Tips from the book «Lessons from Good Language Learners» by Carol Griffiths

What if we take a good learner and try to figure out what makes them so good at learning languages? In this way, we, probably, will be able to teach these skills and strategies to poorer learners to boost their success. This is what the book “Lessons from Good Language Learners” starts with. 

The book is edited by Carol Griffiths and consists of contributions made by a variety of authors. There are two big parts in it, “Learner variables” and “Learning variables”. The first part deals with skills, qualities and characteristics that may determine a successful learner, covering age, aptitude, culture and many more. The author claims that “Although some of these variables may be influenced to a greater or lesser extent by external factors, they are individual characteristics or behaviours which make each learner unique.” The second part looks at various factors in the learning situation such as the error correction, way of instructing, choice of tasks or teaching/learning methods. “These variables have their origin externally, but must be managed by the learners if successful learning is to take place.”

As it seems impossible to cover all of the 23 variables given in the book in just one article, below you’ll find just 5 of them with some possible implications for the classroom use. 

Autonomy and good language learners

Autonomy has been somewhat of a buzz word recently. Most teachers advocate for promoting learners’ autonomy and say that a learner who is able to take responsibility for their learning process, both psychologically and physiologically, will inevitably be more successful. Autonomous learners don’t only decide how and when they learn, and how they manage their learning – they also decide what and where they learn. Sounds perfect, right? To teach and practise learner’s autonomy, it might be a good idea to:

• ask students to keep a record of their language learning experiences in the form of a log or journal;
• incorporate collaborative projects into your studying plan;
• let students choose a topic or a task;
• discuss learners’ choices of topics, materials and resources to guide them, if necessary.

Vocabulary and good language learners

This chapter tells about an interesting study of how different learners were asked to take responsibility for their own vocabulary learning. Given an opportunity to choose, personalize and memorize the words the way they prefered, most of the learners still opted for rote learning, random and non-personalized choices, and ‘word — translation’ approach. They claimed that learning collocations or connotations was useless and time-consuming for them. 

The learner who showed the most impressive progress had chosen a different strategy. First, he tried to know as much as possible about each word: its various meanings, register, collocations and more. Secondly, he didn’t rely on the coursebook only and used various resources: “I learn words from talking to people, from TV and from radio. If that word is interesting I write in a small book. I always have a pen and notebook. Later I can put them in this list [vocabulary notebook].” Thirdly, instead of rote learning and cramming for exams, he was learning the words by trying to use them as often as he could. 

The author’s implications here are that a teacher may need to spend some time on helping learners to decide why they are learning vocabulary and what kind of vocabulary they need to learn. “Learners need to become fluent and comfortable using a few important vocabulary learning strategies. These strategies should include guessing from context, using word cards, using word parts, using mnemonic techniques, especially the keyword technique, and using dictionaries. These techniques require a considerable amount of practice and they need to be learned to a point where it is easier to use them than not to use them.”

Pronunciation and good language learners

Good language learners do not neglect pronunciation, even though it is sometimes considered to be the least important system for anyone mastering their new language. Most people, when it comes to pronunciation, have 3 main concerns: intelligibility, image and identity. Some do not care about the way they sound and just want to be understood. For others, though, sounding ‘like a native’ might be a life-long goal. There is one more category of people who say that the way they sound is part of their personality, something they wouldn’t change. 

Aptitude, motivation, and opportunity are three factors that account for success in language learning. So, first, a good language learner should have an aptitude for acquiring pronunciation by imitating sounds or using detailed descriptions of how the vocal organs are working. Second, they should be motivated enough to spend hours mimicking native speakers and recording themselves in order to improve their accent. The author mentions that “Most learners, on hearing their own recorded voice, are surprised at how they sound and are often quite capable of saying what their strengths and weaknesses are in terms of

pronunciation.” Third, some time spent in an English-speaking country might be beneficial as it means lots of exposure.

Listening and good language learners

Listening is often challenging for language learners. Apart from knowing the language at a certain level, there are other skills which effective listeners need, such as motivation, concentration and empathy towards the speaker. Listening is often closely linked with speaking in real life, so a good learner remembers that listeners become speakers and vice-versa in the blink of an eye. 

Some of the “teachable” strategies mentioned in the chapter are the following:

1. Predicting information or ideas prior to listening;
2. Inferring from incomplete information;
3. Monitoring comprehension;
4. Asking for clarification;
5. Providing a personal response to what has been heard.

The list is not exhaustive. The author mentions 3 big groups of listening strategies which a good learner should be taught and aware of. There are cognitive, meta-cognitive and socio-affective strategies there. For example, a good learner should be able to visualize the situation they are hearing about; be aware when they are losing attention and refocus concentration; and lower their anxiety about listening. I found a number of strategies I’ve never thought about before. If you have a struggling listener in your group, this chapter is probably worth reading.

Errors and good language learners

Errors are bad as they lead to the formation of bad habits and end up being fossilized! Good learners make no errors…or do they?

Researches prove that an effective learner is able to notice and understand errors. Good language learners learn from their own mistakes, so “error feedback can be a useful and effective means of helping to develop competence in a target language.” Students often expect their teacher to correct them. Some of the ideas for this teacher to use might be these:

• Discuss with your students their attitude to error correction. Would they prefer to be corrected on spot? Individually? By peers? Both in speaking and writing?
• Use different strategies and vary error correction. 
• Link the way of correcting errors to the focus of your lesson. “If the focus is on developing fluency/confidence in communicating, then the error should only be corrected if it impedes the communication of meaning. If the focus is on grammatical accuracy in the use of a particular language feature, errors of form relating to the feature of focus should not be ignored.”

Do you want to know who needs to have more concrete, visual examples more: boys or girls? What do ISTJ and ENFP stand for? How do good language learners develop reading skills? What to do if the students in your class all come from different cultures? Then, “Lessons for Good Language Learners” is worth reading. This book is definitely not a bedtime story: it deals with a lot of studies, implications and theories, and sometimes provides more questions than answers. However, it might be useful for all teachers who want to make their courses more learner-centred, to obtain inspiration, and to finally understand why, other things being equal, learners can show such tremendously different results within the same group.

Speaking activities are, obviously, essential for English language speaking classes. A lot of students join classes particularly to develop their communicative competence, become more fluent, versatile, adaptable, and confident communicators in English. However, designing speaking activities might be time-consuming and nerve-wracking for any teacher. We have prepared a memo with superb ready-made speaking tasks that will make your student talking. Download it here.