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Jane Arnold
Workshop 1: Move
to Learn and Learn to Move
Movement and the body, the physical
side of our being, have consistently been ignored in education
and, yet, holistic educators have long been insisting that we
must be concerned with learners´ cognitive, affective and
physical natures if we are to plant the seeds of true growth.
In this workshop we will be exploring reasons, including neurobiological
evidence, for "minding the body" and for using kinaesthetic activities
in education in general and in the EFL classroom in particular.
Participants will explore ways
to bring movement into the classroom and will experience several
different activities which show the wide range of possibilities
for including the kinaesthetic, such as brain gym, puppets, body
language, and "moving" jazz chants. Movement can be used to teach
grammar, pronunciation, and to help develop the different skills.
The basic ideas are valid for all levels and language learning
situations.
Using movement in the classroom
is not a waste of time; in fact, if we don't move, we may be wasting
opportunities to learn. The session will close with circle dancing.
Workshop 2: Language
Learning with the Mind's Eye
If we do not take advantage of
the world of mental imagery, we are in a way blind; if we use
our mind sight, we open up new doors to learning and creativity.
This workshop deals with mental imagery and the process of visualisation
in a very experiential way. After we look briefly at why imagery
can assist learning, participants will have the opportunity to
see for themselves how visualisation can be used in the classroom
and will design an imagery activity of their own.
We will look at a variety of ways
that imagery can enrich aspects of language learning from improving
memory to planting seeds of self-confidence to developing teaching
materials. As teachers, we, too, can benefit from using our mind
sight. Come and see.
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