Autonomouslearning.txt;   Compassion.txt;  Cooperation.txt;  Friendship.txt;  Honesty.txt; Perseverance.txt;  Respect.txt;  Responsability.txt;  Self-Discipline.txt;  Sharing and Caring.txt;  We Are What We Do.doc;
What Buddha Taught.doc;   Buddhasayings.txt;  Importance Of Self Control.doc; Values.rar; Howtorearchildren.rar;

Two Activities for Fostering Autonomous Learning

Introduction

Successful language learning entails learner motivation, cooperation and empathy. Naturally, this approach places emphasis on learner development. There are a number of stages in the learner development process. The uppermost stages include raising language awareness (how learners can contribute to their own learning), changing learning strategies (self-monitoring, responding to peers, etc.), and, finally, assuming responsibility for their own learning. The last stage implies transferring some traditional teacher's roles to learners which allows them to become more independent (Kavaliauskiene, 2002).
This paper describes two activities that can encourage learners' development towards autonomy by motivating and involving students in class activities, producing classroom materials and using them in class.
Checking and Correcting Homework
LEVEL: post-elementary & above
OBJECTIVES: peer-/self-assessment, developing autonomy, learner cooperation & interaction, recycling vocabulary
TARGET LANGUAGE : vocabulary / grammar review
MATERIALS: homework (done individually outside class)
IMPLEMENTATION
PROCEDURE: whole class interaction or in small groups
TIME LIMIT: about 10 minutes
This activity transfers a common teacher's role to learners, encourages their cooperation, interaction, assessment and recycling earlier covered material. It can be used as a warm-up activity at the beginning or as a revision task at the end of the class.
Ask one of the students to start the activity by appointing a speaker who will provide an answer to the first question. If the answer is correct, this student asks somebody else to answer the next question, and so on. If the answer is wrong, the teacher's role is taken by any student who provides the right answer.
The activity works even better if you divide class into teams (3 to 5 students on a team), let students choose the names for their teams (lions, tigers, snails, etc.) and set up the implementation procedure in the same way as described above with one exception - nobody 'plays' teacher's role. Teams do all the checking in turns. Students have more fun this way.
In this activity, all students have opportunity to speak out and argue their points. The teacher is nearly redundant: his/her role is to monitor students' performance. The teacher's interference might be necessary in case of tricky questions, i.e. if learners are unable to come up with a right answer.
Useful Tips
It is advisable, however, instead of prompting the right answer to give learners some tips that might help them produce the correct answer. Usually someone in class does.
At lower levels, students might lack self-confidence to use English. If learners feel like using their first language, do not discourage them. Let students become familiar with activity and feel comfortable and secure.
Alternatives
This activity can be used for peer-checking of progress tests administered by teachers. Having administered a few versions (to avoid cheating) of progress tests, ask students to exchange their worksheets, correct their peer's work and allow them to grade it. Learners enjoy playing teachers!
Next, let students discuss their performance by working in pairs or small groups. The teacher's role is to monitor pairs' work and give advice if necessary.
Useful Tip
Avoid 'denouncing' students for making mistakes. The damage to a student's reputation might be irreparable. Individual counseling is preferable.
Student-produced Tests
LEVEL: elementary & above
OBJECTIVES: peer-assessment, self-assessment, producing materials, reflection on usage, interaction, recycling grammar/vocabulary
TARGET LANGUAGE: vocabulary, grammar, word-building, matching words& definitions
MATERIALS: handouts, worksheets, transparencies from
web-based, authentic or textbook materials
IMPLEMENTATION
PROCEDURE: work in pairs / small groups / whole class discussion
TIME LIMIT: flexible
The choice of materials that students can use for producing tests for their peers depends on their level. Higher level students are apt to create a variety of exercises (word-building, gap-filling, language in use, matching words and definitions) and use authentic materials. Lower level students prefer to produce grammar exercises similar to ones in their textbooks.
For students, making their own tests is an extremely motivating activity, which also has an element of self-study and self-assessment. Learners are bound to reflect on the items they have chosen for testing
In class, learners hand out worksheets to their peers, set a time limit and provide assistance if needed. The outcome is discussed either between groups or in the whole class.
The teacher's role is to monitor learners' activities in pairs or small groups unobtrusively. Intervention is unnecessary unless learners need assistance.
Useful Tip
It is advisable to check and correct mistakes on the learners' worksheets before they are handed out to their peers.
Tests might be presented on transparencies and implemented as a whole class activity (provided an overhead projector is available in the classroom).

Reference
Kavaliauskiene, G. Three Activities to Promote Learner's Autonomy. The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. VIII, No. 7, July 2002. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kavaliauskiene-Autonomy/

COMPASSION   What is compassion?

Compassion is the desire to ease others' suffering.
Compassion is a sympathetic awareness of another' distress combined with a desire to alleviate it. Kindness and caring are shown.
Service and generosity are ways that compassion can be demonstrated.
Kind compassionate children:

Recognize and express appreciation for others' talents and skills
Put others' needs before their own
Help others because they want to
Listen and provide sympathy
Show kindness without expecting rewards
Tell and show others they care
Share
Recognize and help those less fortunate than themselves
Try to make the world a better place
You show compassion when you ...

Comfort a friend whose mother has been taken to the hospital
Bring blankets and food to a family in need in your community
Volunteer at a senior citizen nursing home
Take action and stop someone who is being cruel to an animal
Listen when people confide in you
Help out at the Special Olympics
Bring ice cream to a friend who has had his or her tonsils removed
Can understand why your best friend is depressed about a divorce
Send a donation to help people starving in a foreign country
Tutor a younger child who is having trouble in school
Tips on becoming more compassionate and caring

Be a good listener
Look people directly in the eye when they speak
Look for kids at school who are being left out and inviting them to join in activities
Stick up for someone being teased
Each week, do one nice thing for a friend or family member
Proverbs and maxims

The course of human history is determined, not by what happens in the skies, but by what takes place in our hearts. (Sir Arthur Keith)
Never, if possible, lie down at night without being able to say: I have made one human being, at least, a little wiser, a little happier, or a little better this day. (Charles Kingsley)
More quotes on compassion and kindness

Kindness gives birth to kindness. (Sophocles)
Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet them on your way down. (Wilson Mizner)
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read. (Mark Twain)
Kindness in words creates confidence. (Lao-tzu)
Heroes and heroines

Dalai Lama - is the spiritual leader of Tibet who continues to speak of forgiveness, justice, and living together in harmony.
Mother Teresa - worked in the slums of Calcutta, India, helping and nursing the poor and sick. She had a great reverence for human life.
Jane Addams - founded Hull House, a settlement house for the poor, and worked for child labor laws, safe working conditions, better housing, and women's suffrage or right to vote.
Father Damien - became a resident priest for those suffering from Hansen's disease on Molokai.
Put compassion into action

Be friendly to someone who needs a friend.
Do helpful things at home without being asked.
Be generous with your time and your belongings.
Create and participate in a litter control program.
Plan and participate in food drives.
Look for ways to help in any situation without being asked.
Put someone else's need before your own.
Look for ways to help in your community.
Try to understand why a family member or friend is sad.
Forgive someone who has hurt you.
Talk with your family about the problems of the homeless and find a way to help.
Try to understand someone who you disagree with or don't like.
Community service ideas

Recycle aluminum cans. Put the money earned into a local food bank.
Offer to help an elderly neighbor with their chores.
Take a meal to someone who is ill.
Write a letter or send a card of compassion to a victim of some recent tragedy.
Create a school bulletin board where students and teachers can recognize people who have demonstrated great compassion.
Choose a historical figure who represents compassion. Write and perform a short play about the person.

COOPERATION  What is cooperation?

Cooperation is the common effort of a group for their mutual benefit.
Cooperation is teamwork.
Cooperation is working together peacefully.
Team players are students who:

Listen

Encourage their peers
Allow and invite others to contribute their talents and skills
Follow as well as lead
Recognize their strengths and use them for the common good
Treat others equitably
Recognize the needs of the group
Think before acting
Communicate calmly
Put competition aside
You show cooperation when you ...

Work in a small group to accomplish a task
Allow each person in a group to have a say
Try to use everyone's ideas
Do your fair share of the work on a project
Pitch in at home doing chores
Play a team sport and work toward a goal
Work with your friends to help clean up
Participate on a student council committee
Proverbs and maxims

The more cooperative the group, the greater is the fitness for survival which extends to all of its members. (Ashley Montague)
There is no more sure tie between friends than when they are united in their objects and wishes. (Cicero)
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
More quotes on cooperation

Better bend than break. (Scottish proverb)
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers. (Adlai Stevenson)
When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. (Ethiopian proverb)
A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle. (Japanese proverb)
Heroes and heroines

Dag Hammarskjold was Secretary General of the United Nations and practiced "quiet diplomacy" to reduce conflict between countries.
Margaret Mead was a well-known anthropologist who introduced the concept of culture into education and promoted racial equality and environmental concerns.
The Wright Brothers took years to perfect their flying machine with patient, cooperative experimenting.
Ralph Bunche was a black diplomat whose efforts led to armistice in the first Arab-Israeli War.
Guidelines for cooperative learning

Be a good listener.
Distribute the work evenly among team members.
Encourage each member to contribute ideas.
Try to incorporate each person's ideas.
Treat each person of the group with respect.
Be open and receptive to new ideas.
Try to compromise to resolve differences.
Put cooperation into action

Happily do what your parents ask you to do.
Play the game your friends want to play even when you rather do something else.
Help someone by opening a door or helping to carry something.
Help find a compromise when a group is in disagreement.
Always play fair when playing games. Be a good loser.
Invite someone who is alone or "left out" to join your group.
Help family members realize the importance of family cooperation by demonstrating a spirit of cooperation in your daily activities.
Become involved in a community service project.
Ask your friends to help you do something to preserve the environment.
Practice good sportsmanship.
Community service ideas

Contribute clothing to a community service organization serving families in unfortunate circumstances.
Adopt a beach or park and keep it clean.
Volunteer to help with a project to promote community safety.
Learn about how you can become prepared to help with disaster relief.
Make and display posters to help the Heart Association with their campaign for healthy hearts.
Plan a "share a book day" to contribute books to a children's hospital or after-school program.

FRIENDSHIP  What is friendship?

Friendship is an unselfish concern for the good of another.
Friendship is your relationship with someone you like.
"A friend is someone who knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts who you've become, and still, gently invites you to grow."
Children who are good friends:

Accept others for who they are
Share their belongings
Listen
Enjoy others' company
Support others in need
Smile, laugh, and tell jokes
Avoid teasing and put-downs
Encourage others with kind words
Avoid tattling
Ask for help from their peers
Solve problems peacefully
Consider others' feelings before acting
Proverbs and maxims

Look for the good in people and expect to find it.
Friendship is the best present you can give.
Love without friendship is like a shadow without sun. (Japanese proverb)
12 ways to start and strengthen relationships

Be a person of good character.
Be kind and caring.
Be loving and supportive.
Be a good listener.
Spend time together and share experiences.
Recognize when you have problems with others.
Be willing to compromise.
Talk about your feelings.
Don't play the blame game.
Try not to judge others.
Expand your circle of friends.
Be friendly.
Fun ways to strengthen friendships

Make popcorn balls (or other treats) and bring them to someone new in your school.
Have a water balloon toss (outside).
Bring old baby pictures to class and share them.
Fly kites.
Start a club.
Read a play together. Assign different parts to different friends (or ask which parts they'd like to read).
Have a "read-a-thon" or "music-a-thon" and share your favorite books and music.
Volunteer together for a worthwhile activity.
Other pointers to make friends

Friendliness starts with a simple "hello" so practice different greetings like "hi" or "how's it going."
Reach out to others. Join groups, organizations, and clubs. Get a pen pal. Call someone on the telephone.
Include others. Look for people who are left out of activities and groups and invite them to join you.
Make eye contact to show sincerity and interest in others.
Learn and remember names. When you meet someone new, repeat their name.
Don't focus on yourself; think of the person you are with.
Smile to show you enjoy a person's company.
More activities

Write a surprise letter to someone you care about and tell how much he or she means to you.
Read about famous people of the past to learn what kinds of relationships they had with others.
Visit a local store that sells greeting cards and see what they say to bond friendships.
Decide what's most important to you in a friend. You might want to do a questionnaire and rank order qualities you feel are the most to least important - family income level, honesty, intelligence, education, interest, kindness, ability to have fun, is law-abiding, loyalty, physical fitness, political beliefs, popularity, cultural background, religious beliefs, so on.
With your class, debate the most important character trait for a friend to have.
Survey your class to find out how long friendships last when friends are the same gender or opposite genders, when friends are the same age or different ages, and so on.
Role-play things you can do in a new school to develop friendships.
Switch seats in your classroom once a week for 10 minutes so everyone can get better acquainted with each other.
Create a photography bulletin board about friendships.
Learn about relationships among animals such as whales, bears, lions, dogs, and cats.

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