Exploring ways to improve attention span of adults In the ESL class

1. Introduction

In recent years， much attention has been paid to the learners. There is no surprise that attention span is a significant factor， which could influence the learning effect of students. It has become a meaningful object of study in ESL （English as a second language） class. Admittedly， attention span may affect students in gaining knowledge effectively and teachers to complete tasks. The aim of this paper is therefore to explore ways to improve attention span of adults in the ESL class. The motivation of learners is flexible factors that could be improved in order to hold attention span and avoid distraction of students.

Initially， this paper will provide an overview of attention span and its concept and form， followed by an analysis of determinants affected attention span. Furthermore， according to the determinants， several exploratory methods will be provided to improve attention span.

2. The concept of attention span

Educators believe that the notion of attention span has often been seen as mystery， although the definition of attention span and attention deficits has to be developed by teachers and clinicians （Binder et al. 1990）. Attention span has been defined as an obligation of students （Ferritor， Buckholdt， Hamblin， & Smith as cited in Binder et al. 1990）. Such definition highlight attention span as a field related to learners， which reflect the importance of attention.

3. What factors will affect attention span in ESL class？

In general， the quality of attention in ESL class is dependent on many factors which could be divided in to several parts. Firstly， the accent， intonation and pace of language play overwhelmingly significant roles in ESL class， according to the factors of instructors. Secondly， the factor is based on tools used in class， which means the video or slide. More exactly， some distracting animation or colorful pictures may divert attention form. Thirdly， the motivation of learners could modify their attention （Bunce et al. 2010）. That means selective attention may appear stemmed from different motivations. Fourthly， some objective factors may have impacts on the attention， such as time of day and seats of students. To be more precise， some learners believe that it is easier to hold attention in the morning than afternoon and sitting at the back of classroom may easier distract than sitting next to teachers.

From what has been stated above， it may not difficult to observe that the influence of motivation of student could never be ignored， which is accessible to be changed by instructors to improve the attention span in ESL class. Admittedly， some factors could not be controlled by instructors sometimes， including time of day and seats of students.endprint

4. What should teachers do to improve attention in ESL class？

In the ESL class， the main purpose of teacher could be developing English skills in reading， writing， listening and speaking of learners. According to Bunce et al. （2010）， using student-centered pedagogies could be an effective way to hold students attention which could not only boost student attention but also could using student attention cycles to refreshing attention instantly afterward. To be more precise， adding student-centered activities to ESL class should not be ignored by instructors， by doing this， learners attention could be improved and the unintended boost during class. For instance， designing a simulation environment and asking learners to make dialogs based on the environment could be seen as a student-centered activity， instead of teachers expound knowledge alone. Moreover， others researchers also provide some useful activities. As Hawkes （2012） has demonstrated， doing task repetition may also direct learner attention. Therefore， many activities could be used in ESL class to improve attention span.

The ESL class is quite different from the class teaching in mother tongue， which requires students to participate in class， using English as a second language. So how to motivate learners to take part in the ESL class by using target language， English， has become a problem. In a practical research of Jeff Cain et al. （2009）， it states that using audience response system （ARS） questions effectively during the ESL class may help learners ‘maintain attention and ‘stay motivated. Clearly， ARS could make audience participant in class and eliminate excluded feelings by giving feedback to peers and discussing the opinion of instructor. Furthermore， the ARS could also ‘optimize the pace of lectures and ‘clarify points which may make easier for students to follow and organize the ideas. In this research， questionnaires have been used to investigate the accessible of ARS， which reflect that this strategy could help learners to hold attention （Jeff Cain et al. 2009）. Admittedly， this practical study has some constraints， which did not show what time should instructors spent on ARS directly.

As can be seen from the two methods mentioned， student-centered pedagogy is an effective way to hold learners attention， and ARS is a system that could help instructors motivate learners to participant in active-learning class. So instructors should notice the connection between the two methods and apply them. For instance， in speaking class， adult learners as individuals may quite difficult to be aroused motivation than children， due to children may interest in and curious to a new language and want to speak out to show they understand the meanings. However， adults may appear a bit quiet in speaking class， caused they possibly do not want to make grammar and pronunciation mistakes. Facing adults in speaking class， using ARS to motivate learners and student-centered activities to improve attention are effective ways. For example， instructors could design a simulation environment in speaking， a traveler get lost in a prosperous city and he wants to go several scenery spots， have supper， have afternoon tea， buy souvenirs and return to train station. Then instructors could put a big map on board， act the lost people and ask different learners to show the way on the map and ask if there is any other ways to the same place. Such student-centered activities could easier to motivate adults in speaking class and improve their attention.endprint

5. Conclusion

This project has shown an overview about attention span in the ESL class including concept of attention span and a regular pattern about how long can learners pan attention， which often fluctuates during class. Then， it is also lists some factors that could affect student attention possibly， which is related to instructors， learners， tools and others. In the main part， the project illustrates two exploring ways for instructors to improve attention span in the ESL class： student-centered pedagogy and audience response system.

From what has been stated above， there may no difficult to draw the conclusion that to improve student attention span in ESL class much effort should be made by instructors. If the student-centered activities and audience response system have been used in the ESL class， it may be easier for instructors to hold the student attention.

References：

[1]Bunce，D.M.，Flens，E A.，& Neiles，K.Y.（2010）.How long can students pay attention in class？ A study of student attention decline using clickers.

[2]Cain，J.，Black，E.P.and Rohr，J.（2009）An Audience Response System Strategy to Improve Student Motivation，Attention，and Feedback.

[3]Hawkes，M.L.（2012）Using task repetition to direct learner attention and focus on form.

[4]Binder，C.，Haughton，E.，Van Eyk，D.（1990）Increasing Endurance by Building Fluency：Precision Teaching Attention Span.

作者簡介：冯勋（1990-），女，汉族，吉林长春人，讲师，硕士研究生，研究方向：英语语言学及教学法。endprint