Motivating Teachers, Motivating Learners: Questions to guide your reading
Excerpt 1
Who are "we" -- the authors? Why are they writing this book?
Who is the intended audience?
To whom or what does this book seem to be responding? Is there a "they say," either stated or implied?
What is a vision? What does it mean to "have a vision"? How is a vision different from a goal?
What do Dörnyei and Kubanyiova mean when they talk about "possible selves"?
What is an "ideal self"? What is an "ought-to self"?
Why do Dörnyei and Kubanyiova believe that visions -- particularly visions of possible selves -- can be powerful sources of motivation?
Have you ever been motivated by a vision? What was it?
What is "mental imagery?" (The authors sometimes just use the word "imagery" to mean the same thing.)
Have you ever used mental imagery to help you learn or acquire skills? If so, how did you use it?
What evidence do the authors provide to try to convince you that mental imagery can be used in foreign language education?
Why could a book like this be important? (I'm not saying it is, necessarily -- I'm asking you to speculate.) Why should you and I care what Dörnyei and Kubanyiova think?
Excerpt 2
What do Dörnyei and Kubanyiova mean by “contructing” a vision of a “future L2 self?”
(note: “L2” is academic jargon. It stands for “second language.”)
What do they believe a language teacher’s role should (or could) be in constructing such a vision? What kind of things should (or could) a language teacher do?
What’s “guided imagery”? How is it used in other fields, such as sports?
Have you, or anyone you know, ever used “guided imagery” before?
What do Dörnyei and Kubanyiova mean by “guided narratives” (section 2.4)?
Why do they believe telling stories (narratives) about oneself are important?
In what ways do they believe a language teacher could use narratives to create a “future self-image”?
What do Dörnyei and Kubanyiova say about role models, and how they could be used to help students generate a “future self-image”?