Minimizing Perceptual Mismatches – Re-Arranging the Lens

Abstract

Miscommunication or being misconstrued is indeed an old story of the English language classrooms. Chances of miscommunication further escalate when the learner is the second or third language speaker of a target language. Mostly teachers and learners don't look at the same classroom event as a potential learning event and mismatches exist between teacher perceptions and learner perceptions of the lesson objectives. These mismatches increase the gap between teacher input and learner intake and the desired learning outcome is not achieved. This is common in monolingual classrooms with minimal diversity and becomes more challenging in diversified multilingual classrooms. However, the nature and degree of mismatches vary in monolingual and multilingual classrooms and can’t be used as a scale to consider either better than the other. The focus of the studies done earlier have been perceptual mismatches and ‘learning gap’ and the emphasis in this paper is the ‘learning map.’ Also, more than a gap there is a ‘disconnect’ between a teacher’s theoretical approach to a lesson/lecture and his/her practical implementation of it – ‘planned’ and ‘practical’ teaching. The discussion here is threefold - from theory to practice to perception. Small steps need to be taken, if maximum learning is the goal, including well-defined and well-explained specific learning objectives for each lesson; methodology, even if sometimes it means to choose from what is termed as ‘conventional teaching methodologies’ and teachers and students preferred styles. Well-defined learning map and eclectic and innovative teaching approaches and techniques maximize learning opportunities thus minimizing the mismatches.



Author Information
Jacqoline J. Austin, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Pakistan

Paper Information
Conference: NACE2014
Stream: Languages education and applied linguistics (ESL/TESL/TEFL)

This paper is part of the NACE2014 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon