Make the lesson learner-centred.
Every learner is a genius.
Provide opportunities for active learner participation.
Teachers’ principles are an important aspect of their belief systems, and
may be a result of teaching experience, training, or their own experiences as
learners.principles^2 n
seeuniversal grammar
Principles and Parameters frameworkn
the concept of grammar introduced by Chomsky in 1981 which views human
language as a complex set of principles, each with one or more parameters
of variation. The grammars of particular languages are determined by fixing
those parameters.
see universal grammar
prior knowledgen
what a learner already knows and which is available before a certain learning
task, such as knowledge of vocabulary, syntax, the first language, or back-
ground knowledge about a topic or event. Prior knowledge is thought to be
the most important single factor influencing learning and is particularly
important for students with diverse cultural backgrounds since their
experience may be different from mainstream students. Many language
teaching techniques are designed to activate students’ prior knowledge,
such as brainstorming and pre-reading discussion questions.
see also mainstreaming
private speechn
speech which is intended for oneself. The Russian psychologist Vygotsky
believed that in acquiring language, children use private speech to over-
come cognitive difficulties they encounter, e.g. when playing a game or
completing a puzzle. Private speech represents thinking aloud and helps
clarify thought. Second language learners may also use private speech
(e.g. whispering to themselves) to help them overcome difficulties they
encounter when trying to communicate in a second language or to use a
second language to complete a classroom task. Private speech can thus
serve an important strategic function serving to mediate or redirect a
learner’s own activity.
PROn
also BIG PRO
PRO