“Feelthinking”: a powerful

competence for teenage

learners.
José Luis Morales
Author of “Hey There!”,
Pearson Longman 2008.
Teenagers present us with enormous
challenge in classrooms...

 With a partner, identify and

discuss some of the challenges
they present you with in relation
to:
 Their attitude towards English and
learning in general.
 Listening/Speaking
 Reading/Writing
 Learning grammar & vocabulary.
 Working independently from you.
 Some of those challenges are:

 SS’s don´t feel they´re getting what they need at school:

School didn't teach me to read—I learned from my games. —A
student (Prensky, 2005)
 They find speaking/listening tasks boring.
 They can´t concentrate on reading a relatively long text and
then do a comprehension task.
 They fail to see the pleasure part of ‘reading for pleasure’.
 They get fidgety and restless when they have to do ‘one thing
at a time’ .
I can do my homework while I download music, text-message my
friends and surf the web. – A student (verbatim)
 They don´t see the point of learning grammar and spelling.

You can always run a spell check! Can´t you? – A student

(verbatim)
 They hate textbook songs.
 They seem unfeeling and reckless in their comments and
attitudes towards peers and especially adults.
 Some of the causes may be:

 They´re ‘digital natives’ while the adults around

them are ‘digital immigrants.’ (Prensky, 2001)
 They don´t find learning at school (content and
delivery) compelling enough.
 They have very exciting ‘digital native’ lives outside
school.
 They are growing up in a world with very somber
prospects.
 They are growing up in a much more complex and
rapidly changing reality than their parents and
teachers did.
 Most curricula provide only ‘legacy knowledge’
(Prensky, 2005); they feel they need ‘future
knowledge’.
 What is “feelthinking”?

 “Feelthinking is both the road

and the destination, process
and result, informed action
resulting from two
complementary energies:
feeling and thinking.”
(Moraes, M. de la Torre, S. 2004)
 What is “feelthinking”?
 “It is the ability to think in a
more complex, integrated,
global and articulated way.”

 “Feelthinking is the intensely

conscious meeting of sense
and sensibility.”
Moraes & de la Torre, (2004) 58
 How can we teach
feelthinking?

 A lesson or course should be

‘punctuated’ with feelthinking
questions that incite dialogue
both with self and others.
 Feelthinking question
typologies
 ‘Power WH’
-What do you notice about...?
-What do you learn from...?
-What can you do now...?
-How difficult/enjoyable was it on a
scale from 1 to 5?
- How did you manage on your
own? Did you need help? Did you
ask for it? Did you get it?
Sample questions for a good
start:
Who likes/doesn´t like English?
-Is it useful to you? Why/Why not?
-What do you like/don´t like to do in
a language class?
-How do you feel about …?
-What was your first English course like?
-What would you like to do with/in
English?
-Do you use English in your daily life?
-Think of an English speaker you´d like
to
 Feelthinking Question
typologies
 ‘in-their-shoes’
What would you do if you were X?
 ‘Point-of-no-return’

Where should they say STOP?

 ‘Roman Circus’

Thumbs up or down?
 ‘ Dear-Abby-advice/warnings’

I think you should/shouldn´t...

 Feelthinking Question
typologies
 ‘Cool vs Uncool’
Students do a show of hands.
 ‘Fatal-flaw’

Students choose from a number of

choices such as: greed, haste,
envy, recklessness, etc
 ‘Jury-duty’

Students discuss and find the

‘defendant’ guilty or innocent.
1. Expectancy-Value Theory
(Eccles & Wigfield, 1995)

 Confidence in one´s ability

supports motivation. “Feel”

 If a task is perceived as
valuable one is more likely to
attempt it successfully. “Think”
 2. Attribution Theory
(Weiner, 1985)

 T+S Dialogue helps the ss to

attribute success or failure to
the right internal or external
factors.

“Feel-Think-Feel”
 3. Self-Determination
Theory
(Deci, et al., 1991)
 SS need to feel competent:
“Think”

 SS need to Relate to others and

feel accepted: “Feel”

 SS need some degree of

autonomy to invest themselves:
“Think” “Feel”
4. Achievement-Goal Theory

(Ryan, Hicks & Midgley, 1997)

 Task goal  Ability goal

orientation: orientation:

all learning learning =

helps me grow. demonstrating
ability.
“Feel”+ “Feel” +
“Think” “Think”
 References
 Eccles, S. & Wigfield, A. 1995. In the mind of the actor: the
structure of adolescents’ achievement task valPersonality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 215-25ues and expectancy
related beliefs.
 Alves, R. 1996. La alegría de enseñar. Barcelona: Octaedro.
 Deci, E.L., et al 1991. Motivation and education: the Self-
Determination Perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26 (3/4)
325-346.
 Moraes, M. C., de la Torre, S. 2004. SENTIPENSAR: Fundamentos
e estratégias para reencantar a educação. Editora Vozes,
Petrópolis, Río de Janeiro.
 Prensky, M. 2001. Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the
Horizon, 9(5), 1–2.
 Prensky, M. 2005. Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership,
Vol 63, No 4, 8-13,
 Ryan, A.M., Hicks, L. & Midgley, C.1997. Social goals, academic
goals and avoiding seeking help in the classroom. Journal of Early
Adolescence, 17 (2), 152-171.
 Weiner, B. 1985. An attributional theory of achievement
motivation and emotion, 92 (4), 548-573.