Thinking, Reading, Writing Plans

Thinking Plan

The reticular activator is a part of the back of the brain which allows us to notice some things and ignore others. The thinking plan revolves around the idea of using moments of solitude to purposely think in the new language. It requires effort as the reticular activator must be trained to often and consistently maintain thoughts in the new language. Our brain holds between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day, most of them in our native language. The key here is to prompt changes in the students’ habits to constantly be conscious of the language being used in their thoughts and make a systematic effort to use the new language for daily thought. Thinking is just like speaking without uttering the words, thus the practice is just as valid. It is relatively easy to reach two hours per day of thoughts in a new language, depending on the students’ level.

Reading Plan

A committed student ought to read at least 30 minutes per day as a minimum to elevate his or her comprehension and vocabulary. But this is also a great opportunity for the students to visualize many of the structures being covered in the class. It is more than just reading (or listening) for fun, but rather to take the time to muse on how the communication is being presented and structured. It provides vivid examples of grammatical topics covered in class.

Writing Plan

In addition to the regular study load, students ought to be able to present their instructor with weekly writing activities. These could range from essays, to e-mail and correspondence, to reports, to simple stories that can be assigned as homework to be reviewed in a later class. A minimum of 2 hours per week must be devoted to this plan.

Adding it all up

A solid implementation of a practice plan can easily ten fold the class time. At the end, it is not how good of a teacher you are or how well students go through a language program that yields results. But rather how well your students implement the new language into their daily lives.

Activity Hrs/Wk

Home Study 2.0

Listening 10.0

Reading 2.5

Speaking/Thinking 10.0

Writing 2.0

Class Time 3.0

TOTAL EXPOSURE 29.5