

a) What activities do you like doing most in class? Keep a list for a few days of each part of your lessons and annotate them with a V, an A, or a K. according to the channel that they most favor. Does one channel appear more than the others?

b) How do you speak in class? Fast (V), medium paced (A) or slowly (K)? Using a high (V), medium (A) or low (K) voice tone?

c) How do you move in class? How much do you move about? A teacher who is expressive and uses a lot of gestures will appeal to a visual learner as will one who shows pictures, objects, etc. A teacher who moves among the students, giving assistance with tasks, may appeal more to the kinesthetic learner who appreciates the proximity and the hands-on help.

d) What do you look at in class? The students faces? (V) The windows and the walls? (A) The floor or your papers? (K) Do you often look down? (K)

Step 2. Be aware of your students.

Start to pay attention to the learning styles of your students. There is an abundance of information in front of your eyes.

a) How does each student usually sit? Which students move about a lot? (K) Which remain very upright or very still and focused on you? (V)

b) Which students have very tidy, neat handwriting and presentation of work? (V)

c) Which students talk a lot and make comments on what is going on in class? (A)

d) Which students fiddle, fidget, wriggle or tap? (K)

e) Who looks up a lot? (V) Who looks down? (K) Which ones look out the window or anywhere but the teacher or the board? (A)

Step 3. Know your materials.

Study your textbook. What types of activities are there? How does it give the information? Are the learning channels well represented or are they neglected? Is it interactive, eg. the students have gaps to fill, tasks to do, parts to match? Can you find other material, videos, tapes, computer programmes, games?

Step 4. Balance the channels.

Add other channels to a one-channel activity. This can be done by using a different channel to introduce the activity.

A reading passage can be preceded by a discussion on the topic. True/False statements could be put on the walls before the class. Students have to walk around and predict what is true or false according to the text. Then they read the text and check.

A listening activity can be introduced by setting the scene with pictures and asking students to predict orally or in writing what they will hear.

Step 5. Give instructions in all three channels.

We can learn lots here from the way teachers of young ones give instructions. Ask students to look at you and show them the material or page they will be working with. Have them point to the exact exercise if appropriate! Put a written version of your instructions on the board. If your activity is largely in one channel, try to use words of the other channels. For a reading you could say something like – "In this text which you are going to work on in a moment, you will read a discussion about keeping pets in a city. As you move through the passage, ask yourself if you agree with the findings of the experts."

Step 6. Add Feelings and Personalization

Kinesthetic doesn't just mean doing but can also mean feeling and there are students who fail to really learn things until they have some sort of emotional response to material. Encourage your students to express their feelings about what they are doing and to find a personal angle (they can make up their own sentences and dialogues).

In general, this brief analysis, which implies a number of practical recommendations to the use of V.A.K. channels in the foreign language classroom, may provide a good background for becoming an excellent practitioner in teaching foreign languages, the one, who knows what attracts learners of each different channel and what turns them off, who uses a variety of activities to suit different learners, or offers a variety of tasks.

Surely having these skills is a desirable goal for all of us.

List of References :

1. Вязникова Л. Ф. Психологические основания про­фессиональной переподготовки руководителей систе­мы образования: время перемен: монография / Л. Ф. Вязникова. – Хабаровск, 2002. – 291 с.

2. Звенигородская Г. П. Рефлексивное образова­ние: феноменологический подход: монография / Г. П. Звенигородская. – Хабаровск, 2001. – 350 с.

3. Coffield F. Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 Learning: A Systematic and Critical Review. Learning and Skills Research Centre, London, 2004.

4. Duncan J., Szmuch L. Complete and integrated V.A.K. in the classroom. http://www.resourcefulteaching.com.ar/articles/complete_and_integrated.pdf

5. Oxford R.L. Language learning styles and strategies. In Teaching English as A Second or Foreign Language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Press, 2001.

6. Schmeck R.R. Learning Styles of College Students. In: In Dividual Differences in Cognition, Dillon, R.F. and R.R. Schmeck (Eds.). Academic Press, New York, 1983.