HEROES Teacher's Guide - Book - Page 6
Activities in the pupil’s Course Book are presented spirally, with intensive support at the
initial stages. The activities move gradually from reception to production of one-word
responses, to two- or three-word phrases, and finally, speaking in full sentences. Target
lexical words and chunks are extensively recycled allowing pupils to gain confidence in the
language.
The methodology behind Heroes integrates both language learning theories and language
teaching approaches that have been proven successful in foreign language instruction, as
well as in research and first-hand experiences in the classroom.
The following are theories underlying the Integrated Multisensory Language Teaching
Methodology in Heroes:
Piaget’s Constructivist Theory
Children continually interact with the world around them and confront problems. Piaget
theorized that it is through the action of solving these problems that children construct
knowledge. Heroes is built on activities in which children are required to use the new
language to solve problems – for example, arranging pictures in the order they happen in a
story.
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory
Underlying Vygotskian Theory is the central observation that development and learning take
place in a social context, in a world where children interact and communicate with their
environment. The people around the children play an important role in helping them learn,
bringing objects and ideas to their attention, playing with them, telling them stories, and
asking and answering questions. The ability to learn through instruction and mediation is a
core characteristic to human intelligence. The adult helps the child achieve what the child
cannot achieve on his/her own. Vygotsky refers to this as the Zone of Proximal Development
– what the child can do with the help of an adult, and how this enables him/her to progress.
Both Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories have had a clear impact on what teachers can do in the
language classroom in order to aid learning. The Heroes Teacher’s Guide implements these
important ideas in explicit instructions for the teacher.
The Natural Approach to Language Learning
The Natural Approach sees language as developing through the use of natural and
meaningful contexts, rather than a conscious learning of language and its structures.
Heroes is built on the assumption that young learners are curious and therefore attracted by
interesting stories, situations, and characters. The program is built around engaging, ageappropriate stories which stimulate children’s curiosity and allow for authentic
communication.
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