Any kinesthetic language learners out there?

Does this apply to language learning?

 

THE KINESTHETIC LEARNER LEARNS BEST BY DOING.

1. Study in short blocks of time rather than extended periods.
   

2. Take frequent breaks when studying.
   

3. Change locations each time you take a break to help stretch your legs and give you a chance to move about when studying.
   

4. Have as many experimental learning opportunities as possible, such as lab and studio courses, as opposed to straight lecture classes - if you have a choice.
   

5. Consider building models or giving demonstrations to the class as opposed to more traditional written reports or term projects.
   

6. When writing, jot down words whose spelling you're unsure of, to see if it "looks" correct.
   

7. Utilize study groups.
   

8. Role play/simulation
   

9. Engage in field trips.
   

10. Use memory techniques requiring movement - hand gestures.
    

11. Engage in body demonstrations where a motion means a concept.
    

12. Use flash cards.
    

13. Make colored strips of paper that represent different concepts - link those papers together.

Comments

[staphl]

The first picture that came to my mind while reading this was me and a book on the bed - my favourite activity in language learning! And if the book is great (and my little boy is sleeping) there is no chance I'll let go of that book before it's finished, I start to sleep or the little one wants some attention. I guess I'm not a kinesthetic language learner but a very lazy one ;-)

I like to listen to podcasts or the radio and to get Turkish parents at the playground to talk with me in their mother-language, but everything else is too much of an effort to me - little coloured paper-strips my a** ;-)

I'm using hand gestures though to teach animals and numbers to my little boy, but that's more like a game and imho not suitable for remembering a bigger amount of new vocabulary in foreign language acquisition.

[Roberta King]

In my opinion, whether one learns visually, aurally or kinesthetically, one's primary learning style applies to everything and everything is a learning experience. As a teacher, I constantly explore different ways to reach the majority of my students and incorporate all of these techniques and more at various times in my classes. Just because one is kinesthetic does not mean that one cannot learn any other way - it is just more difficult to learn and takes longer. Most traditional classrooms have been anathema to the kinesthetic learner. Hopefully with more awareness on the part of the teacher, this can change. Teachers need to think outside the box and be persistent to help their students allow themselves to do the same. The teacher sets the tone of the class and if he/she doesn't mind making a fool out of him/herself, the students will eventually feel less threatened to do the same. The activities you have listed are fun and very helpful to all learners, but particularly for kinesthetic learners.

[Gwindarr]

I suppose I might fall into that category. A few years ago, quite randomly, I realized that if I cycled through subjects very quickly I remembered nearly everything. If I sat and studied for any length of time I forgot nearly everything. So began my journey into short controlled bursts of studying, flashcards and eventually mnemonics. The flashcards worked great. I also should note that a lot of the phrases from languages I've studied in the past (and no longer use) that I have retained came from situations in classrooms where we practiced the phrase a few times.

I teach a handful of private lessons in a few languages these days and I use all those techniques in those sessions. I find they work fairly well for everyone. I realize that most students, (no matter how much I preach to them that they need to read and listen all the time on their own) will do little or nothing outside of the time I spend with them. So I focus on making sure that they remember the stuff we go through. I try to create a rather loose srs for them without any cards.

I've studied a bunch of languages using various methods and keep wondering if there is a better way. For the longest time I didn't really accept 'learning types' as a fact and I'm still not sure if I do. Maybe this is because people use this as an excuse as to why they can't do something. It just feels the same as "I'm too old to hear the tones" or "I don't have a talent for languages" nonsense that I'm sure you all encounter now and then.

I also feel as if I waste too much time looking for a better way to learn online. Its easy to spend hours reading, but everyone says something different and not every method seems to work for everyone. I think what Steve and Khatzu always say about using enjoyable material is dead on, but I also believe that we need to find a way to go about digging into that material (both listening and reading) in a fashion that we get something out of it. We also need to create more lists of good resources. It feels like I am always digging through mountains of garbage to find a speck of something good and then after I'm satiated, I must dig again.

I have found that only listening to something 100 times doesn't help as much as I'd like it to. Does that mean I can't learn by listening? I don't think so. If I break that text into pieces and make the cards, I can retain a lot of it just from audio. It always seems like I need new information to enter me both aurally and visually before I truly know it. A word I know on paper is usually nonsense the first time I hear it. A word I understand when I hear it might equally be unknown the first time I read it. The only way I can be sure is if I am bombarded by the word/phrase from every possible angle.

[Colin]

I haven't done enough reading about learning styles to say definitely whether these help or not. I suspect in some cases they do and some they don't.

Regardless, I do believe - and this might be misconstrued, but oh well - that student learning is something that is not ultimately the teacher's responsibility or even primary duty.

I have to learn myself. No one can do the learning for me. A teacher can advise, inspire, and help, but I think there is truly little they can do to "get me to learn".

I think a lot of teacher's tend to have a bit of a "knight in shinning armor" complex. They want to make a difference. They want to help. This is fine, but too often that leads to the teacher simply trying too hard. Simple is best. Lay some tools out for the student and let them find their own path.

I think I am probably oversimplifying the situation, but then again... simple is best.

[Sean]

No question, that's me. My learning style is very constructive; I find that I best succeed when I:

Reteach material
Change up the learning materials
Create various study materials
Change study media (handwriting, typing, speaking)
Talk out concepts
Reteach
Reteach
Reteach