The frame of the task involves four columns. In the first column the names of learners should be put down beforehand. It allows student teachers to start their observation from the very beginning of the lesson. In the second column opposite the names of the target learners an observer makes some notes about physical, emotional and language behaviour. This task seems to be similar to the previous one. But this time student teachers have to be concerned with student's willingness and interest to the task and learning process. In the third column student teachers have to outline a specific learning activity. After the lesson they will analyze which tasks promote negative or positive attitude with learners. In the last column an observer has to give any other comments on the situation and motives that caused this behaviour, and defines whether this situation refers to the instrumental or integrative motivation.
After the lesson pre-service teachers are recommended to make brief comments on the relationship between learners' behaviour and learning activities in order to define which learning activities, instructions promote instrumental or integrative motivation. The third comment that students have to make concerns attitude to the task with different gender. They should be aware of whether motives of female and male students are different in approaching and accomplishing the tasks or the same.
At the post-observation session student teachers should reflect on the role of motivation in the learning process and its influence on the task fulfillment. They might think of the degree the pupils judge their learning capabilities, and the level they value their efforts invested in the task. It will direct pre-service teachers to take into account the degree of challenge pupils face and adequate feedback they expect. Finally, student teachers should consider all these factors in their further planning of lesson activities, formulating their instructions and anticipate appropriate rewards for every task.
5.3 Learner as a doer
5.3.1 Learner as an active participant and reasons of participation
Humanistic, communicative language teaching theories advocate the assumption that learners should be actively involved in day-to-day teaching practice. In its turn in order to encourage learners to take active position in learning process and be more responsible for their progress teachers should take into account that learners perceive, approach tasks, process and solve problems in divergent ways. The reason of it arises out of learners' intelligence, expectations, aptitudes, strategies and learning styles.
Learning styles, or some learners' preferences in approaching and processing tasks, are considered to be salient and can be obtained through observing learners' behaviour. Tudor (1996:114) considers that learning style is characterized as `a practically-oriented construct: it is based on … the analysis and grouping of observed behavioural preferences'.
Various researchers define learning style as `a consistent pattern' (Gregoire 1970:234), `relatively stable indicator' (Keefe 1979) which consists of distinct behaviours or characteristics a person learns from and interacts with his/her environment. This definition shows that the term `cognitive style' refers to a very complex set of processes and involves different psychological and cognitive variables. Birkey and Rodman (1995) point out that, just as there are `striking differences in the way people learn and process information...there are significant differences in how learning styles are defined and measured'. Different researchers have constructed a great range of bipolar schemes and numerous measuring instruments, such as questionnaires, scales, surveys, to investigate student learning styles.
5.3.2 Areas of learning styles
Reid (1995:x,xi) have grouped different dimensions of learning preferences into three main spheres: cognitive styles, sensory styles, affective/temperament styles. Cognitive learning styles refer to how people learn rather than what they learn. It relates to learners' `habitual modes of processing information and, in a general sense, of organizing their perceptions of and interaction with their environment' (Tudor 1996:108). Keefe (1979:4) defines learning style as a `characteristic of cognitive, affective, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment'. Thus, the term `cognitive style' is used to refer to a very complex set of processes, and encompasses various stylistic variables. The most famous and developed variable with application to language learning is field dependence - field independence (FD - FI). Sometimes called global versus analytical thinking this variable reflects on how learners think and process information. The FD learner is one who processes information globally. This learner is less analytical, not attentive to detail, and sees the perceptual field as a whole. This whole resists analysis or decomposition. The FI person on the other hand can easily break the field down into its component parts. S/he is typically not influenced by the existing structure and can make choices independent of the perceptual field. FD persons are more socially oriented, they `benefit from positive peer interaction' (Violand-Sanchez 1995:53) and tend to be sensitive to approval (Chappel 1995:160). They also need more explicit instructions when material to be learned is disorganized. FI learner, because s/he does not need the approval of others, `might be the more confident language learner, actively speaking out in class and taking risks' (Day 1984:74).
Sensory style refers to how people use their senses (seeing, hearing, touching, testing or smelling) in perceiving new information and materials. In learning context the first three of these senses dominate learners' perception. That is why learning styles are often categorized to a person's strongest sensory system: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. Visually oriented learners prefer to read and to obtain information by means of visual stimulus; such learners react fast to stimulus provided by posters, flashcards and charts. Auditory learners are comfortable with oral teacher's instructions, listening activities and discussions. Kinesthetic/ `hands-on' (Oxford and Ehrman 1993:196) like lots of movement and enjoy working with tangible objects. These learners are good at dramatizing dialogues, playing games, especially which involve physical motions.
Affective learning styles involve temperament of a person. Temperament refers to basic dimensions of personality that are grounded in psychology and explain individual differences in the developmental process. Buss and Plomin (1984) developed a measure based on the following three dimensions: emotionality, activity, and sociability. One of the polar dimensions of affective learning style is extroverted-introverted style. Extroverted learners enjoy conversation, role-plays and other highly interactive activities. They are very expressive and speak a lot, but do not mind being interrupted. Whereas introverted learners are stimulated most by their own inner world of ideas and feelings. In the language classroom they prefer to work alone, listen carefully, but dislike interruption.
5.3.3 Description of the task
Although, learning style according to the foregoing definition is viewed as relatively fixed and non-changeable, Singleton (1989:157) argues that it is possible to help adult learners to explore their own preferences and to shape their learning approach to suit the requirements of a particular learning task. Thus the main goal of observational tasks (see Appendix 3) is to help student teachers to get to grips with pupils' learning preferences, and thereby to be able to adjust teaching materials and respond to learners' subjective needs in their future planning, and apply some techniques that can enhance natural learners' capabilities, habits and develop other skills through training.
Student teachers are recommended to obtain information about learning styles during the third meeting with the group. This time pre-service teachers have to observe language and learning behaviour of students, which is accompanied by emotional and affective state. Linguistic behaviour comprises language production that is organisation of speech, complexity of utterances, pitch of intonation, and speed of production. Observing these variables student teachers can reveal affective styles of their learners. For example, if a learner produces utterances in a low voice without haste and emotions, an observer can assume that this learner refers to introverts and thus s/he requires patience to be listened to. Observing learning behaviour that is the way students approach and process a task, materials they use, manner of solving a problem, their social behaviour student teachers can obtain information about pupils' cognitive and sensory styles. Trainees should notice whether a pupil uses additional aids such as pencils or fountain pens to highlight some information in the textbook, or whether s/he faces her/his partner during pair-, group work. These situations characterise a visual learner and a FD learner respectively with regard to Violand-Sanchez (1995) and Oxford and Ehrman (1993) research mentioned earlier.
Student teachers are given some examples which describe the language and learning behaviour, and the manner of approaching and processing a task. These examples cover all three groups of learning styles. It is noteworthy to mention that one example might comprise more than one learning style. Thus the characteristic `respond in a low voice but accurately' might describe an introvert and FD learner, whereas `speaks fast but with errors' includes features of an extrovert and FI pupil. But the expression `produces long utterances without haste and emotions' may define an introvert but FI learner. Some examples display sensory preferences only. For example, the behaviour `highlight some passages with fountain pen or marker' reveals a visual leaner, `gives the answer to the comprehension question after first listening' is the feature of an auditory learner. The characteristic `volunteers to go to the blackboard' displays the feature of a kinaesthetic learner but at the same time s/he might be an extrovert as well. Thus all these characteristics make student teachers be aware about the complexity of a child's personality and give them a hint about affective, cognitive and sensory preferences of learners in accomplishing learning activities.
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