Page 76 - The SpeakTeach method - Esther de Vrind

Chapter 4. Perspective of the students - adaptivity
perceptual input for the affect-creating loop [(Figure 8 in orange)] is a representation of the rate of discrepancy reduction in the action system over time” and that the output of this affect loop is negative or positive feelings which may in turn influence each element of the behavioural feedback loop.
This process of self-regulation is complex for students. It requires understanding and noticing of different aspects of their own speaking performance (the existing situation), the capability to set goals and plans for improvement and the motivation to carry out these plans. Depending on the learners’ capacities, the feedback loop or self-regulation loop can be followed autonomously or with external feedback or support (Figure 8 in pink). External feedback or support can be, for instance, teacher feedback, peer feedback, parents, a course book or another external source (Hattie & Timperley, 2007: 81). The feedback or support may be focused on each element of the feedback loop, thus on the learners’ understanding of their own speaking performance (input), on the desired goal or standard (reference value), on the plan for improvement or the improved speaking performance (output) and on the feelings, motivation, effort or attitude which influence the process of self-regulation (affect-creating loop).
The ultimate purpose of this external feedback and support should be to create autonomous learners who are able to self-regulate their own learning process and effectively and independently improve their speaking performance themselves. The process should therefore be an iterative process which leads to increasingly independent and, ultimately, autonomous learners (Little et al., 2017).
4.2.2 Possible needs for external feedback and support to promote self-regulation in speaking skills
Little stated (2007: 26) that “learner autonomy is the product of an interactive process in which the teacher gradually enlarges the scope of her learners’ autonomy by gradually allowing them more control of the process and content of their learning.” To enhance such an interactive process, insight into what is required for self-regulation is necessary. In this section we will examine what is required for each component of self-regulation in speaking skills (Figure 8) and what students may need in the form of support if they cannot yet independently fulfil the requirements of the relevant component of self-regulation in speaking skills.
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