Using multi-sensory teaching approach in foreign language instruction

There is no doubt that the face of education has changed intensely over the past twenty years or so. Teachers across the whole world are perspiring hard to arm their learners with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for success in the 21st century. Along with encouraging students the flexibility to willingly adapt to changing technologies, instructors must foster learning environments that encourage creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, sensory perception etc. As many standard curricula are organized around the provision students with the necessary information to pass standardized tests, teachers often lavish themselves more with their own production to the detriment of student interaction and activity

(Gaus & Simpson, 2009). Consequently, many classrooms are becoming teacher-directed rather than constructivist (Skoning, 2010). Multi-sensory education is a way for language teachers to incorporate academics, interaction and personal perception within student-centric lessons that will successfully educate and prepare students holistically for their bright future. In general, MTA means presenting all information to students via mainly three sensory modalities: visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic. Visual presentation techniques include graphic organizers for structuring writing and illustrations for supporting teaching; auditory presentation techniques include conducting through discussions and reading aloud; tactile/kinesthetic presentation techniques include touching and feeling objects which help students manipulate things.

Today all education students can benefit multi-sensory learning as it meets all individual students’ learning needs in language instruction. It is not a secret that our brains perceive data through the five senses – seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. Every learner processes information differently as some of their sensory perception is stronger in one area than another. However, many of the learners learn best when information and language materials are presented in a multi-sensory manner as utilizing various senses in the language learning facilitates to enable optimal learning for individual students in the classroom. Furthermore, multi-sensory instruction is frequently used for students with learning differences or difficulties such as spelling, writing, math, listening comprehension and expressive language. Studies from the National Institute of Child Health and Human development (United States of America) have shown that for children with difficulties in learning to read, a multisensory teaching method is the most effective teaching method. Incorporating visual, auditory, tactile or kinesthetic styles in the instructional setting assist students in digesting and retaining classroom material. MTA provides language instructors with the wisdom of Confucius: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”. Whenever students are involved in multi-sensory teaching they are able to develop their multi-faceted features in investigation of language. MTA lets learners to use some or all their senses to:

• •    Gather information about a task

• •    Link information to ideas they already know and understand

• •    Perceive the logic involved in solving problems

• •    Learn problem solving tasks

• •    Tap into nonverbal reasoning skills

• •    Understand relationships between concepts

• •    Store information and store it for later recall

However, using MTA in language classroom demands from teachers enough mastery and professionalism to combine as many senses as possible to equally motivate and engage language learners into language learning process. Every teacher should detect students’ lacks and problems in learning a foreign language. If s/he observes that a child is not learning in the way s/he teaches, a teacher should change her/his teaching strategy and teach the child in the way s/he learns. Multi-sensory education focuses on a diversity of teaching strategies that appeal different types of learners in educational environment:

• 1.    Flexible curriculum

• 2.    Stimulation of visual reasoning and learning

  As most of MTA techniques are based on using either sight or hearing (visual and auditory) in the classroom, the learner’s sight forms a habit to read information, looking at text or picture either form the board or the course-book. Visual materials utilized in the classroom can enrich students’ learning and activity. All visual aids can assist language teachers to create a comfortable and natural environment where learners can feel themselves safe and welcome (Jensen, 1998). Moreover, visual perception is very essential for developing students’

Standard curriculum should be adaptable enough to incorporate multi-sensory elements. Additionally, multi-sensory classroom activities should be used to enhance and build upon textbook/course-book curriculum.

understanding. Imagery is what stimulates learners to comprehend and easily remember the material. Therefore, language instructors should implement various below-mentioned techniques which could enable students to use greatly their vision to get necessary knowledge and skills in acquiring a foreign language.

• •    Text or pictures on paper, posters, models, projection screens, computers or flash card

• •    Use of color for highlighting, organizing information or imagery

• •    Graphic organizers, outlining passages

• •    Student created art, images, text, pictures and video

• 3.    Auditory techniques

Mainly, students use their hearing sense to listen to what the teacher and other students say in the foreign language zone. Auditory stimulus is beneficial to learner empathy and progress. Language instructors may vary the auditory techniques ranging from their level of ease and difficulty.

• •    Books on tape, peer assisted reading, paired reading and computerized text readers

• •    Video or film with accompanying audio

• •    Music, song, instruments, speaking, rhymes, chants and language games

• 4.    Tactile teaching methods

Like visual and auditory learning styles, exploiting touching and tactile experiences in the classroom have a variety of profits. Thus, movement is believed to stimulate learning, especially it works well with novice learners who are likely to be more agile and energetic. Tactile that is using the sense of touch includes strategies such as:

• •    Sand trays, raised line paper, textured objects, finger paints and puzzles to improve fine motor skills

• •    Modeling materials such as clay and sculpting materials

• •    Using small materials called manipulatives to represent number values to teach math skills

• 5.    Kinesthetic methods

Multi-sensory methods using body movements are called kinesthetic methods. These involve fine and gross motor movements.

• •    Games involving jumping rope, clapping or other movements paired with activities while counting and singing songs related to concepts.

• •    Any large movement activity for students involving dancing, bean bag tossing or other activities involving concepts, rhythmic recall and academic competition such as quizzes, flash card races and other learning games.

Multi-sensory teaching is considered to be one of the most difficult approaches in language teaching as it demands from language instructors a great deal of mastery and competence to conduct the lessons. As this approach covers several senses at a time, it is very demandful from the teachers to take into vast consideration all the learning preferences and needs of each learner. Moreover, it needs special methodology which enables language teachers to provide their students with educational fun as they really value it in the classroom.

In conclusion, it should be stated that implementing multi-sensory approach in language classroom has several benefits. Firstly, beginner learners benefit it a lot as they get accustomed to more natural and, at the same time, educational learning environment. Secondly, MTA destroys all the stereotypes about the language learning process which is believed to be unreachable and sophisticated via provision of high motivation and fun. Through multi-sensory education language teachers may ensure that standards are being met, while also encouraging student motivation and active participation. Those teachers who really would like to meet students’ needs can use multi-sensory education to vary their instruction avoiding the traditional ways of teaching. Additionally, it can assist teachers to create student-centric classrooms in that way reducing teacher’s dominance and talk. Students with dyslexia (not being able to read or problems in reading) can be easily taught any language with the help of MTA as it intentionally involves students with such disability into learning process.

On the other hand, language teachers need special methodology and training to teach through multi-sensory approach as it demands good enough qualifications and expertise in this sphere.