Teaching Slow Learners

Teaching students, children and adults alike, who learn fast, is fun and gratifying. However a large number of people just can't cope in class. We can call them "slow learners", "people with learning problems", "people with different learning abilities". In the past they would be bluntly labeled as "dumb" and drop out.

A child can be considered an underachiever in school and can be grouped under a generalized classification much too easily. One child cannot be grouped with a group of underachievers and be placed under one certain classification and this happens much too often in our schools. A teacher needs to be able to be aware of very specific and very personal problems that can cause a child to be considered an underachiever or a slow learner. The confusion on this topic needs to be reduced in our schools. Some teachers are just too quick to identify and also to attempt to correct learning disabilities without the proper training or knowledge on the subject. There are general categories into which most teachers will tend to group each child who is a slow learner. The classifications will be made according to the likeness of a child with each group. First, we need to realize that all children who are performing under their grade level are not necessarily underachievers. A lot of schools feel that all children should be exactly at the same level in each class and this is not true. Sometimes they will think that the children in this classification of slow learners are not capable of achieving at their chronological grade level. Sometimes, from the first grade on to other higher grades, a child just hasn't mastered the basic skills of learning. These children can get frustrated and even convince themselves that they cannot learn. In this instance teachers need to work with these students to teach the basic skills necessary for learning at the rate of normal student for his age. There are some children that have problems with language development. A lack of language development can cause a child to be a slow learner. It is of much importance to see if a child has grown in the art of language and reading achievement, if not teachers need to work with these students to bring up their language levels so that they can reach maximum achievement in their class. Some children have cultural disadvantages as they may come from homes where, for example, the parents are not speaking English and are speaking another language. They can be known as culturally disadvantaged as they do not have essentials necessary for learning. In this instance teachers need to work with the students so that they can achieve and not be doomed to a failed and frustrated attitude. If this is left undone, then as the years pass there will be more and more problems in learning coming from cultural disadvantages in the home. There may not be enough challenges in the particular classroom to hold some children’s interest and they become bored and don't reach their potential. A lack of challenge can bring a child down to below the level of the classrooms. Teachers need to be on the alert for this type of classification of underachiever as they will need to provide work that will stimulate them. Other children may be of average capacity and be expected to achieve at a higher level of learning in the classroom. These children at times are incapable of achieving past a certain level for a child their age and this can lead to frustration and failure in the classroom. Teachers need to be aware of these children and not try to push too much on them in the way of learning in the classroom. Children sometimes can be considered and classified as reluctant learners as these children will make good grades on tests but cannot function daily in the atmosphere of the classroom. Sometimes these children will not be motivated to learn and teachers need to be able to draw out these children and just get them motivated. Remedial help is sometimes used to get them motivated and to learn to the level of the others in their grade level. Students’ needs to be identified that can profit from remedial and corrective teaching. Sometimes teachers will not provide this remedial and corrective teaching in their classroom and this needs to be changed. If professional judgment indicates that this special remedial and corrective teaching is necessary then a child should have this provide to help him. Characteristics of slow learners: 1. Functions at ability but significantly below grade level. 2. Is prone to immature interpersonal relationships. 3. Has difficulty following multi-step directions. 4. Lives in the present and does not have long range goals. 5. Has few internal strategies (i.e. organizational skills, difficulty transferring, and generalizing information.) 6. Scores consistently low on achievement tests. 7. Works well with "hands-on" material (i.e. labs, manipulative, activities.) 8. Has a poor self-image. 9. Works on all tasks slowly. 10. Masters skills slowly; some skills may not be mastered at all. p/s: Once I did encounter a slow learner in my class...seriously, he is indeed very slow....-___-"

'SKIMMING' vs 'SCANNING'

Back in 2008, I had the experience of joining a reading camp. It was organized by the BTP(Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan) in conjunction of the Tokoh NILAM Award event. I was the representative of Perak state, together with the other 14 representative from all over Malaysia was given a talk about reading techniques and narrative writing. There were a lot of things being shared on that day. One of them was the differences between 'skimming' and 'scanning' reading skills. I always confused between those two reading skills, so today I will share with everyone the differences between both techniques.

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. We normally use skimming when we want to see if an article may be of interest in our research.

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. We might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when we're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. We search for key words or ideas. In most cases, we know what we're looking for, so we're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving our eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when we first find a resource to determine whether it will answer our questions. Once we've scanned the document, we might go back and skim it.When scanning, we usually look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. We look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.

While we are studying, it is important for us to determine and apply the correct reading techniques. We must know when to use 'SKIMMING' and when 'SCANNING' is applicable. It is also important for us as future teacher to have these two common skills when we teach our student soon. This is because when we teach, we also have a scheme to follow.

*It would be very hard to SKIM or SCAN a book with this size aren't it?

p/s: I usually apply SCANNING when the final is around the corner...huhuhu=D

"He is medium eating"

Once, I had the experience in teaching standard 4 students English. I had encounter one funny incident in my class. I still remember on that day I was teaching on constructing simple sentences. After about more than half an hour explaining and giving examples, I gave them some exercises to identify their understanding. I asked them to construct simple sentences using the three main components in sentence structure which are subject, verb/ verb-to-be, and predicate based on the picture given. After a while, I called their name randomly to read the sentences to the class. So here's the incident began!

Me: Okay, now for the last one, I want student X to read your sentence.

Student X: He is medium eating in the kitchen....

Me: -__-"

It was so hilarious until I nearly can't control myself to burst into laugh! Hahahaha.... But as a teacher I can't laugh when my student do such mistake. So I just act professionally and told the boy that the sentence was wrong. Then he asked why? I asked him back;

Me: What are you trying to say about the sentence?

Student X: Saya nak cakap yang dia sedang makan di dapur. What is the wrong? (-__-")

Me: It is wrong when you put the word 'medium' in your sentence. The term 'is eating' already describe the action of the boy is eating in the kitchen. So no need to put 'medium' anymore. I already said just now, a sentence must consist of 3 main sentence structures, which are the subject or the doer, the verb or the action, and the predicat

e or the further explanation of the action. For example:

He / is eating / in the kitchen.

(subject) /(verb) /(predicate)

From the word 'he' we know the doer is a boy. The boy 'is eating' shows the action, and 'in the kitchen' tells us where the boy is eating. We can also add up the predicate, for instance if you want to say the boy is eating curry puff, so the sentence will be like this; 'He is eating curry puff in the kitchen.' This is the simplest way of constructing a sentence. You have to know this basic before you learn to make complex sentences in future. Do you understand?

Student X: Oooo....tapi saya tengok kamus sedang tu 'medium'...

Me: -___-" (again)

I admit that it is full of challenge teaching English to young students like that. It was very hard to get them understand as English is not their first language. Furthermore, they live in rural area which is so lacking of information and practice in English usage. Even the teachers here needs to teach English bilingually to make sure the students understand their learning. What I'm trying to convey here is English, the language itself has

become the boundary for the students to learn deeply about the grammar and the correct structure. If the teachers doesn't have a set of skills to cope with this matter, the incident of translating Malay words directly to English like what happened in my class will be the biggest problem in teaching profession. So, future teachers, you better get yourself ready!^_^

p/s: TESLians, are you prepared to be posted in rural area school?? Me, yes! hehehe=D

National Education Philosophy

Assalamualaikum!

Hello, fellow readers! This blog is specially created for educational purposes. I will share my thoughts and so as yours! This blog is created to fulfill the requirement of the subject EDU 455: Instructional Technology. More and more of useful information and knowledge about English and Education will I share with you guys. So happy reading and keep on following my blog! For the very first entry, I would like to share about the National Education Philosophy which I've never been able to memorize the whole sentences^_^

"Education in Malaysia is an on-going efforts towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large"

Basically I understand the whole content of the philosophy. In order to create a holistic person, education is one of the 'booster'. It's aiming on the making of all-rounded person through education. As future teachers, it is important for us to really get the meaning of the philosophy so that we can apply them in our real life. Being a teacher is full of challenge and responsibilities. So we better get ourselves mentally and physically prepared by first, to hold with the philosophy.

p/s: I think we should memorize this first.....=)