MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English Language and Literature

Personality Typology in ELT:

Instruments for Improving Teaching Style and

Enhancing Pupils' Learning

Diploma Thesis

Brno 2014

Supervisor: Written by:

Mgr. Jana Zerzová, M.A., Ph.D. Bc. Hana Marková

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Annotation

The diploma thesis uses personality typology as an instrument for understanding both

a teacher's teaching style and pupils' personality types. This work focuses on opposing

types of the teacher and her pupils, and tries to improve pupils' learning conditions in

lessons on the basis of suggested activities in order to suit their types more. Evaluations

analyze how the change of the teaching style was accepted by the pupils and if expected

improvement of pupils' work in lessons, due to the use of personality typology, was

successful.

Anotace

Diplomová práce využívá osobnostní typologii jako nástroj pro porozumění

vyučovacímu stylu učitele a osobnostních typů žáků. Zaměřuje se na protichůdné

osobnostní typy učitele a žáků a snaží se pomocí navrhnutých aktivit zlepšit podmínky

pro učení žáků v hodinách tak, aby více vyhovovaly jejich osobnostním typům. Závěry

analyzují, jak změna vyučovacího stylu byla přijata žáky a zda očekávané zlepšení

práce žáků v hodinách, díky použití osobnostní typologie, bylo úspěšné.

Key words

second language learning, personality typology, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI), preferences, personality type, learning style, teacher's roles, teaching speaking

/ reading /vocabulary

Klíčová slova

učení se druhému jazyku, osobnostní typologie, MBTI, preference, typ osobnosti,

učební styl, učitelovy role, vyučování mluvení / čtení / slovní zásoby

Bibliography

Marková, H. (2014). Personality Typology in ELT: Instruments for Improving

Teaching Style and Enhancing Pupils' Learning. (Unpublished Master's Thesis,

Masaryk University, Brno, Czech republic).

Bibliografický záznam

MARKOVÁ, Hana. Personality Typology in ELT: Instruments for Improving

Teaching Style and Enhancing Pupils' Learning. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Fakulta

pedagogická, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury, 2014. 201 s. Vedoucí diplomové

práce Mgr. Jana Zerzová, M.A., Ph.D.

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Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, s

využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s

Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se

zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem

autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů.

......................................

Brno, 20 April 2014 Bc. Hana Marková

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Acknowledgments

I gratefully thank my supervisor, Mgr. Jana Zerzová, M.A., Ph.D., for her kind

assistance, helpful ideas, and precious advice. Above all, I would like to thank her for

her patience, understanding, and valuable comments.

I would also like to thank the headmaster of Masaryk elementary school where I

could conduct the action research. I thank him twice because he, as the teacher of the

English language, let me do the research in his lessons in the seventh class. I am

grateful to him for his friendly approach, encouragement and providing conditions I

needed for the research.

Lastly, my thanks also belong the pupils of the seventh class. Without their

willingness to cooperate, there could not have been any research and therefore any

thesis. I thank them for their spare time they devoted to my research while they were

being interviewed, were filling in feedback papers, or were taking part in discussions.

Bc. Hana Marková

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 9

II. Theoretical Part .......................................................................................................... 12

1. Second Language Learning and Acquisition ......................................................... 12

1.1 How L1 Acquisition Can Influence L2 Learning .............................................. 13

1.2 Teaching and L2 Learning ............................................................................... 16

2. Personality Typologies .......................................................................................... 18

2.1 History of Myers-Briggs Typology (MBTI) ................................................... 19

2.2 Controversy Surrounding the MBTI .............................................................. 21

2.3 The Myers-Briggs Typology ........................................................................... 24

2.3.1 Basic Dimensions That Create the Type ..................................................... 24

2.3.2 The Role of Preferences ............................................................................ 25

2.3.2.1 S/N and T/F Preferences .................................................................... 26

2.3.2.2 E/I and J/P Preferences....................................................................... 27

2.3.3 Sixteen Personality Types ......................................................................... 27

2.3.4 Dynamics of Personality Types ................................................................ 28

2.3.5 Description of Eight Dimensions .............................................................. 30

2.3.5.1 Extraversion vs. Introversion (E / I) ................................................... 31

2.3.5.2 Sensing vs. Intuition (S/N) ................................................................. 32

2.3.5.3 Thinking vs. Feeling (T/F) ................................................................. 34

2.3.5.4 Judging vs. Perceiving (J/P) ............................................................... 35

2.4 The MBTI Theory as an Inspiration for Others ............................................... 37

2.5 Comparison with Other Personality Typologies ............................................. 40

2.5.1 Galen's Theory of Four Temperaments .................................................... 40

2.5.2 Constitutional Typologies ......................................................................... 41

2.5.3 I. P. Pavlov's Theory ................................................................................. 43

2.5.4 Eysenck's Theory ...................................................................................... 43

2.5.5 Theory of Five Basic Personality Dimensions ......................................... 45

III. Practical Part ........................................................................................................... 48

4. Introduction to the Research ................................................................................... 49

5. The First Phase: Understanding My Personality ..................................................... 52

5.1 About the Teacher – About Me ......................................................................... 52

5.2 A Questionnaire Based on the MBTI ................................................................ 53

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5.3 My Personality Type ENFJ ............................................................................... 54

5.4 An Insight into My Teaching ............................................................................ 55

5.4.1 Analysis of My Teaching from the ENFJ Point of View ........................... 56

5.4.2 Analysis of My Teaching Style before the Change .................................... 59

5.4.2.1 Teaching Speaking ............................................................................... 59

5.4.2.2 Teaching Reading ................................................................................. 60

5.4.2.3 Teaching Vocabulary ........................................................................... 61

5.4.3 Teacher's Roles in the Class........................................................................ 62

6. The Second Phase: Observations ............................................................................ 64

6.1 Observations ...................................................................................................... 64

6.1.1 Overall Impression from the Observed Lessons ......................................... 65

6.1.2 What Types of Pupils I Was Interested in ................................................. 66

6.1.3 A description of the observations ............................................................... 67

6.2 Questionnaires ................................................................................................... 69

6.3 Interviews with the Pupils ................................................................................. 73

6.3.1 Findings That Came Out of the Interviews ................................................. 75

7. The Third Phase: ..................................................................................................... 79

Discussions about Further Focus of the Research ....................................................... 79

7.1 Survey That Preceded the Discussion ............................................................... 79

7.2 Discussion .......................................................................................................... 81

8. The Fourth Phase:The Change in My Teaching Style ............................................ 83

8.1 Preparation for the Change ................................................................................ 84

8.2 Teaching Speaking ............................................................................................ 88

8.2.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils .............................................. 88

8.2.2 Activities Concerning and Including Speaking .......................................... 89

8.2.3 Three Selected Activities for Speaking ...................................................... 91

8.2.3.1 Activity no 5. Brainstorming (Genius) ................................................. 92

8.2.3.2 Activity no 12a. Describe and Guess (Pelmanism Cards) ................... 93

8.2.3.3 Activity no 13c. Story Building (Past Simple Tense) ......................... 94

8.3 Teaching Reading .............................................................................................. 96

8.3.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils .............................................. 96

8.3.2 Activities Concerning and Including Reading ............................................ 97

8.3.3 Three Selected Activities for Reading ........................................................ 99

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8.3.3.1 Activity no 8a. Read & do Type Activity (Should) ............................. 99

8.3.3.2 Activity no 11b. While-reading Activity (Reading Out Loud) .......... 100

8.3.3.3 Activity no 11d. Post-reading Activity (Pair Work in Groups) ......... 101

8.4 Teaching Vocabulary ....................................................................................... 102

8.4.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils ........................................... 102

8.4.2 Activities Concerning and Including Vocabulary .................................... 103

8.4.3 Three Selected Activities for Vocabulary ................................................. 106

8.4.3.1 Activity no 7b. Peer Teaching (New Vocabulary) ............................. 107

8.4.3.2 Activity no 9a. Demonstration (At the Restaurant) ........................... 108

8.4.3.3 Activity no 13a. Game with Word Classes (Snowballs) .................... 109

9. The Fifth Phase: Evaluation .................................................................................. 111

9.1 Judgement of Individual Activities from Chapter 8 ........................................ 111

9.1.1 Speaking Activities ................................................................................... 112

9.1.1.1 Activity no 5. Brainstorming (Genius) ............................................... 112

9.1.1.2 Activity no 12a. Describe and Guess (Pelmanism Cards) ................. 112

9.1.1.3 Activity no 13c. Story Building (Past Simple Tense) ........................ 113

9.1.2 Reading Activities ..................................................................................... 114

9.1.2.1 Activity no 8b. Read & Do Type Activity (Should) .......................... 114

9.1.2.2 Activity no 11b. While-reading Activity (Reading Out Loud) .......... 115

9.1.2.3 Activity no 11d. Post-reading Activity (Pair Work in Groups) ......... 116

9.1.3 Vocabulary Activities ............................................................................... 116

9.1.3.1 Activity no 7b. Peer Teaching (New Vocabulary) ............................. 116

9.1.3.2 Activity no 9a. Demonstration (At the Restaurant) ........................... 117

9.1.3.3 Activity no 13a. Game with Word Classes (Snowballs) .................... 118

9.2 Evaluation of Other Issues Important in the Research .................................... 119

9.2.1 How the Research Influenced My Teacher's Roles .................................. 119

9.2.2 The Change in Providing Instructions in the Class................................... 121

9.2.3 New Ways of Assessment in the Class ..................................................... 122

9.2.3.1 Pupil's Presentations to a Given Topic ............................................... 122

9.2.3.2 Different Type of Oral Testing .......................................................... 123

9.2.3.3 System for Obtaining Plus Points from the Lessons .......................... 124

9.3 Evaluation of the Whole Research .................................................................. 125

IV. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 128

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Summary ....................................................................................................................... 130

Resumé .......................................................................................................................... 130

List of Tables ................................................................................................................ 131

List of Figures ............................................................................................................... 132

Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 133

List of Appendices ........................................................................................................ 138

Appendices .................................................................................................................... 139

List of Handouts ............................................................................................................ 190

Handouts ....................................................................................................................... 191

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I. Introduction

Becoming a teacher has always been my childhood dream. I was looking forward to

standing in front of a whole class while explaining and transmitting the curriculum. I

awaited the same pupils as we used to be; obeying, attentive and with full respect for the

teaching profession. Finally, I became a teacher by chance. Without university

education, I won an interview for the teaching job because my English was the best of

all the candidates. Within the time I found out that pupils nowadays are growing up in a

society completely far away the demands of my youth. They are encouraged to express

themselves, to be more curious, and not be afraid to ask. Many pupils these days are

thus more self-confident and adults are not bearers of the truth for them anymore.

In my four-year-long practice I met many pupils. Teaching those who worked well,

had their homework done on time, raised their hands, and were attentive was a real

pleasure. On the other hand, working with the pupils who often forgot their homework,

did not seem to be willing to cooperate, and looked bored has remained a big challenge

for me. Always there appear to be some pupils who are naughty, without interest,

disturb all lessons and distract other pupils.

I struggled with such pupils to achieve a change in their behaviour. I tried different

activities and various types of exercises, but I did not realize one important thing. All

the time I stayed in my comfort zone where I knew what to do and how. I did

everything from my point of view. I knew that people were different but without

understanding the other side, in this case my learners, I could not succeed in my

endeavour.

I understood that if I wanted to become a better teacher, I had to go beyond my

teaching knowledge. At that time, I started to think not only about my pupils but more

about myself. I am an enthusiastic person, full of energy who likes being with others. I

sometimes talk a lot and I am happy, if there is a lot of action around me. On the other

hand, are all my pupils the same? I love activities when anything can be discovered, and

I like working with people who are full of bright ideas. I love to have my issues

organized and I am satisfied when things are under my control. How shall I explain that

my pupils are different? And why are they such? They may not engage with excitement

in the same types of activities as me, they may prefer a different pace of work, or a little

different type of leadership.

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I remembered that at the faculty of psychology, where we, future teachers, had

lectures on psychology in teaching, we came across theories that dealt with personality

types. For example, Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, divided people into

extroverts and introverts. Or Hippocrates, a Greek doctor, distinguished four

temperaments that were believed to influence people's behaviour. I realized that I have

extensively studied the methodology of teaching so far, but not enough in how to use it

in lessons to meet the different needs of my pupils. If I understood myself more, as well

as my pupils, would it bring new ways for me to teach them? More importantly, would

I be courageous enough to leave my 'modus operandi' and try something new that would

facilitate and enhance my pupils' learning? That was the reason I decided to write my

thesis based on understanding personality types. Once captured by this idea, I started to

search for more information and the topic for the thesis emerged.

The theoretical part consists of two topics. The first one works with the concept of

language acquisition and learning. Much research has already been done in this field

and for us, language teachers, it is essential to understand these terms. Moreover, it is

useful to realize how first-language and second-language learning and acquisition differ,

and how teachers can exploit the knowledge of the topic in order to enhance pupils'

learning.

The selected typology that became the core of the whole thesis is introduced to the

readers in the second chapter, namely its origins and existing history along with the

explanation of what the typology is about. The following chapters try to compare it with

other typologies, acquaint the readers with its followers, and survey its possible

shortcomings.

The practical part is built on action research that was realized at a lower-secondary

school in the seventh class for the period of approximately three months. The research

was conducted in five phases. Therefore, the practical part of the thesis is divided into

five parts. The first phase is focused on the teacher's personality type that is viewed

from two standpoints. Firstly, the readers are acquainted with the teacher's type in

general and secondly, with a deeper insight into the teaching of this type. The second

phase interprets the data that were obtained about the pupils via observations,

questionnaires, and interviews. The third phase includes a discussion about a further

focus of the research, while the fourth phase deals with a desired change and also

describes selected activities in the research. The last phase evaluates the whole

research. Firstly, the selected activities are scrutinized on the basis of pupils' written

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feedbacks and secondly, other issues that came out important of the research are also

judged. Finally, information gathered from the final discussion with the pupils creates

the core of an overall evaluation of the research.

Since in the course of the work it was found out that personality types may reflect on

learning styles, additional research verifying this assumption was conducted and is

included in the appendices to this work.

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II. Theoretical Part

1. Second Language Learning and Acquisition

For some people 'learning' and 'acquisition' are difficult to distinguish. To simplify,

acquiring language is realized in a natural communicative setting where the language is

used without conscious effort and thinking about it. It is conditioned by abundant

exposure to the language and much meaningful practice. Learning language is a

conscious way of learning, formal or informal, that can be realized by many ways and

can lead to acquisition.

It is true that the first language acquisition cannot be compared to learning of pupils

at a lower-secondary school who are more mature and who realize that they learn the

second language (L2)1. On the other hand, watching a two-year old child who is playing

and is interested in the action can become a point for teachers to think about it.

Observing little children while they are acquiring their first language (L1) can be

considered an interesting experience for teachers. These children are not afraid to speak,

and they have a desire to express what they want or feel. They do not worry about

correct pronunciation or mistakes they make. Everything they experience becomes an

inspiration for them to learn to speak, and they seem to acquire the language without a

conscious effort. It is not a duty prescribed to them with some curriculum, but it is a

natural step of development in their lives.

It is interesting to think about how a teacher can help to language acquisition in a

formal classroom environment where pupils expect learning as a conscious effort. This

work can become an inspiration, with its focus on finding connections between

personality types and the way they reflect on one's teaching style, in helping teachers to

move from the path of learning towards acquisition. As the instrument applied for the

understanding both the teacher and their pupils a personality typology will be used.

Finding relations between understanding personality typology, its application in

practice, and its possible influence on L2 acquisition would go, however, beyond the

scope of this thesis, and it can become a challenge for separate research. For the time

being, it will be enough to introduce the readers to the main and most important

1 The term second language refers in this paper to formal L2 learning in school classrooms. L2 means

'English' as a school subject, regardless if it is a pupil's second or third language.

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conclusions from the field of teaching L2, and L1and L2 acquisition and learning, and

to have them in mind when planning lessons.

At first, only a brief look at different approaches and methods that can be used in

teaching is offered to the reader. These theories come from distinct beliefs about

language and they contribute by various means either to learning or acquisition. Some

of them can be mentioned as they appeared throughout years, for example, grammar-

translation method, direct method, audio-lingual method, total physical response,

suggestopedic approach, communicative approach, task-based learning, lexical

approach, and some others.2 These theories approach learning from a teacher's point of

view, and offer frameworks for creating own teaching styles not only to the beginning

teachers.

The other view of learning and acquisition is based on the learner's or child's

standpoint and is of a greater interest in this thesis. In the last fifty years, researchers

have successfully analysed the process of acquiring L1 in order to discover certain

principles that could also be applied when learning the L2. It was believed that it could

help to acquire the L2 as well. The research studied the acquisition from different

perspectives, i.e. psychological, linguistic, and social context (Saville-Troike, 2009).

Since the aim of this thesis is to work with personality types and their influence not only

on teaching style, but also on second language learning, psychological and social

standpoints seem most relevant. While linguistic perspective works with what is learnt,

psychological perspective offers answers to how the language is learnt or acquired and

social perspective to why some learners are more successful than others. Firstly, the

question how will be analyzed and secondly, the following chapter will also introduce

the answer to the question why.

1.1 How L1 Acquisition Can Influence L2 Learning

The aim of this chapter is not a deep study of all theories concerning influences

between first and second language acquisition (SLA) and learning. This chapter would

rather highlight only those aspects from L1 and L2 acquisition research that can be used

in L2 teaching and, therefore, can enhance pupils' learning or help teachers with a better

understanding their pupils. Only a few main principles dealing with how L2 is learnt are

2 For more information to these approaches see, for example:

Rodgers, T. S. & Richards, J. C. (1999). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge:

CUP.

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (2 ed.). Oxford: OUP.

14

introduced here. They are the result of the study of Rod Ellis' (1991), Lightbown and

Spada's (2013), and Saville-Troike's (2009) books. The way the knowledge of these

points can be used in teaching is explained in more detail in the following chapter.

1. Noam Chomsky believed that learners are equipped with a certain innate capacity

for learning languages.

2. Jean Piaget came to the conclusion that a language development is dependent on

the learner's cognitive development which is, however, more truthful for L1 learning.

When learning L2, pupils are mature enough for including prior knowledge of L1 into

their learning, along with so called positive or negative transfer. Positive transfer means

applying rules of L1 in L2 where this use is also correct, negative transfer means the

opposite.

3. Lev Vygotsky maintained, on the base of his research, that a social interaction

conditioned the development of language.

4. Krashen's Monitor model offered, as the first one, an approach that emphasized

using language in a meaningful form rather than in a structure-based approach. From his

five hypotheses, three can be considered important, namely:

- the acquisition/learning hypothesis (it suggests that pupils can acquire the L2 the

same way they acquired their L1, i.e. when there is no conscious attention to it).

- the comprehensible input hypothesis (it claims that the acquisition can occur when

pupils are exposed to the language that is +1 above their language level; which means

'something like a step beyond their acquired language').

- the natural order hypothesis that is described below (see number 6)3

5. Information-processing model worked with the term automatization. It explained

that, through practice and experience, certain structures and language features are easier

to cope with and thus, they become automatic. This process is closely connected to

input, frequency and practice. Input equals to the language that learners are exposed to

and gains a sense when is noticed. Then it can be processed as an intake. Frequency is

helpful in this process and practice must be meaningful.

3 For more information to Krashen's five hypotheses, see in bibliography: Lightbown and Spada (2013)

and Rod Ellis (1991).

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6. Nevertheless, one of the most important discoveries in the field of L1 acquisition

involved confirming of common patterns (Ellis, 1997). Roger Brown defined this

aspect of language acquisition as developmental sequence or order of acquisition

(Ligtbown & Spada, 2013). This aspect was also expressed by Krashen in his natural

order hypothesis. Regardless the terms that the different authors uses, the natural order

of acquisition confirms that the language acquisition is systematic and partly universal,

although the rate of it can differ. In practice, it means that children or pupils master

certain features of the language at certain stages that cannot be skipped. If they do not

master them, they will not be capable of learning or acquiring others. It does not

necessarily means, however, that easier language rules are learnt or acquired first. An

existing research proved that L2 learning develops in a similar way.

For discovering what hinders or enhances why some learners are more successful in

L2 development than others, individual factors can be used. Ellis (1991) pointed out

five factors that were examined in SLA research. They are age, aptitude, cognitive style,

motivation, and personality. Saville-Troike (2009) was of the same opinion and added

to them also sex and learning strategies, and from social factors instruction and

feedback.

From all these factors, the most interesting for the purpose of this thesis is

personality. Through understanding personality, as a factor influencing why some pupils

are more successful in L2 learning, it is also expected to find out why teachers use

different teaching styles. Understanding both teachers and learners should help in

suggesting how to improve one's teaching style in order to enhance pupils' learning.

There is one more point that should be highlighted. Saville-Troike (2009), as it is

mentioned sooner, included among individual factors also learning strategies that are

known to reflect individual learning styles. Learning styles, as well as the typology used

in this paper, draw on cognitive aspects of our personalities. As such, they can be

considered to have much in common. Since learning styles are an interesting topic these

days, and the assumption that predicts correlations between personality typology and

learning styles arises from this, complementary research was conducted to verify it. It

would be, however, beyond the scope of this paper. For this reason, the whole research

concerning learning styles is included in the appendices (see Appendix 10, p. 159).

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1.2 Teaching and L2 Learning

The previous chapter focused on the L1 and SLA research history. The

information gathered there shows that there is no single theory that would be

comprehensive. The above stated summaries from individual theories (numbered 1 to 6)

can be explained from the L2 teaching point of view as follows:

Ad 1. Learners are equipped with innate predispositions that can influence their

results in learning the language. Teachers should have in mind that all pupils cannot be

successful in their learning to the same extent, but they are limited by their innate

capacity for learning languages.

Ad 2. Teachers should realize that the L1 prior knowledge causes that, through

positive or negative transfer, pupils make mistakes that can seem to us difficult to

understand or explain.

Ad 3. The approaches that include cooperation and competitions in learning can

find a support in Vygotsky's research that considered a social interaction to be important

for the L2 development. Teachers should remember that pupils develop and acquire not

only communication skills, but also other strategies of social behaviour through them.

In addition, the atmosphere that arises from the social interaction is of more natural

appearance than the classical climate of school instruction and, therefore, can be more

helpful for acquisition.

Ad 4. Teachers can lean on the Krashen's conclusion that L2 learners can also

'pick up' the language they are learning. This happens in situations when pupils do not

realize they are learning. Further, teachers should plan carefully what language they will

use in lessons, or what materials they will bring in classrooms. It has no sense to

choose, for example, texts that are full of unknown grammar and vocabulary, but

teachers should take into consideration Krashen's hypothesis of comprehensible input.

Ad 5. Learning language is also closely connected to abundant and

comprehensible input and meaningful practice. The process of automatization takes

place through repeating experience and teachers should always judge, if activities they

present to their pupils are meaningful and have a sense for them. Teachers should bear

in their minds, however, that this has nothing in common with quantity of practice.

Ad 6. Natural order of acquisition reflects on the fact that L2 acquisition, as well

as learning, follows a set order and sequence. This is also easily observable from many

17

course books. The language used in them is mostly graded in the same way and order.

Without a doubt, teachers can include into teaching their own order, but they should

follow the stages that should be mastered by pupils in a given order or otherwise, pupils

would not be able to progress successfully further.

It can be summed up that this chapter offers the most important points from a

few theories that teachers should be aware of. Moreover, they can help to include into

one's teaching style, next to conditions suitable for learning, also some aspects that can

help with creating conditions for acquisition. Nevertheless, it is assumed that a

successful change from learning to acquisition would be much easier, if it were

implemented in an environment where teachers understand both themselves and their

pupils better. For this reason, the following chapters deal with personality typology as

its nature seems to satisfy this need. Furthermore, personality typology can also respond

to what influences teachers' teaching styles and pupils' actions in classes.

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2. Personality Typologies

A great challenge to be studied, solved, and evaluated is how to make pupils'

learning easier. Becoming a better teacher, who would understand himself/herself more,

as well as their pupils, is an issue that has been penetrating into the teaching profession.

Various possibilities can satisfy this need. One is to borrow the knowledge from a

different sphere than education, and this is psychology.

Psychology uses two opposed approaches for understanding a human personality,

namely idiographic and nomothetic. The first one is based on the study of an individual

as a unique personality with many traits, while the other is built on general descriptive

traits that are valid for larger groups of people (Mikšík, 2001; Nakonečný, 2003;

Šnýdrová, 2008). Both of them are, however, built upon the same conception - they

draw on differences among people (Čáp & Mareš, 2007).

The interest in this thesis is somewhere between these two approaches where theories

concerning typologies can be placed. Typologies work with the idea that people can be

divided into groups on the basis of the same traits. They are usually several traits that

occur together. History has provided different typologies based on body building,

temperaments, values, and others. Thus, it seems quite easy to divide people according

to the certain traits into types; which may be why typologies have become favourite

tools for understanding others since antiquity (Mikšík, 2001; Šnýdrová, 2008).

Personality typologies can be understood from two points of view that, however,

influence each other and work with some identical themes. They are either temperament

or character typologies. The former are based on a person's qualities that are considered

innate, and they work with traits and features that are relatively stable (Čakrt, 2012; Čáp

& Mareš, 2007; Mikšík, 2001; Šnýdrová, 2008). The latter are based on personality

factors (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Kolaříková, 2005) that are accepted as more general

descriptive mechanisms. Character is displayed in a people's action and is formed

through upbringing, education, and other social aspects (Čáp & Mareš, 2007;

Nakonečný, 2003; Šnýdrová, 2008).

Since the temperamental typology forms a core of the research in the practical part,

the following lines address only it. Temperaments are understood as the files of

personality qualities that, as innate, are manifested in different people's behaviour,

actions and reactions. Temperaments directly influence people's attitudes, values,

feelings, and cognition, and understanding them help to understand ourselves, as well

19

as, other people. They are described with traits that were derived from empirical

studies and surveys. Today, the scholars use factor or cluster analysis for identifying

personality traits (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Kolaříková, 2005; Mikšík, 2001; Nakonečný,

2003; Šnýdrová, 2008).

After sundry sources regarding temperament typologies had been studied, the final

decision led to one typology that is very popular and is widely spread. It offers results

that are understandable to the wide public. It uses four letters MBTI® as its

abbreviation; in full words it is called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. At the first sight,

this typology looks like without any mistakes because people's responses to it are

predominantly positive, but after reading more sources, mainly on the Internet, it must

be admitted that opposing opinions exist against it, as well.

The following chapters, at first, outline origins of the MBTI concept, map its history,

and provide a basic explanation of it. Although the MBTI is accepted with wide public,

it has its critics and opponents. Their opinions and what specific issues are held against

the MTBI theory are examined, as well. In addition, this typology is compared with

other typologies, from which most of them are more well-known than this one.

2.1 History of Myers-Briggs Typology (MBTI)

Two names that are included in the four letters of MBTI are, in fact, the names

of two authors of this construct. Isabel Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs, her mother,

were two women who, before the Second World War (WWII), were interested in

personality types. They desired to ease people's lives around them due to the recognition

that each of us is unique and the fact that we do not fit the idea of an ideal 'normal

person' does not mean anything wrong. Each of us is born with a unique set of

preferences that predetermine how we use our minds and how we behave in our

everyday lives. Our personalities consist of both positive and negative traits, and if we

understand ourselves and others better, it can make our lives easier (Myers, 1995).

The year 1923 can be considered a key one because it was the year when the

translation of Carl Gustav Jung' theory of psychological types from 1921 was published

in the United States. Since Jung wrote his book mainly for a specialized audience of

psychologists, it was not an easy reading. His work was not focused on ordinary people,

but concerned people of unbalanced types, unsuccessful and unhappy who searched for

20

a psychiatric help (Myers, 1995). Findings and conclusions that had been reached by

two women before Jung's book appeared in the United States occurred independently on

their knowledge of him because, at that time, he was quite obscure in the USA (Čakrt,

2012).

To their astonishment, the women discovered that they came to the same

conclusions as Jung. They started to study his work, and it took another sixteen years of

interpreting, adapting and elaboration of Jung's typology, till the beginning of the

WWII, before they finished their typology (Myers, 1995).

During the war, they began to use their typology in a broader sense. Many men

left for the war, and heavy industrial workplaces were not jobs for women. On the basis

of using type differences, the mother and her daughter wanted to help women to choose

the jobs where they could be effective and felt comfortable. Another reason for

understanding human personalities was, for the women, the war itself. The destructive

picture that the war brought every day tormented Isabel Myers much. In her opinion, if

people had understood each other's personalities, it could have prevented wars.

Unfortunately, there was no test or any other instrument based on Jungian's typology

that could be used for measuring types, hence Myers began to create one of her own. It

was called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory, abbreviated to Indicator

or MBTI (Myers, 1995).

At first, she succeeded at medical school students with the testing. Throughout

the years, she obtained MBTI results of more than 15,000 medical students and nurses.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she gathered, sorted out, and assessed results. Those

were hard years of repetitive analysing and over and over refining questions until the

results from testing achieved valid and reliable numbers. Finally in 1962, Educational

Testing Services (ETS) in Princetown, New Jersey published the Indicator and the

MBTI Manual for research purposes. In the same year, Isabel Myers self-published her

book Introduction to Type that intended to address the general public about the practical

usage of the Indicator. It is not without interest that this book has been in print and has

served as an introductory material to the topic so far (Myers, 1995; Original Research,

n.d.).

The enthusiasm at ETS was not of long duration. The MBTI had to wait with

further scientific research till 1975 when the Center for Applications of Psychological

Type was founded as the centre for further research by Myers and Mary McCaulley,

21

Ph.D., a clinical psychologist. That year, Consulting Psychologists Press began to

publish the MBTI (Myers, 1995; Original Research, n.d.).

Since that time, the Indicator has persuaded many scholars and researchers, and

has started to be widely accepted. From its original one-on-one counselling, today, it

can be found in companies that use it for team building, business management, or career

counselling, and it is used in education, as well. That the Indicator is popular, it can be

proved with many numbers, for example, in 1994 it was filled in by over two and a half

million people (Myers, 1995).

2.2 Controversy Surrounding the MBTI

In the previous chapter the name of Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist and

psychiatrist, was mentioned. As it was explained, it probably happened that both

Katherine Briggs with Isabel Myers and C. G. Jung were interested in personality

typologies at the same time and worked on it simultaneously, although each of them on

a different continent.

After the Jung's book appeared in the United States, both women recognized that

there were connections and similarities between their and Jung's findings. They decided

to modify and elaborate Jungian's typology, so that it became understandable to

ordinary people. Making a deep insight into the meaning of the type was a merit of

Katharine Briggs, while the practical application became the whole-life work of Isabel

Myers (Myers, 1995). The fact that their construct used Jung's psychological types as a

conceptual framework helped them to succeed in the field of psychology (Čakrt, 2012).

Unfortunately, from the very beginning concerns that brought some doubts about the

whole theory arose. The first main objection was due to the women's education because

neither of them studied psychology. Scientists criticized them for their impudence to

'measure' personality types, while Jung's psychologists did not trust questionnaires made

by amateurs (Čakrt, 2012). To justify Isabel Myers a little, although she did not have

any formal practice in psychology or test building, she cooperated more than a year with

Edward N. Hay, an expert and personnel manager of financial bank in Philadelphia. He

was the man who taught her much about test constructions, statistics, scoring, and

validation (Myers, 1995). Furthermore, in the years when Myers tested her first

questionnaires, typologies were doubted by organized psychology in general, and the

measurement of personality was considered, at least, a questionnable project.

22

Finally, years of testing and long-term empirical survey brought a success to the

mother and her daughter. Countless numbers of people who assessed the results of the

tests as fitting, corresponding, and very precise as far as their personalities were

concerned proved the validity and reliability of the tests. All of these became the base

for an enormous popularity that MBTI gained (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

On the other hand, such a mass expansion harmed the whole theory, along with many

followers who used it with total admiration without being able to be critical. Many other

tests based on the MBTI or Jungian's typology have appeared on the Internet. The

MBTI has started to be used in the sphere of personnel management and human

resources where it has even been overused. Reasons are clear. The MBTI provides

understandable results, matches people's personalities, seems reliable, and is easily used

in practice. Moreover, the theory helps in searching for certain types in team-building.

Besides, the MBTI helps to clarify differences among people in personal, family, and

blood relations, along with choosing a right school for children. Education has also been

touched with this theory, namely how understanding pupils could improve learning and

teaching on the base of the MBTI (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

Nevertheless, it cannot stay without a notice that the MBTI has not let scholars,

psychologists and scientists in quiet. Devoted to their science, they have examined and

studied the Indicator's validity and reliability. For example, David J. Pittenger (1993),

an assistant professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Marietta College,

made his own research on this topic. He cited that, in 1960s, the ETS withdrew from

their support for the MBTI after an unfavourable review of it, and stopped its

distribution for research purposes. On the other hand, it must be emphasized that Myers

never gave up and revised the manual for the MBTI many times in order to achieve

more reliable and valid results.

Pittenger (1993) tried to doubt the statistical structure of the test itself. He, for

example, expected that the MBTI as a typology should have distributed its scores

bimodally, which it did not do. He founded his claims on other research that was taken

in this field, and the data he used did not talk to the benefit of the Indicator's reliability

and validity. The MBTI inventory was examined with the statistical procedure called

'factor analysis' that evaluated it as dissatisfying for career planning counselling.

Another research was conducted by Gregory J. Boyle from Faculty of Humanities

and Social Sciences, Bond University in Australia (1995). Similarly to Pittenger, he did

not recommend the using of the MBTI professionally, either at career counselling or in

23

an applied psychological assessment. He concluded that the MBTI, from the

psychometric point of view, had considerable drawbacks, and there was an insistent

need for its development, mainly due to its validity and reliability. On the other hand, he

did not exclude a possibility of using it in “some applied contexts, such as in predicting

an individual's characteristic style of behaviour, intellectually and interpersonally”

(Boyle, 1995, p. 5).

It is not easy to orientate oneself in the field of psychology, but types can be

perceived as something determined, stable and inborn. They can be understood, as if

they were certain patterns that could forecast mental processes, behaviour, and attitudes.

It is not easy, of course, to measure it precisely because the MBTI searches for

preferences, and not absolute values that would claim, whether persons are, or are not

owners of certain traits. One of the following chapters (2.3.4) deals with dynamism that

is crucial for understanding the MBTI. The scientists who doubted the whole construct

probably had difficulties with comprehension of this dynamism. They tried to measure

an objective reality, but they did not take into account a subjective reality that enters an

assessment. As Myers (1995) stated, there is an inconsistency of what we think that we

are, and what we are. For this reason, the MBTI does not provide the final type from

testing as a final result, but understands it more as the point of departure for further

study of ourselves.

In 2004, Annie Murphy Paul's book, The Cult of Personality, was published. This

author tried to show that all personality tests in the history were not primarily intended

as a psychological tool, but were exploited for profit industry. In the introduction of her

book, she stated that “this book tells the surprising and disturbing story of the tests that

claim to capture human nature. ... Drawing on the latest scientific research, it exposes

the serious flaws of personality tests, explaining why their results are often invalid,

unreliable, and unfair” (pp. xi - xii). Her book was, on one hand, accepted with

excitement, since it warned before the tests being misused at, for example, obtaining

jobs, or choosing appropriate schools for children. On the other hand, well-founded

oppositions appeared against the content of the book because the author did not work

well with sources. For example, Peter Geyer (n.d.) pointed out that much information

was based more on Paul's personal antipathy against personality tests than on facts.

This example shows and proves that psychology is a complex science that cannot be

grasped easily. Facts are always valid and reliable, but only until new research confirms

opposite. The same situation is with personality typologies. Having been neither a

24

psychologist nor a scientist, it is not easy to face statistical conclusions that question the

MBTI's validity and reliability4. Nevertheless, in defence of Isabel Myers, it can be

asserted that the Indicator was her whole-life work. Her desire was not to succeed in the

psychological field but to help ordinary people. They became judges of her tests. She

believed that all misunderstandings among people could be explained by typology and

understanding it could help people in their mutual relations. She wrote in the preface of

her book Gifts Differing that “the implications of the theory, however, go beyond

statistics and can be expressed only in human terms. Gifts Differing presents an

informal account of type and its consequences as they have appeared to us over the

years” (Myers, 1995, p. xvii).

2.3 The Myers-Briggs Typology

2.3.1 Basic Dimensions That Create the Type

Similarly to the four-letter abbreviation of the MBTI, also the type that fits a certain

man or woman is expressed with four letters. Every individual is like a puzzle

consisting of four basic pieces matching together. They create a marvellous picture that

reflects differences in people's mental processes, orientation of energy, and attitude to

the world. Nevertheless, talking only about four pieces of the puzzle is not entirely

right. In fact, there are eight pieces from which personalities can choose, but only four

of them that are preferred can participate in a definition of the type. The others are

present in personalities too, although neglected (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010;

Myers, 1995).

Table 1 names all these eight dimensions. According to it, it can be derived that E/I,

S/N, T/F, and J/P are dimensions that stand on opposite banks of our personalities and

the choice is realized between them. If one dimension is expected to be preferred, the

other one has to stay neglected. Having a preference for one or the other creates a core

of the MBTI theory. Since the MBTI is a temperamental typology, these preferences are

considered to be innate, i.e. we cannot choose any of them intentionally. To solve the

4 The following book offers an exhaustive explanation to the oppositions against the MBTI and to

unfavourable statistical results obtained by research:

Bayne, R. (1997). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A Critical Review and Practical Guide. UK: Stanley

Thornes.

25

Table 1

Eight Basic Dimensions of the Myers-Briggs Typology

Letter Full word Letter Full word

E Extraversion I Introversion

S Sensing N Intuition

T Thinking F Feeling

J Judgement P Perception

Source: Myers (1995)

riddle how to compose a type consisting of four preferences is not difficult, then. To

imagine, some of possible sixteen types can be derived as ESFJ, INTP, or ISFP (Čakrt,

2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

As it is mentioned in the previous chapters, Myers and Briggs built their theory on

their own findings and extension of the Jungian typology. In 1923, when the translation

of Jung's Psychological Types appeared in the USA, Briggs had already defined the type

categories, i.e. a 'meditative type,' 'spontaneous type,' 'executive type', and 'sociable

type.' All of them corresponded to Jung's types, but they were less detailed. Briggs

started to study extensively Jung's work that defined eight types comprised of S, N, T,

and F, each of them defined as extraverted or introverted. As a psychiatrist, he worked

with mentally ill people and defined his types for extreme forms. What Jung did not

solve was how to determine, which of the functions would be dominant. Briggs knew

that lives of healthy people needed to be balanced, and that a certain hierarchy and a

division of the functions had to exist. This became the merit of Briggs, who extended

three dimensions of E/I, S/N, and T/F with the four dimension of J/P (Myers, 1995).

2.3.2 The Role of Preferences

The four preferences are not a matter of our choice; they are innate. No one can

change their type, nor choose their preferences, yet they develop and mature with us.

Their full development is a long process that starts from birth and lasts approximately

till adulthood. It is essential to realize that an environment has a strong influence on this

development. If adults, at first parents, are supportive enough and let their children

discover the world in their own way, then the children can feel provided enough

occasions to find out what is easier and more natural for them. In other words, they get

26

enough opportunities to let their innate preferences grow and mature (Čakrt, 2012;

Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

Preferences can be divided into two groups. Four of them are mental processes, i.e.

sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling, whereas the other four, extraversion,

introversion, judgement, and perception are related to the orientation of our energy and

attitude to the world around us (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995). The

following two chapters describe these two groups in more detail.

2.3.2.1 S/N and T/F Preferences

Differences in mental processes involve how people perceive and judge. Perceiving

through sensing or intuition is the way people become aware of things, while judging

includes how people come to conclusions, or decide about these perceptions, either

through thinking or feeling.

Since their early years, children have been discovering through trying what has been

easier, more natural, and enjoyable for them when they have used processes of

perceiving and judging. During their childhood, they have come to know, if the

perception through sensing or intuition has been more effective for them. Independently

of the processes of perceiving, thinking and feeling have entered a judging process

when coming to conclusions. Those mental processes that have proved themselves to be

more effective, and have been used with greater ease will be intentionally developed

further, while the others will become neglected. The preferences provide a base for

acquiring a set of surface traits that are described in a definition of the type (Čakrt,

2012; Myers, 1995).

Nonetheless, it would be wrong to understand these preferences as dichotomies

where one excludes the other. The fact, that we predominantly use the preferences given

to us by our type, does not mean that we would not be able to involve into our

behaviour also the neglected ones. It only demands a greater effort from us. In real life,

there would hardly be found anyone who would call himself one-hundred percent clear

T type, or S type (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

Having, for example, the letter N in a type does not express any absolute value. Two

persons, who are both represented with the letter N, will probably find out they are not

the same. They are likely to be similar in their interests, due to the same perception but,

on the other hand, they can differ because of the extent to which their preference has

been developed. This is the reason no people are the same, although the letters used for

27

the definition of their types are identical. The MBTI theory neither claims that all

people who belong to the same type must have all described traits, nor it assesses what

personality characteristics are good, bad, or even better or worse than others. Its nature

is only descriptive with the aim to help people to improve their lives by recognition of

themselves and others (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

2.3.2.2 E/I and J/P Preferences

Both extraversion/introversion and judgement/perception express orientations of

people's personalities when they interact with the world around them. To be more

specific, E/I preference determines where we draw strength, or more informally, what

charges our inner batteries. E/I orientation influences, if we concentrate our energy of

perception and judgement on an outer world of things and people, or an inner world of

ideas. J/P orientation is responsible for how people tend to organize their lives and what

attitude they take to the world. Judgement means that people prefer to plan and finish

things on time. Such people order their lives, and need to conclude things, therefore,

they make decisions with ease and come to conclusions quickly. On the other hand,

people who use perception seem happy-go-lucky to others, and rather let things open till

the last minute. They are open to new perceptions all the time, and they are said to be

living their lives without greater planning. The difference between the pairs of E/I and

J/Pstarts to exhibit in early childhood, and stays nearly unchanged throughout all our

lives, (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

2.3.3 Sixteen Personality Types

Eight dimensions that are described in the previous chapter can be combined form

sixteen personality types (see Table 2). Not uninterestingly, we can, through maturation

and life experience, intentionally discover and actively develop any of our preferences,

even the neglected ones (Čakrt, 2012, Miková & Stang, 2010).

Understanding an individual type does not mean that a person of the type must

operate all personality traits attributed to it. The personality typology claims only, that

distinctive features of the type a person belongs to suit him or her more than the features

of other types. Understanding the way people perceive, process, and judge information

can improve their lives and quality of relationships with others.

28

Table 2

Sixteen Personality Types

ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ

ISTP ISFP INFP INTP

ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP

ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ

Source: Myers (1995)

It is vital to remember that combining the same letters creates specific personality

types, but individual people differ. Two persons of an identical type will always present

different pictures, although compiled from the same preferences. This finding can be

supported with an old wisdom reminded of by Čakrt (2012). It says that, from a certain

point of view, a man is, at the same moment, the same as all other people, the same as

some people, and as nobody else.

The letters of the types can be understood and explained either separately or, and this

is much more interesting, as unique pictures where preferences are their integral parts

influencing each other. From this point of view, an individual type creates a wonderful

maze that does not remain static. In fact, it is full of dynamics. The following two

chapters explain this dynamics, as well as the individual letters of the types.

2.3.4 Dynamics of Personality Types

Understanding the MBTI should not end with the reading of explanations of four

letters included in one's type. All four letters function as a whole where one preference

influences the other. A deeper studying of individual types can bring a surprising

finding of how two persons that differ in the only letter can be distinct.

The forces of dynamics can be understood, as if personality types were woven from

many threads that included both inborn factors, namely preferences, and so called

hierarchy of functions. An influence of environment, that either supports or hinders the

development of preferences, plays its role, as well. The hierarchy of functions

establishes, which of the mental processes will be dominant, auxiliary, tertiary, and

inferior. This reflects a final picture of one's personality, along with an achieved

development of mental processes of S, N, T, and F (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

29

No matter, if we are children, teenagers, adults, or elderly, we carry one dominant

mental process with us for all our life. This process is predetermined by our inborn

preference and stays the strongest of all the processes. It develops in us as the first one;

it can be sensing, intuition, thinking or feeling. After the dominant process is being

settled, through variety of changing with other processes, the auxiliary process will be

discovered and settled. The function of auxiliary process is to supply the dominant

process, and it has a significant role for people to be balanced. Once both processes are

settled, our brain uses them in most of our actions (Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995).

To explain it with an example, if the dominant process is a perceptive one, S or N,

then the auxiliary one must be judging, T or F, and vice versa. If the dominant process

is a judging one, T or F, then the auxiliary one will be perceptive, S or N. It is, however,

important to realize that a personality uses, if it is necessary, also the third and the

fourth processes. The MBTI theory defines them as tertiary and inferior preferences

(Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

So far, only the mental processes have been discussed, but it has not been explained

how to recognize, which process will be dominant and auxiliary. Orientation of E/I and

J/P plays a crucial role in the division of them.

Orientation of J/P determines, which of the mental function will be oriented

outwards:

- J orientation states that the outward oriented process will be T or F

- P orientation states that the outward oriented process will be S or N

Orientation of E/I decides, if the process, predetermined with J/P as being oriented

outward, is dominant or auxiliary:

- if a person has the letter E in their type, the outward oriented process, according

to J/P preference, is their dominant process, i.e. we observe a dominant process in the

behaviour of the person

- if a person has the letter I in their type, the outward oriented process, according

to J/P preference, is their auxiliary process, i.e. we observe an auxiliary process in the

behaviour of the persons. Such persons turn their dominant process inwards; the

dominant process is the second mental process in the four-letter code of the type (Čakrt,

2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

Although it is not difficult, once when it is comprehended, the concrete example will

illustrate the whole concept more clearly:

30

Example a): Type ENTJ

According to J preference, the outward oriented process is thinking (T). For this

person is extravert (E), the dominant process is T, and the auxiliary one is N.

Example b): Type INTJ

According to J preference, the outward oriented process is thinking (T). For this

person is introvert (I), the dominant process is intuition (N) used in the inner world, and

the auxiliary one is T oriented outwards.

Table 3 illustrates, with the underlined letters, the dominant processes of each of

sixteen personality types. The auxiliary process is always the other one included in the

four-letter code (S, N, T, or F).

Table 3

The Dominant Process of Each Type

ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ

ISTP ISFP INFP INTP

ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP

ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ

Source: Myers (1995, p. 15)

2.3.5 Description of Eight Dimensions

This chapter introduces all eight preferences. Since the thesis with its research is

focused on teenagers at the age of twelve or thirteen, the following explanations are

formulated with this in mind, and describe individual processes and orientations how

they are observable at pupils of these ages. The characteristics are intentionally very

short, for their purpose is to provide general and basic ideas about individual

preferences of the MBTI. The practical part will explore relevant preferences and types

to the research in more detail.

31

2.3.5.1 Extraversion vs. Introversion (E / I)

Many people if they were asked today what extraversion and introversion mean

and whom these words come from would answer the name of C. G. Jung. They would

explain that extraverted is a sociable person who cannot sit alone without friends,

whereas introverted people rather sit at home and do not like company of others. It stays

the sad truth that these two Jung's concepts were strongly popularized, although their

factual explanation cannot be simplified the above written way.

According to Jung and the MBTI theory, the E/I preference is about where our

energy is oriented. It can be directed out, then a person is an extravert. If the energy is

directed inward someone's personality, then such a person belongs to the introverted

type (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

There is no difference in a number of friends that E and I have, only introverted

types spend with them a shorter time. Likewise, the notion concerning the fact that

introverts are not sociable and entertaining is misguided. If introverts share their time

with people they are familiar with, it can seem difficult to believe that they are I type,

because their behaviour can appear very extraverted (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang,

2010).

A few pieces of advice can be provided, however, that can help when teachers

are not sure, if their pupils are E or I. Extraverts during their speech often use gestures

and are always full of energy. Moreover, they wake up with an occasion to speak in the

class, and their speech is quite quick and loud. Conversely, introverts are more reserved;

their voice is more monotonous, speech is slower, with pauses and hesitation. During

their talk, they seem to lose energy (Miková & Stang, 2010).

Extraverts need to convey everything that is running through their heads. It can

bring problems at school when they are forced to sit quietly and listen to, without a

possibility to express interesting ideas they would like to share. It is important to realize

that extraverts express their ideas and thought processes through speaking. They do not

often tell us an expected answer. With their speech, they sort their ideas and come to

conclusions. Only at the end of their speech, if they are provided with enough time, a

teacher can expect a final answer. It happens from time to time that they want to tell

something, but lose a thread and do not know what they wanted to talk about (Čakrt,

2012; Miková & Stang, 2010).

32

While extraverts need to speak in the phase of processing things, information, or

experiences, introverts long for the time when they could think about everything inside.

In other words, they need some time to process things inside, before they are ready to

present them orally. If they are not provided with enough time and E teachers are

impatient, rephrase the question or ask again, introverts are not able to summarize their

thoughts and express them aloud (Čakrt, 2012, Miková & Stang, 2010).

It belongs to a general opinion that introversion is considered something less

welcome and demanded. This notion is wrong. Both E and I have their strong and weak

traits, and in combination with other preferences they help to create a unique image of

one's personality.

Both characteristics lead to the logical conclusion that extraverts will prefer

learning with others, for example, in groups, while introverts will rather work

individually, or perhaps in pairs.

2.3.5.2 Sensing vs. Intuition (S/N)

The difference between two ways of perception, sensing and intuition, is

considered the most important factor that manifests itself in learning (Čakrt, 2012).

S/N preference relates to perception. Sensing types prefer to use visual, auditory

and other three senses to receive information; therefore, they consider observable and

concrete facts being trustworthy for them. They are interested in present actualities that

are directly transmitted into their minds. Sense impressions evoke a capacity of

enjoyment and love for life in them. They are dependent on their physical environment,

and are very observant and imitative. Intuitive types, on the other hand, receive

information indirectly by the way of unconscious insight, associations, ideas, and their

imagination. Meanings, relations, and possibilities have greater relevance for them.

They are not attracted to the present and to the life as it is, but build on opportunities,

and are very inventive and original (Miková, 2010; Myers, 1995). Čakrt (2012)

maintains that S types are interested in 'how' and 'what it is good for', whereas N types

ask for the explanation 'why it is so'.

Čakrt (2012) further points to a difference between S and N in relation to

communication. Since words are an abstract translation of real subjects into meanings, it

is not surprising that N types are better speakers than S types. N types cope with words

33

easily because it is more natural, due to their inner preference, for them. S types master

it, as well, but they must put more energy in it and exert more effort.

Myers (1995) claimed that fundamental differences could also be found in a speed of

completing tests. The main obstacle is time. S pupils read each question slowly, and

more than once, because they need to satisfy their need of understanding it properly. It

is the same as with speech, for the words written on a paper are symbols and as such,

they are more difficult to be coped with for S types.

As far as it is teaching concerned, S types need very clear instruction where a teacher

does not use many hidden meanings. They are good at observing details and handle

specific and structured tasks well. They prefer to start from little parts and proceed to

the whole. They have a good memory for remembering facts and details, and they like

learning where they can draw on their previous experience, of which practical work is

preferred the most. When they ask questions, they expect clear answers. They will not

be excited if a teacher included in their speech allusions, hints, and indications. The

keywords are 'now and here' for them, and a future can be seen as something unsure,

even threatening (Miková & Stang, 2010).

N types are far away from S types. Mere facts are boring and without interest for

them; they store them in their memory in connection to certain meanings that will help

to retrieve them later. They search eagerly for the roots of things, hidden meanings, and

handle associations of ideas well. In speech, they like using metaphors, figurative

phrases, and wordplays. They lack a sense for details, rather start from the whole and

after then, they discover its parts and continue to the bottom of things. N types are full

of ideas, along with an ability of fascinating insights. They live for a future, namely for

possibilities that could come, and they sometimes lose touch with reality. Returning

back on the ground often means disappointment for them (Miková & Stang, 2010).

Knowing, how much our pupils differ does not look very encouraging. There is

only one piece of advice. Although a teacher is of one type, either S or N, one must be

able to acquire varied methods and strategies that would satisfy both types of pupils.

Teachers must have in mind that S pupils are desirous of enjoyment, and need

knowledge that is worth paying attention to as their motivation. Such knowledge must

be practical, useful, and related to a previous experience. Conversely, N pupils need to

be inspired, and teachers must try to catch their attention and interest. They are easily

bored with the traditional model of teaching and learning. In a such environment, they

become naughty soon. This finding is also supported by Čakrt (2012).

34

2.3.5.3 Thinking vs. Feeling (T/F)

Whereas S/N preference copes with perception, T/F preference is responsible for

how we process perceived information, and how we come to decisions and conclusions.

It is good to mention, that there are situations in our lives when one, or the other mental

process is more convenient to use. For example, there is a difference, if we decide about

things, or, if we are in relationships with others (Myers, 1995).

Before making a decision, feeling types always think about, whether they

considered all people that could be influenced by their decision. Opinions, interests, and

needs of others play a crucial role for them when they make decisions. Their approach

is personal. Conversely, thinking types believe that they make best decisions, if they

disengage themselves from personal interests and stay impartial, objective, and

impersonal in every situation. Although their attitude can seem to the feeling types too

cold and distant, it is not their fault. The guilt is on the side of their preference (Miková

& Stang, 2010). Myers (1995) added to this, that T types rather deal with things than

human relationships and may sometimes apper as they lacked friendliness and

sociability.

T pupils prefer logically arranged instruction, and tend to analyze the school

curriculum. They do not like memorizing and learning without sense. They treat

information on the basis of logic and facts, without influence of subjectivity. In

communication with others, T pupils use reasoning and pragmatic arguments, and prefer

debates based on them. They are devoted to truth, and, in their opinion, it is more useful

to start with a description of other's mistakes and errors at first than to praise. They

believe that this approach helps others the most. It is worth mentioning that they,

however, accept criticism with difficulties. If anyone else discovers their own faults,

they perceive it as their own failure. In a similar way, when they are dragged into a

conversation where feelings start to play a role, they see it as their own failure too; not

being able to stay only at the level of facts and logic. If it was possible, this type would

rather retreat from such a conversation. For teachers, it is useful to remember that these

pupils do not accept general and cheap praise, but they will appreciate more, if we were

specific and used dispassionate comments (Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010).

F pupils establish their attitude to a school subject according to the level of

positive atmosphere in the class, and feedback from their teacher. In addition, if there is

anything that attracts pupils' attention to the subject, the teacher wins. When pupils feel

35

accepted in lessons, and their relationship with the teacher is good, they can perform

nearly miracles. Pupils with F preference cannot avoid including a personal dimension

into their judging process. In communication, they are emphatic, sensitive to non-verbal

signals, and make their decisions with respect to the needs of others. They do not want

to harm anyone intentionally. If it was possible, this type would rather take the words

they said back, in case they could offend others with them. Conversely to T types, they

praise at first, and after then they criticize. They are willing to permit exceptions, while

T pupils denounce such action strongly (Čakrt, 2012; Miková, 2010). Teachers should

have this in mind because permissions of various exceptions could arouse a deep sense

of injustice in T pupils, and could worsen atmosphere in the class.

2.3.5.4 Judging vs. Perceiving (J/P)

An attitude to the outer world is guided either with judging or perceptive

preference. Judging types are influenced by the power to have things decided, settled,

and concluded. Judging, then, manifests itself with behaviour consisting of planning,

organizing, and structuring one's issues. Conversely, the perceptive preference

corresponds to the attitude claiming that life must be experienced. For this reason,

perceptive types stay flexible and open to unexpected, and live for the present moment.

They sometimes seem to J types, as if they had not any proper system in their lives

(Čakrt, 2012; Miková & Stang, 2010; Myers, 1995).

Both judging and perceiving demonstrate significant differences in pupils'

learning. As it is mentioned in chapter 2.3.5.2, differences in preference of sensing and

intuition are the most important for the way pupils cope with information from

instruction. In addition to it, J and P preference concerns pupils' working habits and

approaches to learning (Čakrt, 2012). With this in mind, an understanding differences in

J/P orientation can be considered the second most important for teacher's work.

J pupils prefer order and rules, and are used to planning their work; at first they

choose a method, and then they start a task. They are interested more in a result than in

a process itself. They often write lists, i.e. things that they want to do, buy, or arrange.

It helps them to sort out their minds. They like to dispose of things, and are satisfied

when things are settled rather sooner than later. While they are working, they follow

one phase after another, do not skip and monitor time, in order to see that they are

fulfilling their plan. These pupils desire to know what they can expect, and like to have

36

situations under their control. If their plans must be changed, they can feel confused and

can behave chaotically before they find a new solution to the situation. They know

somehow what is good for them, and how it can be achieved. Moreover, they think they

also know what is good for the lives of others, and keep advising them. Words like

'certainly, resolutely, surely, without doubt' can be heard from them very often (Miková,

2010; Myers, 1995).

On the other hand, P pupils mostly use words like 'perhaps, maybe, possible,

something like that'. It is typical of them to postpone things to be closed at the latest

moment. If it was possible, this type would let most of their issues unfinished, or

prolong deadlines. In any case, it does not mean that they are lazy, or are not working

enough, it only reflects their approach. Their attitude predetermines them to stay open

and gather information all the time. They do not want to close things until they must, in

case other important facts appeared and could be included in solving the present task.

They are attracted more to the process itself than to its result. They change their

methods, decisions, and plans without greater difficulties, and are always ready to jump

into tasks at once (Miková & Stang, 2010).

For teachers, it is important to realize that P pupils do not fit a typical image of a

desired pupil with their behaviour, but they can contribute to lessons with amazing

creativity and bright ideas. They are much more flexible and spontaneous than J pupils.

Learning should always contain a shade of game for them (Čakrt, 2012).

As far as time is concerned, both types welcome clearly defined terms. For J

types, deadlines satisfy their need for planning, whereas P pupils understand them as the

latest forces that make them start working. Surprisingly, P pupils, who usually

accomplish tasks at final moments, often come with innovative and original solutions

and results (Miková & Stang, 2010).

In a class, Miková and Stang (2010) recommend helping pupils by planning their

work, mainly, when they are working on a longer-time project, or a task consisting of

more parts. It is useful to inform them about remaining time, as well. This approach can

help both types.

37

2.4 The MBTI Theory as an Inspiration for Others

Although the MBTI construct ha been doubted by many psychologists and scholars,

the Indicator has become the most widely used tool for determining personality types

for more than sixty years (Myers, 1995). While scientists have questioned its validity

and reliability, and gathered statistics of its shortcomings, millions of people have

appreciated the Indicator as the instrument that has helped to improve their lives.

In the light of its popularity, the MBTI has become an inspiration for other

psychologists and scholars who applied the MBTI tool in their professions. Their

findings have enriched the MBTI theory with much knowledge of the way personality

typology could be useful in the sphere of not only human relationships, but also career

planning, work development, and education. For example, Otto Kroeger, Gordon

Lawrence, Naomi L. Quenk, and Donna Dunning can be ranked among them, and,

most importantly, David Keirsey whose work was his own research. Of course, these

names are only examples of people who worked, or are still working, in the field of the

MBTI typology. All of them are briefly introduced further, except for David Keirsey

whose theory deserves to be discussed in more depth. For this reason, the section about

him is longer.

Otto Kroeger

Otto Kroeger was the man who is internationally known as 'Mr. MBTI.' He belonged

to one of the foremost practitioners of the MBTI assessment throughout the world, and

was a co-author of five leading books on personality types, for example, Type Talk5

(Otto Kroeger). Unfortunately, he recently died at the age of eighty (Geyer, 2013). In

1977, he founded OKA, a training, consulting and publishing firm that through the use

of the MBTI and other personality tools has helped to develop many organizations,

teams, as well as individuals (OKA, 2013).

Gordon Lawrence

Another man who was, and still is, interested in the MBTI is Gordon Lawrence who

extended the theory on the basis of his own findings, mainly from the area of teaching

and learning. His well-known book People Types and Tiger Stripes deals with the

MBTI from the teaching and learning point of view (Lawrence, 1993).

5 Kroeger, O., & Thuesen, J. M. (1989). Type Talk. New York: Dell

This book is also available in the Czech translation under the title Typologie. (2004). Praha: Triton.

38

Both these men stood at the establishment of the Association for Psychological Type

International - APTi, in the autumn of 1979. This organization welcomes all

professional users of the MBTI tool (APTi).

Naomi L. Quenk, Ph.D.

She runs a private practice in New Mexico and as a former president of the APTi,

devoted much of her life to research of personality types on the basis of Jungian's

typology and the MBTI. She became renowned for her contribution to the MBTI

development mainly due to her study of 'hidden personalities' that deals with tertiary

and inferior processes.6

Donna Dunning, Ph.D.

This woman focuses on research, writing, and training, and is a member of the MBTI

International Training Faculty. She has devoted over twenty years of her life to the

MBTI. She operates a Canadian Company Dunning Consulting Inc. She has published

more than a dozen books concerning the MBTI and its influence on career development

and work performance (Dunning, 2013).

David Keirsey, Ph.D (with Marilyn Bates)

In connection to the MBTI, these two names, however, are more well-known

than those mentioned earlier in this chapter. David Keirsey became interested in

psychology during World War II, similarly to Isabel Myers and her mother who, at that

time, had already studied the Jungian's typology for sixteen years. He was interested in

temperaments and studied the typologies from the beginning of the century. He came to

the notable conclusion that all of them are somehow close to four temperaments that

were defined in the ancient Greek times by Hippocrates. At the time, he also followed

the work of the Myers' women. It had taken another twenty years of research and

innovations before he introduced his theory of four temperaments and sixteen types

built on the same basic eight dimensions as the MBTI. He created his own instrument

called Keirsey Temperament Sorter that has been taken by millions of people so far

(About David Keirsey, n.d.; Keirsey & Bates, 2006). Unfortunately, this outstanding

man died at the age of ninety-one in the summer 2013 (Keirsey, 2013).

Each of the temperaments consists of two dimensions that can be chosen from

S/N, T/F, and J/P. They are combined to form four temperaments that were named the

6 Quenk, N. L. (2002). Was That Really Me? Mountain View, Ca: CPP.

39

Artisan, the Guardian, the Idealist, and the Rational. All of them have their

characteristic traits that can be easily observed, and they include needs, values, and

attitudes. Keirsey built his theory on characteristic traits that he divided into two large

groups - acts of communication and patterns of action (Overview of the Four

Temperaments, n.d.).

Acts of communication include two distinct subject matters that are overt when

people speak, either about abstract or concrete topics. Abstract topics equal to ideas,

whereas concrete ones equal to reality (Overview of the Four Temperaments, n.d.). It is

obvious that parallels to the MBTI concept of perception can be found in it. The abstract

corresponds to intuition (N), whereas the concrete corresponds to sensing (S). It can be

deduced that, while perception is a mental process according to the MBTI, i.e. how one

becomes aware of things, the act of communication defined by Keirsey reflects this

process in speech.

As far as patterns of action are concerned, Keirsey described two opposite types

how people act. They prefer either pragmatic and utilitarian action, or cooperative and

socially acceptable manner. In other words, the utilitarian type does what works, while

the cooperative type does what is right (Overview of the Four Temperaments, n.d.).

Again, an evident parallel can be found to the MBTI. A pragmatic action is typical of

the perceiving type (P) and of people with thinking preference (T). On the other hand, a

cooperative approach with the sense for doing things right reflects a judging attitude (J)

and the feeling preference (F).

Four temperaments are formed on the basis of these predispositions:

- Guardians as concrete cooperators - temperament SJ

- Idealists as abstract cooperators - temperament NF

- Artisans as concrete utilitarians - temperament SP

- Rationals as abstract utilitarians - temperament NT

Each temperament includes four types. It is not difficult to conclude that each of

them is similar to one type of the MBTI theory. In the Keirsey's terminology they have,

however, their own names that seem to come out of typical jobs, or the strongest

features attributed to these types. For example, Guardian temperament (SJ) includes

ESTJ - Supervisor, ESFJ - Provider, ISTJ- Inspector, and ISFJ - Protector (Overview of

the Four Temperaments, n.d.).

When a person starts with a typology, it can appear easier to use Keirsey's

temperaments at first, because identifying two letters instead of four seems more

40

achievable. Therefore, it is not surprising that people who work with personality

typologies sometimes mix the MBTI theory and Keirsey's temperaments together. Since

both typologies are so close in using the same letters for identifying the types, and their

explanations complement each other, they are often used together. For example, Czech

authors Michal Čakrt and Šárka Miková used in their books both the MBTI theory and

Keirsey's temperaments as similar concepts that support with their descriptions of types

one another.

2.5 Comparison with Other Personality Typologies

At the beginning of this chapter, it is good to remark that the MBTI theory,

although more used and widespread than any other typologies these days, is only one of

possibilities how to come to know our pupils. Teachers can choose from many

accessible tools, of which many can satisfy the urge for understanding our pupils and,

therefore, applying an individual approach that has been emphasized recently.

The comparisons introduced in this chapter show that all personality typologies

based on temperament as the inborn preferences have much in common. All are built on

differences among people, although the theories differ in opinions where these

differences arise. At first, the theory of four temperaments created by Galen is

introduced, along with the connections that can be found to the MBTI. The second

typology is based on body building and is surveyed from the same point of view. Its

authors E. Kretschmer and W. H. Sheldon are. An interesting reflection regarding I. P.

Pavlov is included in the third chapter, while the fourth one copes with a well-known

personality typology attributed to H. J. Eysenck. Lastly, the theory of basic five

personality dimensions, known as 'Big Five,' is discussed, as well.

2.5.1 Galen's Theory of Four Temperaments

Galen's four humours theory can be considered a root for some typologies that

appeared in the 20th century. The base for this theory was laid by Hippocrates who

defined four body fluids. A few centuries after him, Galen created, on the basis of

Hippocrates' findings, four temperaments, i.e. sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and

phlegmatic (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Kolaříková, 2005; Mikšík, 2001; Nakonečný, 2003).

41

All four temperaments prove to show certain connections to the MBTI theory

with their characteristics. Since the temperaments were derived from observable

behaviour, it is not easy to find corresponding mental processes (S/N, T/F). To

determine other preferences involving orientation (E/I) and attitude to the world (J/P)

seems more obvious.

Sanguine persons can be described as being sociable with tendency to speak

often and much. They are passionate about doing things, but easily distracted with new

ones, and strongly focused on an activity. They tend to be disorganized. Cholerics are

full of energy, hardly staying at home alone, and they like getting things done. They are,

by nature, result-oriented. Phlegmatic persons can seem unattainable, along with their

preference of staying in their familiar environment. They live a calm life, and let things

happen. They solve things step by step, and do not like changes. Melancholics prefer to

be alone, and are well organized (Cocoris, 2009; Mikšík, 2001; Schechter, n.d.).

The descriptions are very short on purpose; to emphasize only the most

important attributes that can point to certain types. Without doubt, it can be concluded

that:

- sanguines may be EP types

- cholerics may be EJ types

- phlegmatics may be I types, and seem to incline to J preference more (although

certain aspects of P preference may be found in this type too)

- melancholics may be I types, and seem to incline to J preference more.

2.5.2 Constitutional Typologies

Other interesting theories, although to date research has dismissed them, were

built on human constitutions. There were two authors who dealt with them. The first

one was Ernst Kretschmer in Europe in the 1920s, and the other one was William H.

Sheldon in the USA in the 1940s. Kretschmer assumed that human behaviour could be

explained on the base of body building. He described three body types -

leptosomic/asthenic, athletic, and pyknic. Each of them was related to a certain

temperament. Sheldon divided people similarly to Kretschmer, but he went into more

depth when he classified his types by using many photographs of nude bodies taken

from all three sides. The result of his classification three body types were, with the

42

names derived from cell membranes that were considered to become a base for body

buildings and temperaments. The body types were endomorphic, mesomorphic, and

ectomorphic (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Mikšík, 2001). Table 4 shows relationships between

types and temperaments of both Kretschmer and Sheldon.

Table 4

Relationships between Types and Temperaments of Kretschmer and Sheldon

Kretschmer Sheldon

Type Temperament Type Temperament

Pyknic Cycloid Endomorphic Viscerotonia

Athletic Viscous Mesomorphic Somatonia

Asthenic Schizoid Ectomorphic Cerebrotonia

Sources: Čáp & Mareš (2007), Mikšík (2002)

Several sources were studied to find out what typical characteristics of these types

were (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Mikšík, 2001; Physique and Temperament, n.d.). To

summarize, it must be admitted there was not much information to them. Cycloid

temperament correlates with viscerotonia (1), viscous temperament is similar to

somatonia (2), and schizoid temperament is close to cerebrotonia (3). As such, they can

be reviewed together. Information gathered on them are, however, quite poor:

1. is sociable, loves company of others, needs their approval, and has pleasure of

eating.

2. likes competition, needs exercise, takes risks, and is energetic.

3. loves privacy, prefers solitude, and is either over-sensitive, or cold.

On the basis of these findings, it is not easy to search for connections to the

MBTI. Types 1 and 2 may be both extraverts. Only type 3 seems to be an introvert.

As far as J or P preferences are concerned, only type 2 can be deduced to be P

type, due to the sense of taking risks. Since both men were psychologists who were

interested in mental processes, some of them may be discovered. For example, type 1

might be S type, due to the love for food where senses are used, and F type because

such a person is dependent on opinions of others.

43

It is obvious that both Galen's system, as well as constitutional typologies had

their shortcomings and could not encompass personality with all its traits and dynamism

as a whole. Both had to be revised and adapted, after the interest in personality

psychology rose in the twentieth century. Their merit, however, was that they, as the

first ones, considered temperaments to be influenced hereditarily.

2.5.3 I. P. Pavlov's Theory

The theory of four temperaments inspired I. P. Pavlov who based his own

neurophysiologic temperament theory on them, and assigned inhibiting or irritating

features to his temperaments. These features come out of the neural system and,

therefore, influence individual temperaments. He proved that the type of our central

nervous system consisted mostly of innate traits (Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Mikšík, 2001;

Nakonečný, 2003). Moreover, Čáp and Mareš (2007) emphasized that it was I. P.

Pavlov who claimed that a temperament, as being innate, could not be changed. Pavlov

believed that people were able to influence their behaviour through upbringing and

maturation, although such self-control could be demanding. Obviously, this equals to

the assertion of the MBTI stating that it is more natural for us to use inborn preferences,

but everyone can restrain them and behave differently, although it is more difficult.

2.5.4 Eysenck's Theory

J. H. Eysenck's contribution to the research on personality is significant for

many reasons. He drew on Jung's psychological types, as well as four temperaments in

his theory. He also used as the source Kretschmer's typology, along with I. P. Pavlov's

findings. In the 1950s, his aim was to create a theory that would describe four

temperaments, while using personality factors. It was the first attempt to grasp

personality typology through the model of factor analysis. To date, there has not been

unity among psychologists, if this could to be achieved (Čáp & Mareš, 2007;

Kolaříková, 2005; Mikšík, 2001; Nakonečný, 2003; Šnýdrová, 2008).

Eysenck defined three mutually independent personality traits. At first, he used

two dimensions of extraversion vs. introversion, and emotional stability vs.

44

neuroticism. They were complemented later with the third broad dimension of

psychoticism vs. ego-control. Eysenck's theory is known under the acronym PEN,

consisting of Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism. A combination of these

basic dimensions produces a wide range of personality factors (Čáp & Mareš, 2007;

Mikšík, 2001; Nakonečný, 2003). Figure 1 shows how Eysenck's dimensions are related

to four temperaments, here without the third dimension of psychoticism yet.

Figure 1. Personality and Individual Differences (1958). This figure illustrates four

Eysenck's dimensions and their relationship with four temperaments.(The Eysenck

Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), n.d.)

It is obvious that such a description is not sufficient enough for inferring reliable

connections with the MBTI theory. Reading these personality factors brings an idea that

being on the scale either E or I stands for neutral. Conversely, being on the scale close

to high neuroticism indicates something undesirable, and, therefore, invokes a negative

meaning. Since the MBTI theory does not use judging between positive and negative

meanings, but its function is only descriptive, it is easier to find connections to it in the

lower part of the circle. The negative traits in the upper parts are more difficult to relate.

After having a look at the image in more depth, several conclusions were made:

1. Stable extraverts and introverts seem to have traits of F preference in their judging

process, due to their responsiveness, tolerance, and the will to get along well with

other people.

45

2. Unstable extraverts and introverts seem to stand on the opposite pole of this

dimension than number 1, i.e. they seem to incline more to T preference, although

this cannot be claimed with certainty

3. Stable and unstable extraverts can probably be P types - they are carefree, lively,

easygoing, optimistic, restless, excitable, while stable and instable introverts, as their

opposites, seem to be J types.

It must be noted that unstable extraverts who seem to be P types correspond to the

choleric temperament in Galen's system where they were viewed as persons of J

preference. It does not mean that one of the conclusions is wrong because both concepts

differ, come from different periods of time, and are built on distinct bases.

Psychoticism, the third dimension, although not expressed in Figure 1, with its

assertive, egocentric, unsympathetic, tough-minded, and aggressive traits in the higher

pole might indicate to T preference, whereas the lower pole of socialisation can point to

F preference. Eysenck suggested testosterone as a base for this dimension, with higher

levels of it in higher levels of psychoticism (EPQ, n.d.). This is also interesting from the

MBTI point of view because T/F preference is the only one that is related to sex (for

more information see chapter 6.2).

2.5.5 Theory of Five Basic Personality Dimensions

In the second half of the twentieth century, many psychologists tried to find

basic factors that would describe a human personality. Raymond B. Cattell and J. P.

Guilford can be considered their predecessors who started to promote factor analysis,

based on a dimensional structure, as a scientific way of examining personality traits. It

was a time when psychologists desired to discover a reliable way for statistical

measurement of personality factors. Factor analysis appeared to them the right way

(Čáp & Mareš, 2007; Nakonečný, 2003).

The development of the Big Five dimensions was not the work of one

researcher. Simultaneously at that time, more psychologists worked on it, and to date, it

has taken more than fifty years of testing, refining and improving it. Five dimensions

that were formulated were understood as broad levels, of which each summarizes

specific personality factors, mutually corresponding to each other (John et al., 2008).

46

The most widespread terminology for these dimensions is:

O - openness (it seems to be about perceiving, mental processes, and experience)

C - conscientiousness (it seems to be about one's attitude to the world)

E - extraversion (it seems to be about energy)

A - agreeableness (it seems to be about prosocial behaviour, altruism, and it concerns

other people)

N - neuroticism (it is about emotional stability)

(John et al., 2008; Nakonečný, 2003).

This concept is sometimes referred to as the 'OCEAN,' as it is apparent from the

first letters of the dimensions. Each of them contains high-score traits and low-score

traits. Results from testing can show, for example, that a person can score highly in

some dimensions, whereas lowly in others. The following review attributes

corresponding sets of the MBTI preferences to the individual dimensions.

Openness refers to N/S preference - intuition in high scores and sensing in low ones.

- high-pole: people are open, original, open-minded, curious, creative, imaginative,

and use insight

- low-pole: people prefer conservative attitude, conventional approach, and are

down-to-earth

Conscientiousness refers to J/P preference - judging in high scores and perception in

low ones.

- high-pole: people are organized, goal-directed, consistent, responsible, punctual

- low-pole: people are careless, unreliable, spontaneous

Extraversion refers to E/I preference - extraversion in high scores, introversion in

low ones.

- high-pole: people are sociable, assertive, talkative, adaptive, energetic, and can

operate leadership behaviour

- low-pole: people are introspective, and shy

Agreeableness refers, with a less sure connection, to T/F preference - feeling in high

scores, thinking in low ones.

- high-pole: people with acceptability, adaptability, affection, who help others and

are trustworthy

- low-pole: people are rude, and aggressive

47

Neuroticism is difficult to relate to a particular set of preferences, but there can be

found a connection to mental processes in general (John et al., 2008; Nakonečný, 2003;

Pychyl, 2000).

As a surprising finding can be considered that the Big Five model, though more

about personality factors than temperaments, proved to show the most obvious

connections to the MBTI preferences than the temperament theories from previous

chapters. The cause can be found in the Big Five model was created in the twentieth

century, and drew on existing research and conclusions from this field, similarly to the

MBTI.

In conlusion, one significant idea can be highlighted. As it is mentioned in the

beginning, all theories are based on the belief of inborn traits. Regardless the methods

or terminologies the different theories use, all of them came to similar results. This

chapter offered how individual theories emerged, how they are interconnected, and how

they reflect one another. Moreover, nobody can say that researchers are at the end of the

journey, for a human personality is an abstract entity and, as such, it is difficult to be

grasped.

48

III. Practical Part

The practical part of the thesis deals with the study of how I tried to improve my

teaching style. Due to the survey of the MBTI construct, I believe that my teaching style

and methods used in lessons directly reflect my inborn preferences. For this reason,

understanding my personality type became one of the aims to be achieved. As it is

written in the theoretical part, sixteen personality types are defined according to the

MBTI concept. Comprehension of both my and learners' types, as well as differences

among them, was expected to become the key for improvement my teaching and pupils'

learning. Since much data had to be collected, analyzed and on their basis further

progress had to be planned, action research was chosen as an instrument of the practical

part.

Mackey and Gass (2005) used as one of examples defining action research Wallace's

view claiming that it is “basically a way of reflecting on your teaching ... by

systematically collecting data on your everyday practice and analyzing it in order to

come to some decisions about what your future practice should be” (216). This

definition explains entirely the reason why action research was considered to be a good

choice for the purpose of the thesis. Action research is a complex term, and there is little

agreement on one clear definition of it, or its steps, and progress. It is very specific

classroom research, and selected approach always depends on a concrete study. The

book Second Language Research: Methodology and Design by Mackey and Gass, as

well as Bell's Doing your Research Project,7 are two examples of books that can

provide beginning researchers with worthwhile pieces of advice.

7 Mackey, A., & Gass S. M. (2010). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. Routledge.

Bell, J. (2005). Doing Your Research Project (4th ed.). OUP: UK.

49

4. Introduction to the Research

The research was planned for a period of approximately three months, after a prior

agreement with the headmaster. It was realized in one class in the seventh grade at a

lower-secondary school. The selected class consisted of twenty-four pupils who were

between twelve and thirteen years old. The English language was taught there by the

headmaster who enabled me the research. According to the school policy, English was

taught to the whole class for forty-five minutes three times a week.

Since action research is a complex matter and differs from case to case, Table 5

offers to the reader an easy overview of the way this research was structured in this

concrete study. It shows that the whole research contained five phases, and explains

their aims and methods that were used during them. Further, it states who took part in

the phases, and how much time the individual phases took and when. Lastly, numbers of

the chapters that deal with the phases are included, along with the numbers of relevant

appendices.

The following paragraphs outline brief explanations of all five phases.

The first phase

The first phase was finished before the actual start of the research in the class, and

consisted of identifying and understanding my personality type according to the MBTI.

For this purpose, a questionnaire based on the MBTI theory was used8. Further, I

analyzed my present teaching in connection to my personality type from two

standpoints. Firstly, I dealt with my teaching methods and my teaching style, and

secondly, with the roles that I, as a teacher, hold in the class.

The second phase

I decided to use three ways for gathering input data – observations right in the class,

questionnaires, and interviews. Employing observations in the class seemed a logical

beginning step because I stayed on a maternity leave at the time, and did not know the

pupils. Being equipped with certain knowledge of the MBTI theory, I decided to

observe nine of my colleague's lessons. I followed and studied pupils' work and

behaviour, and written notes from these lessons became the base for inferring some

8 The questionnaire is achievable online on the web page http://similarminds.com/jung.html, and is

further described in the chapter 6.2.

50

Table 5

Chart of the Research Undertaken in the Practical Part

Phase / Length Aim / Method Who When / Frequency Chapter /

appendix

1. / about three

months

analysis of the teacher's

personality type / the

questionnaire

teacher (I) before the research within

three months / three times

5.3, 5.4 /

1

2. / nine lessons

gathering input data

about the pupils /

observations

teacher (I) first nine lessons of the

research / nine times 6.1 / 3

2. / nine lessons finding out pupils' personality

types / questionnaires all pupils

in one lesson of observations /

once 6.2 / 2

2. / nine lessons verifying personality types /

interviews pupils (not all)

after evaluation of

questionnaires / once or twice 6.3 / 4, 5, 6

3. / nine school

lessons

decision on modifications /

through the survey and a

discussion

teacher (I) + eight

pupils during the third phase / twice

7 (7.1, 7.2) /

7, 8

4. / twelve school

lessons

evaluation of modifications in

teaching / written feedbacks eight pupils

after each lesson of modified

teaching / twelve times 9.1 / 9

4. / twelve school

lessons evaluation / observations teacher (I)

after each lesson of modified

teaching / twelve times 9.1

5. / a week evaluation / interviews eight pupils after finishing the whole

research / once 9.3

pupils' preferences according to the MBTI. My deductions were expected to be

proved or refuted after identifying pupils' personality types.

In one of the observed lessons, the pupils were asked to fill in questionnaires, the

same I used for identifying my type. Of course, certain modifications had to be done, in

order to approach the pupils' level of cognition and understanding.

Interviews, as the third step of this phase, were the first action that did not involve

all pupils in the class. Including all pupils in the research, and thus working with all

personality types present in the class was not the foremost goal. The aim was to choose

such pupils, whose MBTI types would be my opposites. I assumed that through

understanding opposite types than I was, I could explain differences among us in

perceiving information, processing it, in our working habits, and coming to conclusion,

and could effectively improve my teaching style to the benefit of my pupils. In addition,

the interviews were expected to become a great help for making decisions about pupils's

types, whose results in the MBTI questionnaires were not explicit.

51

The third phase

The third phase was taught by me, and, likewise to the previous one, consisted of

nine lessons. During the phase, I applied the teaching strategy similar to the one from

the period before my maternity leave. With the beginning of the phase, I cooperated

with eight pupils who accepted being involved in the research. We agreed on two

discussions where we came to an agreement on three areas of the English language that

caused difficulties to the pupils. They became the core for the fourth phase, namely one

productive skill - speaking, one receptive skill - reading, and vocabulary. We tried to

identify the reasons for the difficulties together, as well.

The fourth phase

This phase brought an expected change in my approach to teaching, i.e. in activities

and methods I chose. It consisted of twelve lessons, when I tried teaching in a new way

for me, but clearer, more satisfying, and comprehensible for the pupils, in respect to

their personality types. After each of these modified lessons, the pupils filled in

feedback papers prepared by me, concerning speaking, reading and vocabulary. In

addition, during the lessons I tried to pay attention to the work and behaviour of these

eight pupils. After the lessons, I took some notes about it. Both feedback papers and my

notes became the core for evaluation of the activities, and were included in the fifth

phase.

The fifth phase

Next to the evaluation of the activities from the fourth phase, conclusions

considering other issues important in the research are included in the fifth phase.

Namely, how my teacher's roles moved during the research, further, how I was

successful with a different method of providing instructions, and how the research

influenced also methods of assessment in the class. In addition, the overall evaluation

of the research by the pupils was planned for the fifth phase. For that reason, pupils

were interviewed once again.

52

5. The First Phase: Understanding My Personality

At first, the phase introduces me - who I am, where and whom I teach, and what

textbooks I work with (chapter 5.1). As it is mentioned in the outline of the research,

this phase took place before my coming to the school. One of the most important

aspects of this period was to get myself acquainted with the MBTI theory, and to find

out and understand my personality type. For this purpose, I had to reach a decision

about using of one questionnaire built on the MBTI theory. Aspects that had to be taken

into account, while I was seeking it are described in chapter 5.2. Further, an explanation

of my MBTI type follows (chapter 5.3.), along with an insight into my present teaching

style (chapter 5.4) that includes also teacher's roles I maintain in the class.

5.1 About the Teacher – About Me

I have worked at the Masaryk Elementary School since 2003. My practice there was

interrupted with two maternity leaves, which shortened the length of my teaching to

four years at the time of writing the thesis. Originally, I started my career without being

educated in the teaching profession. I found out very soon that teaching was the best

choice for me and, after a year, I started to study the relevant Study Programme for

teaching at lower-secondary schools at Masaryk University in Brno. The study of the

English language provided me with much knowledge about strategies and approaches

how to teach. Unfortunately, I felt less equipped with an understanding differences

among my pupils.

I usually teach English in seven classes with three lessons in each class per week.

They are pupils between eleven and fifteen years who attend classes from the sixth to

the ninth grade. On average, there are twenty-four pupils in the classes, only

occasionally a class with more than twenty-four pupils appears. According to the school

policy, such class is divided in half then.

Textbooks prescribed by the school management are Open Doors I – III,9 printed in

1994. Obviously, they are quite out-of-date, but still can be quite satisfactorily utilized.

The book offers a clear framework and systematically follows the planned syllabus. It is

supplemented with workbooks, audio cassettes, worksheets, and ready-made tests. The

textbook focuses on both receptive and productive skills, for which it offers varied

9 Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors I. - III.: Student's Book. OUP: Oxford.

53

activities of an appropriate level. It depends only on teachers how they plan their

lessons to hold all four skills balanced. The spiral approach that is used in the course

book allows to draw on pupils' knowledge and former experience with the language.

Tasks from the book provide pupils with opportunities to work individually, in pairs, or

as a whole class. On the other hand, some topics lack interest for today pupils. It can be

solved with bringing supplementary materials into lessons to create them more

interesting. Another point is that, in the course of time, the units can seem homogenous

both to the teacher and the pupils. What I mean with this is that the course book repeats

the same sets of exercises and activities in all units, and throughout all three textbooks.

For some pupils, this repetition can become boring because such a style of learning does

not contain any challenge for them, any surprise, or anything new they could expect.

5.2 A Questionnaire Based on the MBTI

The idea of using an original MBTI questionnaire had to be abandoned at the very

beginning of the research. The MBTI questionnaire could not be obtained free of

charge, it had to be purchased, which the research could not afford. Moreover, I could

not ask my pupils for the same.

For identifying both the teacher's and pupils' personality types, a questionnaire built

on the MBTI theory had to be found instead. Such questionnaires are available free of

charge on the Internet. In addition, they offer a possibility to submit answers online and

obtain an immediate result in the form of a four-letter code according to the MBTI.

They are often connected with the Jung's name too. I took into account several aspects,

when searching a convenient questionnaire. First and foremost, a questionnaire had to

be comprehensible for seventh grade pupils. I discovered that many questionnaires, both

in Czech and English, were intended for adults only, and served mainly as a help when

searching for jobs, suitable life partners, or pure understanding ourselves.10

Despite many inconvenient questionnaires, I found one that, although intended

for adults, looked likely to be understood by teenage pupils. The original version is in

10 Examples of tests can be found on the following web pages: http://testosobnosti.zarohem.cz/test.asp;

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JungType.htm; http://www.discordia-

inc.co.uk/misc/mbtitest.html; http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test;

http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html; http://www.celebritytypes.com/test.php.

54

English, and can be found on the Internet11 (or see Appendix 1, p. 139). The amount of

forty-eight statements seemed to me reasonable. I did not want to use questionnaires

with, for example, seventy-two, or more than a hundred statements because time spent

on their completing would be too long. I considered it to be too demanding on pupils'

attention. The selected questionnaire is based on the work of Carl G. Jung, David

Keirsey, and Isabel Briggs and Katherine Myers, and measures four bipolar factors of

introversion/extraversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving.

The same questionnaire was filled in both by me and my pupils, yet the procedure

was different. The chapter 6.2 explains modifications that I had to make with the

questionnaire for the pupils. I completed the questionnaire right on the web page where

I evaluated forty-eight statements on a five-point scale from very inaccurate to very

accurate. After submission it, I obtained an immediate result of a four-letter code

corresponding to my personality type.. Since I am not an experienced researcher, I

decided to fill in the questionnaire more than once. I assumed that obtaining the same

results more than once would help me to verify the reliability of the questionnaire

before its using with the pupils in the class. I completed the questionnaire within three

months three times. In all three cases, the result was the same combination of four

letters - ENFJ.

5.3 My Personality Type ENFJ

These four letters are quite easy to decode. They express that such a person is an

extrovert who prefers judging, with prevailing mental functions intuition and feeling.

From the standpoint of dynamics, the dominant function is outward oriented feeling that

is complemented with an auxiliary process of inward intuition. Everything that is

perceived by this type is strongly influenced by their warm and empathetic

temperament. Their extraversion enables them to be sensitive to interpersonal

atmosphere, which they help to create with their gift of friendliness, tact and ability to

understand others' feelings. Above all, they value harmonious human relationships, to

which they are willing to devote much of their own individuality. They sometimes tend

to place other people's needs above their own. They are equipped with a strong sense of

11 Flynn, Tim. (n.d). Personality Tests - Jung (48 items). Retrieved December, 2012 from

similarminds.com: http://similarminds.com/p_jung.html.

55

understanding, supporting, encouraging, and helping others. They obtain their energy by

drawing on interaction and relationships with other people.

They focus their attention on possibilities rather than on concrete situations. They

live their lives with thinking more about the future than the present. They love being

inspired with new projects and ideas that are processed intuitively, and through an

insight. They are enthusiastic, and their commitment to possibilities they are captured

with is impressive. These people are full of potential and energy, are straightforward,

honest, and fast-paced. They are idealistic and loyal both to a loved person and an

institution.

They can be called as helpers and enablers who, in fact, they usually are. They are

likely to succeed in jobs that requires creativity to meet human needs. Teaching is one

of good choices for this type. Being a psychologist, writer, manager, cleric, sales

representative, or social worker are some other jobs where these types can excel.

They love life, and their judging orientation leads them to have it structured, planned,

and organized. They need to 'feel' that things are settled, and their idealism directs them

towards trying hard when they are achieving their goals. It is, however, reproached

them for staying with their heads more in the clouds, and lacking a sense of realism

(Čakrt, 2012; Myers, 1995; Portrait of an ENFJ, 2012).

5.4 An Insight into My Teaching

A closer look at my teaching style is inevitable for several reasons. Firstly, if I

desire to change my teaching style to the benefit of my pupils' learning, I must analyze

myself. I must be able to describe my teaching, and I must be able to understand it from

the MBTI point of view. Finding such parallels can help to understand the way I teach

(chapter 5.4.1). Secondly, once I understand this, I can see how my personality reflects

the choice of methods I use in the class. Chapter 5.4.2 explains my teaching before

writing this paper. Thirdly, such analysis is believed to bring new ideas of improving

my teaching. In other words, it can reveal hidden reserves of my personality that have

stayed unnoticed so far. Chapter 5.4.3 takes a deeper look at teacher's roles in the class

because they also seem to be influenced by my personality type. In addition, this

chapter can point to some stereotypes I am used to, and consider them all right, although

they do not have to be accepted well by my pupils.

56

5.4.1 Analysis of My Teaching from the ENFJ Point of View

Conclusions in the following lines draw on my own perception of me, trying to be as

objective and critical as I can be. Their explanation in relation to ENFJ type is based on

Myers' (1995) and Čakrt's (2012) characteristics of the type. At first, I introduce

connections of my personality with an ENFJ type that are in favour of my profession:

1. An influence of extraverted feeling

• This influence reflects my genuine effort of understanding all my pupils'

individualities and making pupils feel valued and important. I have always accepted my

classes as sets of unique individuals, whom I tried to understand. On the other hand, it

sometimes brings a sense of dissatisfaction with my work. I feel unsuccessful when I

am not able to meet all my pupils' needs. My extraverted feeling would be the happiest,

if I prepared lessons that would work for everyone.

• I have good verbal communication skills, am energetic and optimistic. I can

transmit my enthusiasm to my pupils, but I must be careful not to be the only speaker in

lessons.

• I use gestures much. I use them more non-intentionally than on purpose, only as

a help to express what I want to say, or share with my pupils. I attract pupils' attention

to me with them, as well. If I mastered to control using gestures, it could become a good

help in lessons, for example, to lower 'teacher talking time' to the benefit of 'pupils'

talking time'.

• I am used to judging my lessons on the base of pupils' action in lessons. I am

unhappy when lessons are slow, lazy and without expected feedback from the pupils

who stay cold and without interest.

2. An influence of intuition

• I prefer varied lessons and do not want to lead them the same way all the time.

My intuition enjoys variety, and is impatient with routine details. For this reason, I have

difficulties with resigning myself to mere following instructions from the teacher's

book, and I try to prepare lessons that would be more surprising and inspiring instead. I

also include in lessons quite many supplementary materials. A question remains,

whether it is always a successful attempt. As an intuition type, I can see more a whole

than its individual parts. I am able to suggest lessons full of possibilities with, however,

57

lesser elaborated details and not clearly defined goals. I am not good at estimating time

needed for completing tasks, as well.

• I personally like learning new things more than using them. I am not sure, if I

include into lessons enough practice. This can become a problem for S and P pupils.

3. An influence of judging attitude

• It has never happened that I came to the class unprepared. At home, I write plans

for each lesson, or at least notes what I intend to teach and how, and I plan my lessons

carefully. My judging attitude values structure, and I need to have things organized. As

this type, I possess strong organizational capabilities. Without doubt, it helps to be a

good organizer who has the lessons structured, and can control them with confidence.

On the other hand, I must be able to provide pupils with space to do things in their own

way. It is important to realize that my method does not have to be the only one, and

right.

• I have a strong sense of fulfilling syllabus prescribed by a course book. It can be

the cause I stay behind the school plan in a given time quite often. When I see that

pupils do not understand, or need some extra time, I adapt lessons in order to cover

everything that is prescribed. This feature nicely reflects not only J letter of my type, but

also an extraverted feeling.

Deeper understanding to the type also enables to scrutinise also such traits of my

personality that manifest distracting, confusing, or even hindering pupils' work:

1. An influence of extraverted feeling

• Some pupils do not accept with pleasure when I allow exceptions, or when I am

compassionate, sympathetic, and forgiving.

• There is a danger of sharing myself with others. I hear from my pupils quite

often that I am not the same in comparison with other teachers. Pupils appreciate that I

talk to them, am open and able to discuss with them everything. On the other hand, it

can disturb my authority.

• I believe that I can make all pupils be excited in my lessons. As an F type, I live

in the world of people's possibilities. I did not know how to explain that some pupils

preferred to work alone, without need to communicate with others, and not to speak out

in lessons. Such pupils became totally nervous when they stood in front of the whole

58

class. My extraverted feeling that judges others according to me supported them to talk

and comment, or questioned them closely, and tried to approach them. Now I know that,

in most cases, they did not appreciate my endeavour.

2. An influence of intuition

• I can not understand quite often, why pupils do not know what I want them to

do. I have always believed that my instructions were clear. My intuitive insight does

not need step-by-step instructions, and unambiguous explanations. Without knowledge

of the MBTI, I could not explain that some of my pupils would prefer right opposite.

• I hurry in my speech, re-formulate what I said, and do not provide all pupils with

enough time. My insight, combined with extraversion, allows me to be quicker in my

thoughts than S types are.

• I am sometimes impatient and too quick. I interrupt my pupils, and try to help

them with finishing their ideas, which is, of course, once I realized it, wrong.

3. An influence of judging attitude

• As far as pupils' preparation for lessons is concerned, I repeatedly disciplined

pupils for forgetting materials, not bringing their homework, and so on. I did not know

they could be opposite types who, due to their preferences, could have problems with it.

• I have a tendency to be controlling, manipulative, and not providing pupils with

enough space for their work. I think that I knew what the best for them is, and control

most of their activities.

These points offer challenging ideas to think about. In the theoretical part, it was

concluded that the greatest differences among people display on the levels of perceiving

S/N, and attitude to the world J/P (chapters 2.3.5.2, and 2.3.5.4). For this reason, the

further focus of the practical part will be on these two dichotomies only.

Since the aim of the research is to show how understanding personality typology can

help in changing one's way of teaching, and thus methods used in the classroom, it is

necessary to analyze the state before the change.

59

5.4.2 Analysis of My Teaching Style before the Change

This chapter analyzes my way of teaching, namely specific methods I used in the

classes. Most teachers act according to what they believe is the right approach to

teaching, and what the local context allows to them. So did I. My extraverted feeling

desired to comply with the school demands on what to teach, how to teach it, what to

assess, and how to do it. The result of all these was the use of the methodology of

'traditional' type that was based more on 'transmission' than own learning by the pupils.

My lessons put emphasis on grammar, knowledge of vocabulary, and partly reading.

Listening and writing were neglected, while, contrary to commonly received approach

at the school, I tried to include speaking in lessons more. Most of my lessons were

teacher-centred, which the influence of judging attitude was.

Since the research chose reading, speaking, and vocabulary as the core for an

intended change in teaching (chapter 7.2), only these three are described below.

5.4.2.1 Teaching Speaking

It would be an ideal situation, if I could write that speaking included fluent

conversation and communication in my lessons, but it is not true. Speaking belonged to

the most neglected skill in my lessons, although I desired to change it. Unfortunately, I

considered speaking activities too time consuming. There was the danger of not

following the thematic plan, and I was afraid us staying behind it. Further, when the

pupils worked in pairs or, occasionally in groups, I suffered from the feeling that I was

losing control over the class. I could not listen to all pupils, and monitor all the mistakes

they made.

Despite that, I encouraged my pupils to use English in the lessons as much as they

could, starting with apologies at the beginning of the lesson, requests to open the

window, or asking their classmates for a pen. I appreciated and put emphasis on pupils'

courage and willingness to speak, and their ability to overcome fear of being wrong. I

tried to create, so called, English friendly atmosphere, but they were only drops in the

sea. Total time when pupils could really practise their speaking skill was poorly short.

Some parents say: teach our children to speak more. Martin Bygate (1995) compares

speaking to an analogy with a car driver. Before a man becomes a skilful driver, he

must obtain some theoretical knowledge, and then practise and practise. It was accepted

60

in our school in a similar way. Our learners would not master speaking without certain

knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Therefore, the foremost goal was the teaching

of grammar and vocabulary, while there was not much time left for speaking.

Since I was not an experienced teacher, I tried to include in my lessons at least some

speaking. To use the correct terminology, Jeremy Harmer (2001) classified the activities

I used at the non-communicative end of the communication continuum. According to

him, such activities, i.e. guided practice, drills and grammar practice are excluded from

the category of productive skills. It is true, that such activities do not refer to real-life

situations as a means of communication but, on the other hand, they contribute to the

development of speaking as the productive skill. They are an inseparable part of our

teaching and, as Friederike Klippel (1984) pointed out, they create a majority of

teaching situations that contain structural exercises with predetermined responses.

Klippel calls it 'language-oriented communication', as opposed to 'message-oriented

communication'.

In conclusion, I used in lessons for teaching speaking:

- pair work (dialogues with given structures, or on the basis of pictures from the

textbook prevailed, worksheets - picture differences, information gap)

- group work (describing pictures, ask and answer activities according to the

textbook)

- teacher-pupil interaction (probing questions, discussions)

- drills (listen and repeat)

5.4.2.2 Teaching Reading

The fact, that reading is defined as a receptive skill, does not mean it is a passive

skill. Unfortunately, the pupils have known only limited possibilities so far, that reading

materials could offer to them. To be specific, some pre-reading activities as a prediction

of what the text was about, either according to the pictures or to the headline. Further,

we listened to the text, read it, translated sometimes, and finished with comprehension

exercises from the textbook. It was true that I worked with the texts from the textbook

only in a recommended way by the teacher's book. The pupils seemed to cooperate

without disagreement, and with a certain level of satisfaction. I did not feel any force to

change it.

61

To be honest, there was not enough time to use the texts more as a means of learning,

for example, for initiating discussions, and thus developing pupils' speaking skill, or as

models for writing. On the other hand, I tried to use the texts for extending pupils'

vocabulary, or acquiring grammar rules in practice.

In conclusion, I used in lessons for teaching reading:

- silent reading - individual work (skimming, scanning)

- reading out loud - whole class work

- filling-in activities

- matching activities

- guessing activities

5.4.2.3 Teaching Vocabulary

Without doubt, it can be claimed that vocabulary performs a core for successful

speaking and reading. In any case, it does not mean that pupils must know all the words

they come across in their textbooks. From the very beginning of my teaching practice, I

felt that the amount of fifty to eighty words that pupils were expected to learn in each

unit was quite large. Moreover, some of them were passive, and pupils would use them

only occasionally, if at all. Therefore, at the beginning of each unit we went through the

list of vocabulary,12 and highlighted only those words that were considered active. They

were further practised with the pupils.

I found out very soon that my expectation, that most pupils would learn vocabulary

at home, was false. For this reason, I started practising vocabulary more in the lessons.

Since the work with vocabulary in the lessons was not taken into consideration in the

thematic plans, it took extra time, and caused a delay behind the plan.

As a J type, I insisted on keeping vocabulary notebooks, and I checked them

regularly.

In conclusion, I used in lessons for presenting and practicing vocabulary mainly:

- explanation

- miming

- matching

12 List of vocabulary means in this paper a list with all words from each unit. Pupils get this list at the

beginning of the unit, and they are expected to learn and remember words from it within the unit.

62

- synonyms

- pictures, pictograms

- translation

- repetition, drill (practice of new vocabulary)

- using a whiteboard for writing unknown words

- competitions (practice of vocabulary in rows = teams)

The wrong thing with teaching vocabulary was, that most work with them was

realized in isolation, and not in the context of practical use.

5.4.3 Teacher's Roles in the Class

It is believed, that a deeper understanding teacher's roles in class can be to the

benefit of this research. My personality type predetermines me to act in a certain way,

and to behave the way that is easier for me. The goal of understanding my teaching, as a

means to facilitate my pupils' learning, indicates the main role I should have in the

classes - facilitative. This role can be expressed by many ways and is dependent on

activities in the classroom. A division introduced by Jeremy Harmer (2001) can serve

well for identifying my roles I held in the classes before the research. According to

Harmer (2001), a teacher can be a controller, organiser, assessor, prompter,

participant, resource, tutor, and an observer. Apart from these roles, it also depends

much on the way teachers perform them. All of us are thus performers, who in one

activity are more energetic and encouraging, while in the other supportive and retiring.

Studying the teacher's roles in more detail brings me to the conclusion, that I was

most familiar with the role of a controller. It meant teacher-fronted performance, due to

J preference, with organized drills and activities that I could command easily. On the

other hand, I intuitively used my ability to inspire, that provided pupils with some space

for creativity and self-expression. An extraverted feeling enabled me to use this role

with a certain degree of sensitivity.

My extraverted feeling also played its positive role in the role of a prompter,

resource, and tutor. Unfortunately, the constant pressure on following the syllabus,

along with the fact I always stayed behind the school plan caused that I was afraid to

experiment more with activities that would promote these roles. Firstly, I felt there was

not enough time to let pupils work alone, in pairs, or groups on activities that would be

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time consuming. Secondly, I hesitated to include activities where I would lose control

over the whole class.

My empathetic personality also influenced me in the role of an assessor. My

feeling, as a judging process, was used more intuitively than on purpose when I

assessed pupils' work, their results, successes, and failures. I tried to be sensitive to

possible pupils' reactions, and I sometimes had difficulties with remaining objective,

and with judging all pupils according to the same measure.

Certain improvements will be needed to be done in the role of an organiser. I

observed in my classes quite often that pupils felt confused what to do, and how. I did

not consider important to say the pupils what to do first, what next, and what should be

the final result. I did not inform them about the time they were given for the task.

Sometimes, my instructions lacked logical order.

The role of a participant is the one, that appeared in my teaching only

occasionally, if at all. If I decided to include it in my teaching, I believe, I will have not

difficulties with joining activities as a participant, but I will have to be careful not to

become dominating in many of learning situations.

The last role of an observer is the hardest nut be dealt with. Without doubt, I

included observation in my lessons, but I focused it more on pupils' work, their

mistakes, and successes than on observing how I acted in individual roles. I also

evaluated how materials and activities were successful.

With respect to the research, it will be worth planning and suggesting activities that

will lower the importance of the controller in the class, but include roles of the

prompter, resource, and tutor more. Further, I will focus on the role of an organiser

because both types of my pupils, either sensing or intuitive, need to have a chance to

perceive and understand instructions, commands, and orders with ease. Lastly, the role

of an observer also deserves a deeper attention because it can strongly help to

accommodate my teaching to the needs of my pupils.

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6. The Second Phase: Observations

This phase consisted of nine school lessons when I attended my colleague's lessons,

and gathered input information about the pupils. The detailed information from these

observations are included in chapter 6.1. The next chapter (6.2) deals with the results

from the questionnaires probing pupils' personality types based on the MBTI. These

results determined the way the research developed further. On the basis of personality

types present in the class, I chose pupils who were my opposites, and invited them for

interviews (chapter 6.3). The interviews were expected to help with the more detailed

understanding pupils' personality types.

6.1 Observations

The class in the seventh grade that was chosen for the purpose of this thesis consisted

of twenty-four pupils, who were between twelve and thirteen years old at the time. All

of them were addressed to join the research. It was explained to them what the focus of

the research was, and all pupils, except for one, agreed to participate. These pupils had

been learning English since the third grade, and they came from several elementary

schools. Their level of English corresponded to a pre-intermediate, some of them to

intermediate, level.

Most pupils were good at English, and they did not seem to have greater difficulties

with understanding, either the language or activities. Some of them obtained worse

grades than they could get, while others hindered lessons with their unwillingness to

cooperate. This could be caused with the beginning of their adolescence, or with being

opposite types than their teacher was. The atmosphere in the class was more positive

than negative, different kinds of activities changed the pace of the lessons, and

interaction between the pupils and the teacher was also satisfactory.

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6.1.1 Overall Impression from the Observed Lessons

- mostly teacher-centred lessons

- activities directed by the teacher, and whole-class activities prevailed

- although the pace of the lessons changed, the pupils worked all lessons on their

places and some of them seemed to get bored

- pupils had sometimes problems with receiving instructions and commands - they

looked confused what to do, and, unfortunately, the teacher did not notice their

requests for clarification

- group or pair work appeared from time to time - dialogues with given structures

- there was little space for pupils' own work, cooperation, or creativity

- language - four skills

- speaking (in practising dialogues, answers to teacher's questions)

- writing (as a productive skill did not appear, only copying notes, exercises

from the textbook)

- reading (aloud of the texts from the textbook with Czech translation)

- listening (pupils heard most listening exercises once or twice)

- language - components of the language

- pronunciation was a bit omitted in the lessons, there were few corrections by

the teacher

- vocabulary - the pupils were asked to learn new words at home, then practised

through translation with the teacher at school

- grammar - both knowledge of theory and example sentences, grammar formed

the core of many lessons

It is obvious that not everything worked well in the lessons. In defence of my

colleague, it must be noted that he did not have an easy job to do. To teach a class when

his colleague was also sitting there, and was recording almost everything that happened

in the lessons could not be much encouraging.

I intentionally recorded what did not work well, because I needed to establish a base

for analysis, and thus for later improving my teaching. For example, I asked myself:

Was the reason of the problems in pupils personalities? - Was it caused with the

differences between them and their teacher? - What types could they be on the base of

their actions in the lessons? All of these are analysed in the following two chapters.

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6.1.2 What Types of Pupils I Was Interested in

Prior to the first visit in the class, I had already known what personality types I

searched for the research. Studying my own type proved the conclusion the biggest

differences, misunderstandings, and crashes occur when types of N/S and J/P

preferences meet. I, as N/J type, decided to find pupils with S and P preferences, namely

the combination of sensing for perceiving, and perception as an attitude to the outer

world. Apart from the MBTI characteristics, I also drew on Keirsey's theory of

temperaments that concerns children and teenagers. Keirsey's characterization of SP

temperament became another source for better understanding this type.

The basic pieces of information on S and P preferences are provided in chapters

2.3.5.2 and 2.3.5.4. The following paragraph deals in more detail with these two

preferences from Keirsey's point of view, who built on them his SP temperament called

also 'artisans'.

It is important to realize there are about 38% of SP pupils in the regular classes of

compulsory education. These pupils do not fit desired images of N/J teachers, as well as

SJ teachers who represent the most abundant group at elementary schools. In fact, these

pupils are their absolute opposite. They need action, game, and freedom in their

learning that should, moreover, contain features of adventure and enjoyment. They

better accept learning in which they can find the sense in 'now and here.' Sentences like:

“This will be useful for your future life.” are nothing for them. Their desire to

experience learning through their senses is very strong. They like competitions and are

good team players. If teachers want to succeed with this type, they must vary activities

and pace of work. In the case, they lack movement, and are without a possibility to be

active in lessons, these pupils can be easily recognized through their disturbing action;

for example, swinging on a chair, moving a chair, or kicking their classmates.

Traditional instruction including sitting on their places and working with textbooks is

not their idea about learning. The word 'homework' represents a nightmare for them.

They often forget what to do before they come home. These pupils eagerly start

projects, tasks and activities, but many of them remain unfinished. They usually intend

to continue with them later, but, if they are asked when, they will probably answer -

sometime in the future (Keirsey & Bates, 2006).

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6.1.3 A description of the Observations

Within the nine observations, I followed my colleague's lessons without being

involved in them. At home, I printed for each lesson a blank sheet of paper with the

seating arrangement in the classroom. I sat at the front of the classroom, and took notes

of pupils' work, responses, and behaviour in the lessons. From time to time, I moved

around the classroom and watched the pupils' work, and their exercise books.

Due to the fact, that I was a beginner, as far as the research and the MBTI theory are

concerned, I decided to take notes about everything that occurred in the lessons, and

evaluate the notes afterwards at home. Of course, the foremost interest was put into

observation of pupils' behaviour that could be the expression of S and P preferences.

Two examples of observation sheets can be found in the appendices (Appendix 3, p.

144).

At this point, I would like to emphasize that all conclusions, I came to in the

research, were judged from two points of view. Firstly, I included my knowledge and

comprehension of the MBTI theory, and, secondly, I also considered a troublesome age

of these teenagers. Pieces of information I managed to gather are listed below. They are

divided according to my guesses of possible preference influence.

1. E vs. I - differences among pupils who prefer extraversion to introversion, and

vice versa might reflect in :

- How often the pupils raised their hands (plus the influence of their teenage age)

- how quick their reactions were, after being asked a question (plus S vs. N)

- if they preferred working alone, or were eager to discuss the given tasks with

their classmates

- who commented their own work or teacher's instructions, and assignments aloud

- who tended to be faster

- who had some problems communicating

2. S vs. N - differences among pupils who prefer sensing to intuition, and vice

versa might reflect in:

- how quick their reactions were after being asked a question (noted also in no. 1 -

E vs. I)

- if the way the teacher provided instructions coincided with the pupils' preference

– if they understood well

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- who seemed satisfied with the established routine, and who was impatient with

routine details

3. T vs. F – differences among pupils who prefer thinking to feeling, and vice versa

might reflect in:

- how pupils interacted with the teacher, if their relationship to him was visible

and, if their behaviour reflected it somehow

4. J vs. P - differences among pupils who prefer judging to perceiving, and vice

versa might reflect in:

- how they seemed cooperative and attentive in the given tasks (that seemed more

satisfying for J pupils)

- the layout and organization of pupils' exercise books - how neat their

handwriting was, if they used coloured markers, etc.

- who followed the instructions without asking, and who tried to incorporate their

own working methods or improvements

- who finished work sooner, and who seemed to need some extra time to finish

- who rather answered challenging questions and tasks, in comparison to easy and

predictable ones

- who seemed restless

On the basis of these observations, there were a few pupils that could be, in my

opinion, SP types, but I could not be sure enough to claim it with certainty. It must be

taken into consideration that differences in people's behaviour between E/I and J/P are

easier to observe than it is with mental functions of S/N and T/F. The pupils at this age,

should already have settled one of the mental functions as the dominant one. The other

one, that will be complementary, can still be at the phase of testing and trying. It is not

surprising then, that it was not possible to come to sure and reliable conclusions about

pupils' preferences. The questionnaire based on the MBTI was used for obtaining

reliable results about pupils' types. To my contentment, many of my guesses were

confirmed with them.

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6.2 Questionnaires

In one of the observed lessons, the pupils were asked to fill in the questionnaires

for identifying their personality types according to the MBTI theory. It is mentioned

earlier (chapter 5.2) that both I and the pupils filled in the same questionnaire, although

there were some differences. For my pupils, I decided to translate the questionnaire into

Czech (Appendix 2, p. 141). The reason was clear. The English used in the original

version would prevent the pupils from understanding the statements, and thus make it

impossible for them to concentrate on the content of the questionnaire. The original

statements were translated without change of meaning, yet stayed comprehensible for

the seventh-grade pupils.

The number of statements remained the same, namely forty-eight. The pupils ticked

on the scale of five points those answers that corresponded with their general thinking,

feeling, and acting. The scale ranged from very inaccurate to very accurate. It was

explained to the pupils; there were no right or wrong answers.

Since the statements were translated into Czech, the pupils could not complete the

questionnaires on the Internet. I printed the translated version instead and passed them

to be filled in the classroom. Most pupils did not need more than twenty minutes to fill

it in. Subsequently, I recorded their answers into the original internet questionnaire to

obtain pupils' types.

Table 6 summarizes the results of individual preferences in the class.

What is interesting about the results is the fact there are more pupils with F than T

preference in the class. Myers (1995) claims, on the base of her research, that T/F

preference is the only one where the influence of gender can be recognized. This means

that F preference relates more to women, while T preference is represented more by

Table 6

Results of Eight Preferences How They Occurred in the Class

Preferences Number of pupils % Preferences Number of pupils %

E 19 83 I 4 17

S 16 70 N 7 30

T 10 44 F 13 56

J 10 44 P 13 56

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men. Similarly, it is a common opinion attributing 'feelings' to girls and 'thinking' to

boys. Numbers in the class, however, showed that, although there are ten girls and

fourteen boys, the F preference slightly predominates.

Further, it is also interesting to note there are sixteen pupils of S preference. For me,

as an N type, this can represent a challenge. As it is described in chapter 5.4.1, I felt that

I had problems with providing clear instructions to the classes, and this could be the

reason.

Individual personality types appeared in the class as follows in Table 7:

Table 7

Individual Personality Types Present in the Class

Types Number of pupils Types Number of pupils

ESFJ 3 ESFP 4

ESTJ 4 ESTP 2

ISTJ 1 ISTP 2

ENFJ 1 ENFP 4

INFJ 1 ENTP 1

Ten personality types are present in one class. Six types are not here, but they

may attend other classes. I, the ENFJ teacher, am quite different from them. There is

only one pupil in this class of the same type. Thirteen pupils are of P preference, which

means more than half of the class would prefer a different approach to work. It can be

assumed, it would be a different approach than I employ. In addition, as it is mentioned

above, sixteen pupils are of S preference. Such a large number can have difficulties with

understanding my instructions.

Not all obtained results of the types were clear from the very beginning. There

were four SP pupils, whose results were cogent without any doubt (Table 8), and

subsequent interviews were realized with them only to understand these types better.

Six other pupils were invited to be interviewed because their S/N, or J/P preference

resulted in fifty percent (Table 9), and, therefore, personal meetin with the pupils was

necessary.

The numbers of percent can be understood easily. Fifty percent is considered to be a

borderline number, always between two opposed preferences, i.e. E/I, S/N, T/F, and J/P.

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The higher the number is over fifty percent, the more settled and differentiated the

preference is.

There is one interesting question that is worth being thought about - why did the

results concerning E/I and J/P preferences, except for a few cases, show in more explicit

percent than S/N and T/F preferences? The explanation can be based on Čakrt's

conclusions (2012). E/I and J/P preferences are distinguished in childhood sooner than

mental functions. As they deal with attitude and orientation of our personalities to the

outer world, they are much easier to be observed in children's behaviour. At teenager's

age, they can be considered quite stable, and the pupils, while filling in the

questionnaires, reflected them with their answers quite easily. On the other hand,

differences between S/N and T/F are not so obvious. Pupils, who should already have

settled their dominant function, have just started to struggle hormonal changes of the

teenage age. They could be reluctant to express their opinions with one hundred percent

certainty, and tended to tick the answers somewhere around the middle of the scale.

Table 8

Results of Four Pupils Whose Preferences Seemed Clear

Pupils Preference S Preference P

1 63.33% 74,07%

2 55,81% 51,35%

3 53,85% 55,56%

4 51,52% 58,33%

Table 9

Results of Six Pupils Whose Preferences Stayed Unclear

Pupils Preference % Preference %

1 S / N 50 P 57,58

2 S / N 50 P 73.33

3 S / N 50 P 54,29

4 S / N 50 P 59,46

5 S 54,55 J / P 50

6 S 53,33 J / P 50

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On the basis of pupils' answers from the interviews, that are described in the

following chapter, two pupils from Table 9 (no. 2 and 4) were concluded to be NP

types, and were excluded from the research. On the other hand, others proved to be of S

preference instead of N, and of P preference instead of J. These pupils stayed in the

research.

They were eight pupils together, from which three were girls and five were boys. For

the research, however, the sex was not crucial and did not play any role in it. It must be

emphasized that the pupils did not know anything about preferences, the letters of their

types, or anything else that would guide them to expected answers. Moreover, I did not

inform them about the type I searched. Pupils were acquainted with their four-letter

codes, only after the conclusions about their types had been made, and after then they

learnt that, what they had in common, was their SP combination; my main interest in the

research.

Eight pupils who decided to continue with me in the research were of the

following types (Table 10). Due to my promise to treat them with confidentiality, this

thesis further uses capital letters instead of their names, and all of them are referred to as

'he', although there were some girls:

It is not without interest, that some of the deductions about possible pupils'

preferences made during the observation phase were confirmed, after the questionnaires

and the interviews were evaluated. This finding indicates that studying the Myers-

Table 10

Eight Pupils with Their MBTI Results and Assigned Letters

Pupils MBTI Results Assigned Letters

1 ISTP A

2 ESTP B

3 ESFP C

4 ISTP D

5 ESTP E

6 ESFP F

7 ESFP G

8 ESFP H

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Briggs typology has a sense, at least for a teacher's purpose. Understanding the basic

concept of the MBTI is not difficult, and the fact, that human behaviour reflects

personality types, predicts that every teacher should be able to 'read' their pupils. It does

not mean we will become experts in a few weeks, but even little comprehension to

pupils' behaviour and action can help. In practice, it is not necessary to use

questionnaires, but it will be enough to be an attentive observer, and success will come.

6.3 Interviews with the Pupils

Interviews with the pupils had two reasons. Both are already mentioned in the

previous chapter. The first aim was to grasp better the complexity of personality types

and obtain deeper insight into it. The other one was to clarify not certain results from

the questionnaires. Further, the concrete areas that seemed to bring problems in English

were discussed with the pupils, as well, and the discovered findings are described in

chapter 6.3.1.

The questions were prepared with respect to the information I desired to obtain,

namely to verify pupils' SP characteristics. The interviews were held in Czech because

the seventh-grade pupils would not be able both to understand questions asked in

English and to express their answers in the L2. I wrote a schedule for a semi-structured

interview consisting of two main parts:

- introductory questions concerning pupils' interest in English and other subjects,

along with the questions probing pupils' approach to listening, reading, writing,

communication activities, and testing in English (a framework of these questions can be

found in the Appendix 4, p. 147)

- statements and questions that were expected to specify pupils' preferences in S/N

and/or J/P more precisely (for some of the questions and statements from this part see

Appendix 5, p. 148)

As it is mentioned earlier, ten pupils were invited to the interviews that took

place after school. The pupils could choose, if they preferred to be interviewed alone or

in pairs. Three pupils expressed their wish to come together, and I agreed. I knew that I

was an unknown person for them, and wanted them to feel during the interviews as

comfortable as it was possible. Each interview took about forty-five minutes for an

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individual, and longer time for pairs (about seventy-five minutes), and the group of

three (nearly two hours). As it is written in the previous chapter, two pupils were

excluded from the further research after they had been interviewed, because they proved

to be a different type than I needed. This chapter describes and uses notes obtained from

the interviews with eight pupils who were chosen to continue in the research.

The interviews showed to be not as easy as I expected them to be. Some of the

prepared questions did not seem to the pupils clear, and I had to rephrase them. Further,

I sometimes heard answers 'I do not know, it is half to half with me' which did not help

me much either.

After the first round of the interviews and their evaluation, I found out that there

stayed four pupils without unambiguous results. I decided to invite them for the second

time when I focused my attention to be more specific and clearer in what I desired to

find out (for some examples of the questions see Appendix 6, p. 150). Even after them,

there were two pupils who remained a hard nut to crack. One of them was without doubt

S type, but somewhere between J and P, while the other one was P type, but I still

hesitated between S and N preference. I decided to solve the situation with offering

relevant temperament characteristics to be read by these pupils. For the first one, I

copied SP and SJ temperaments from the Keirsey's book (2006, pp. 92-96), and from

Miková and Stang (2010, pp. 138-145). For the other one, I prepared SP and NT

characteristics by Čakrt (2012, pp. 121-128, and 133-140), and Miková and Stang

(2010, pp. 134-142). Both the pupils came to the conclusions that the SP characteristics

fitted them better.

To be honest, I did not expect that the interviews would have taken so much

time, and that some pupils would have to be invited more than once. The practice

showed that what seemed unambiguous and explicit to me, it was understood differently

by my pupils. Several reasons can be used as an explanation of it. Above all, I would

like to emphasize two of them. Firstly the fact, I and my pupils are of different types,

namely my N/J preference against their S/P preference. I had to support many of the

prepared questions with specific examples, in other words, to connect them with some

real-life experiences. The sensing pupils had difficulties with understanding the abstract

questions that I prepared. Secondly, their age is a very tricky aspect that enters their

thinking, speaking, and behaviour. These interviews were very valuable for me because

they helped my comprehension of MBTI types. Moreover, after them, I felt better

75

equipped for thinking about the way of improving my teaching style, and of changing

my approach. The following chapter summarizes the conclusions I came to.

6.3.1 Findings That Came Out of the Interviews

This chapter summarizes pupils' answers mainly from the introductory part of

the interviews. They became the core for a deeper understanding the relation between

SP type and pupils' acceptance of the English language and school. I made the following

conclusions from the interviews:

1. The pupils' interest in English lessons has been decreasing since the beginning

of the sixth grade. The reason for this does not lie in the person of their teacher, but the

pupils felt tired of the school itself; hormonal changes and different interests take their

toll. Most of them admitted, however, that they liked English for various reasons. Some

of them try to see the sense in learning English for future. This is not typical of SP

types, but here an influence of society can be found. They often hear that learning

languages is important, therefore, they try to adopt this opinion. Other pupils have their

own motivation and interest in English:

- “I try to understand I will need it” (pupil A, E, F, G, and H)

- a wish for a year-study programme in England (pupil D)

- he can see at his parents that English is useful, motivation from home (pupil B)

- he wants to travel to Australia, would also like to study Spanish (pupil C)

Although the pupils were initially shy about discussing their English lessons, i.e.

what they liked or disliked in them, finally, I received a few clear answers. I

intentionally chose those answers that reflect typical SP features that could be hindering

an excitement of these pupils for learning.

- he likes English, but would welcome changing activities - “when I am not

interested in the given activity, I cannot concentrate on it” (pupil B)

- he likes English, but has problems with paying attention when the lesson

becomes too static for him (pupil C)

- he likes English, but sometimes the lessons seem to him a bit rigid in their

direction (pupil D)

- they lack amusement in the lessons (pupil F, H)

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These answers point to SP desire of game, action, amusement, and changing

activities. On the other hand, a few pupils (C, D, and E) appreciated their teacher's sense

of humour in the lessons. Pupils A and E were satisfied with the teaching style of their

teacher, who also appeared to me as an S type. Pupils D and E liked that they did not

have to prepare exercises into their workbooks, and completed more tasks in the lessons

orally, although this point meant that many activities were teacher-centred. It is true

that SP pupils prefer oral expression to writing, and it can be also explained with the

results of Learning Styles Survey (Appendix 10, pp. 178-179).

2. Apart from English the pupils like subjects that include practical activities or

movement, such as Sports and Arts. Maths and Geography are two subjects that are

taught by their favourite teacher who uses in her lessons interactive smart board much.

- Sports, Maths - not geometry (pupil A)

- Geography, Civics - 10 projects offered by the teacher with one to choose, he likes

the freedom for work, plus there are topics from real life (pupil B)

- Sports, Geography, Czech (pupil C)

- Geography, Maths, Arts (pupil D)

- Sports, Geography (pupil E)

- Sports, Maths, Geography (pupil H)

3. The pupils felt they did not get enough time to process instructions or tasks.

SP types do not hurry with making conclusions, and enjoy the activity itself; the result

is secondary for them. It is important to emphasize that, as S types, they did not have

difficulties with understanding, but, as P types, they suffered from the lack of time to

finish them.

- “Sometimes I need more time before I understand fully” (pupil H)

- “The teacher hurries all the time - 'faster, faster', and we are not provided with

enough time.” (pupil B)

- “I do not catch everything in lessons.” (pupil G)

4. In general, SP types do not like much control and direction over them. On

the other hand, this does not represent any problem for SJ types. The fact that most

lessons were teacher-centred caused that the pupils would welcome, if they were

provided with more space for their own work, and finishing the tasks. In addition, they

lacked practical activities in lessons.

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- “I miss more space to handle the tasks in my own way.” (pupil B)

- “I would prefer to be provided with time and possibility to try new things in

practice, to see that I understand it.” (pupil E)

5. As far as speaking is concerned, in the pupils' opinion it was the skill that they

would devote more time to be improved. This opinion is logical because for SP pupils,

especially those of ESP types, speaking and related activities are significant for being

actively involved in the lessons.

- the pupils would welcome more communication activities consisting of dialogues

and working in groups (pupil B, C, D, F, G, H)

- he would welcome dialogues, but not pre-prepared, but rather imitating real-life

situations on the spot (pupil A)

- they had problems with pronunciation and lack of vocabulary, did not feel self-

confident enough about their speaking skill (pupil B, H)

6. The way reading as the skill was performed in the class was not satisfying

for most of the pupils, which is not surprising because S types are not enthusiast

readers. Their opinions offer interesting points to think about:

- “I would prefer silent reading before I read it out loud” (pupil A, C, H)

- at first to hear or read it silently, be prepared in advance (pupil B)

- more exercises to comprehension of texts, active work with texts (pupil C, D, G, H)

7. To be honest, writing skill, in general, has not been developed much with

pupils at lower-secondary schools, as far as my experience is concerned. There is a

simple reason for it - the lack of time. Writing as the skill is too time consuming and the

thematic plans do not count with it. The pupils proved this with their answers. They did

not remember when they had written something on their own, except for translation of

given sentences. As SP types, again, the pupils would desire to be more creative:

- creative writing - they would be glad for it (pupil A, F, H)

- creative writing would enrich their practical usage of the language (pupil C, E)

- they do not feel self-confident enough to create their own piece of writing, with an

example model it would be better (pupil B, D, H)

8. The pupils described problems with teachers due to their behaviour in lessons.

They agreed on they were disciplined for disturbing lessons, annoyance, doing

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something else. All of these have happened here at the lower-secondary school more

than at the elementary one (pupil B, C, E, F, G, and H).

In general, the pupils concurred that the lessons fulfilled their idea of what they

expected. On the other hand, they also admitted that the interviews offered to them new

views of the subject; i.e. they started to think about individual parts of the language

differently. The pupils got the chance to comment on them in chapters 7.1 and 7.2.

Some of the pupils' answers confirmed that the teenage years of the pupils must be

taken into account. According to Čakrt (2012), pupils who do not raise their hands up in

lessons immediately, often, or perhaps not with excitement can be described as

introverts. Answers from the interviews showed, however, that also extraverted pupils

can react in a similar way. They explained their behaviour by being without mood, or

feeling tired because it was the first lesson of the day.

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7. The Third Phase:

Discussions about Further Focus of the Research

Since the aim of the thesis was to improve my teaching in order to meet pupils'

L2 learning needs, I hoped to agree with them what areas of the English language we

would focus on further. As an instrument for this, I decided to use discussions that were

preceded by an easy survey consisting of only three questions for the pupils to think

about.

7.1 Survey That Preceded the Discussion

The survey was realized through questions that encouraged the pupils to think about

the English language, and what they expected in the lessons while learning it. Again, the

questions were presented to the pupils in Czech (Appendix 7, p. 152, where they are

also translated to English). I wanted to make the pupils think about the English language

from a different point of view than they had done it so far. The survey consisted of the

list of four skills and three components of the language, along with three questions to be

considered after reading them. The pupils were asked to think about three areas of the

language that caused them difficulties, to try to explain why there were troubles, and to

think up any suggestions that would help them in learning. They passed me their

responses, and we agreed on a discussion meeting.

Before the discussion, I studied pupils' answers and suggestions, and deduced the

conclusion that difficult areas for the pupils (answers to the first question) were closely

connected with the fact that we, both I and my colleague, are of J type while these

pupils are of P types. Those areas were grammar, listening, pronunciation, and

vocabulary. Grammar appeared in the pupils' answers three times, similarly to listening

to a cassette tape that also appeared three time, whereas pronunciation and vocabulary

twice. Not all pupils provided explanations. The particular answers were translated into

English, and are provided in Appendix 8a, p. 153. It is interesting to observe how the

pupils' comments reflect their SP preferences. Pupils do not like learning theory, in this

case grammar rules, and would rather use them in practice. They are not satisfied when

they do not understand every word; they need to know all specific details to be able to

understand the whole. They do not like memorizing, learning for learning, and the

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demands like: Learn fifty words of vocabulary at home for the next lesson, do not excite

them. These four areas were considered by the pupils difficult because our J approach,

of mine and my colleague's, is far away the pupils' image of learning them. For SP

pupils, the process itself and freedom in doing things are more important than our

approach that emphasizes accuracy, is focused mainly on results, and is constructed on

control over the class.

The goal of the second question was to find out which of the areas of language could

become the base for the required change in my teaching. For this reason, the question

probed what areas of language the pupils considered important, and put them before

others. Their answers showed that the pupils would prefer to incorporate speaking

(appeared in the answers four times), and vocabulary with pronunciation (appeared

twice) into lessons more. Further, they would like to try something new in learning

grammar (three times), listening (four times), and reading (twice). The pupils' answers

are translated in Appendix 8b, p. 154. It was not surprising, however, that no pupil

lacked writing. Knowing that SP types prefer movement, action, and practical

experience leads to the conclusion that mere sitting on their places, with reading,

writing, and filling in exercises do not represent the right approach for them.

Conversely, the pupils miss speaking in the form of practical experience that they need

for their learning. Also, their suggestions concerning grammar, that it should be set in a

real-life context, is logical from their point of view. The pupils expressed a similar

opinion also with listening and vocabulary; what they miss were the real-life context

and more practice in lessons.

The third question invited the pupils to write their own suggestions of what they

thought would help them in their learning. Not all pupils were creative, but some of

them would like to work more in groups, or to include competitions or games into the

lessons. Another pupil would receive visual demonstrations and challenging tasks with

pleasure. These answers can be translated into the language of MBTI types as typical

demands of SP pupils. Their desire to work in groups would provide them with a certain

freedom in processing assignments and choosing their own methods. Competitions

would fulfil their urge for taking risks, and visual demonstrations would correspond to

their need of practical tasks. SP pupils need fun and amusement in learning. They do not

take it seriously, which is the reason they would include also games into lessons.

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7.2 Discussion

Prior to the discussion, I tried to make a decision concerning three areas of the

language we would focus on. My idea was to choose one productive and one receptive

skill, along with one component of the language. On the basis of the pupils' answers to

three questions, I considered speaking and reading with vocabulary or pronunciation.

Discussions were planned for two afternoons after school when I met at first with the

girls and the other day with the boys. They expressed the wish themselves. I

comprehended that responding in the discussion would be more relaxed for them, if

both sexes came separately.

The discussions finished with the following result:

- as a productive skill – speaking

- as a receptive skill – reading

- as one component of the language – vocabulary

To agree with the pupils on speaking was the easiest step because four pupils

suggested it also in the survey. The pupils explained they suffered most from fear of

making mistakes and lack of vocabulary. They felt that on every occasion, when they

tried to speak, they had to search for words.

Although more pupils would have liked to make changes in learning of grammar, all

of them accepted that vocabulary, as a neglected part of their active learning at school,

would be a better choice. They told me that they remembered little from the lessons, and

had to learn most of the vocabulary at home. Also, the number of words the pupils had

to learn seemed to them too high.

To reach an agreement concerning a receptive skill was the most difficult. I

considered reading as a challenge both for me and my pupils because there can be found

quite big differences between N and S in receiving information through reading. S

pupils perceive words as abstract transmission of reality into print symbols. They need a

longer time to absorb what they are reading, when compared to N pupils. They are also

more careful in reading, and have a good memory for details. On the other hand, they

are slower, need examples to help them to understand, and carefully read instructions.

On the whole, they are, however, accepted at schools as less successful in reading,

which can cause their unwillingness to read (Miková & Stang, 2010).

82

It was true that more pupils would have preferred listening to reading, but finally we

agreed on reading. In the limited time of the research, I believed that I could be more

helpful to the pupils in reading than in listening. Due to what is written in the paragraph

above, I thought that a better understanding the S pupils' needs in reading would have

enriched my teaching more. I further supposed that varied work with texts could help

the pupils to realize how they could extend their vocabulary just via reading. The

reading could also be useful for their grammar improvement.

At least two reasons can be described why the pupils were not interested in reading.

Firstly, S pupils are not eager readers. Secondly, and I believe this reason was more

probable, the pupils' previous experience with reading did not correspond to their needs.

Only after comprehension of the differences between S and N types in perceiving, and

between J and P types in an organization of the work I, as a teacher, realized that

teaching reading needed a change in my approach to it.

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8. The Fourth Phase:

The Change in My Teaching Style

The fourth phase consisted of twelve lessons that were expected to incorporate

certain changes in my teaching, in order to enhance pupils' learning. The insight into my

teaching style is depicted in chapter 5.4, where my type ENFJ is described in

connection to my action in the classroom. The chapter also deals with my approach to

teaching and more specific methods I used in speaking, reading, and vocabulary,

because the change is focused on them.

At the beginning of this phase I had several questions in my head:

- Will it be a big change for my pupils? Will they notice it at all and, if yes, how

will they respond to it?

- Will it be a big change for me and, if yes, will it suit me? Will I continue the

new way after finishing the research, or will I return to the set routine I am used

to now?

There were a few aspects that I considered the key elements of this phase. All of

them concerned one thing – to overcome my fear of implementing changes that would

mean:

- to enhance a number of physical and practical activities, so called 'learning by

doing and experiencing' because it could be accepted with SP pupils as more

natural

- to increase pupil-pupil interaction through using of more group or pair work, and

thus to lose total control over the class

- to learn to trust my pupils and depute more responsibility for their learning on

them - as a J type, I am a strong organizer who thinks she knows the right

method that should be used by all

- to include fun into lessons, at least from time to time

I also comprehended that I had to slow down. What I mean with this is, that my

quick pace of work, action and thinking with looking more into the future, along with

my desire to have things concluded is not the right approach to SP pupils. From this

point, introverted and sensing types will benefit most. Firstly, it will be good to slow my

84

speech. It will be useful not to reformulate what I said, but provide the pupils with more

time to process what they heard. Secondly, S type pupils are usually slower in tests and

given tasks, and often call for extra time. They need more time to process words that are

only abstract expressions for them. To compare, N types look at an assignment and

know quickly what to do, whereas S types read assignment carefully, maybe several

times, to assure they understood it. It will be good to take this into account, when

preparing the lessons. For example, to have prepared additional activities for those who

finished sooner, and not to stress sensing types with words about their slowness, and

force them to hurry.

Another point that I had to think through thoroughly concerned the way I provided

instructions and tasks in lessons. S type pupils had difficulties with my not always

clearly stated goals and only partial instructions. My intuition expected that everyone

understood 'what I mean with it', and that 'more words are not necessary'. Hence, I

would like to change also this aspect of my teaching.

Finally, I intended to lower the pupils' stress of testing. Next to traditional oral and

written assessment, I decided to use several activities that would extend pupils'

possibilities of being successful in the lessons. Although these two points are not

elaborated in more detail in the research, since it could become a separate theme for

another research, they are also evaluated (in chapter 9.2), at least marginally, and as an

inspiration for others.

On the whole, I wanted to implement such activities into my lessons, that would

become the challenge for my pupils, and would cause their enhanced interest in the

subject.

8.1 Preparation for the Change

As it was agreed with the headmaster of the school, I promised to observe the school

curriculum and the English language thematic-year plan. I knew topics, grammar,

vocabulary, and texts that had to be finished in that period, but the approach and

methods were entirely left to me.

My goal was to focus on three studied areas of speaking, reading, and vocabulary,

but I tried to prepare whole lessons differently than so far, in order to accommodate SP

pupils' needs more. I tried to put into suggested activities more sense, a bit of fun, and to

85

catch the pupils' interest. As far as other types are concerned, I supposed that, although I

intended to change my teaching to the benefit of the SP pupils, my natural N and J

preferences would direct my preparation for the lessons in the way suitable also for

them.

The topics that had to be covered were the following (some of them I constructed on

my own ideas; for some of the topics I used the original versions of the texts from the

course book):

- Shops and shopping (vocabulary, giving directions, prepositions of place, pocket

money)

- Cooking (working with text, vocabulary, giving advice – should, quantifiers)

- At the restaurant (vocabulary)

- Festivals and traditions (work with the text, vocabulary)

Throughout all these topics, the pupils were expected to revise past simple tense of

both regular and some irregular verbs. The change in my teaching did not include only

work in lessons, and above mentioned assessment, but involved also home assignments.

All described activities are appropriate for the pupils' level referred to as pre-

intermediate (A2). Information concerning organisation, time, and preparation is

included in the description of individual activities in the following chapters.

Table 11 introduces the plan of the activities that arouse from my idea of modified

teaching. The table introduces twelve school lessons with the individual activities for

learning speaking, reading, and vocabulary. Individual skills or the components of the

language are hardly ever taught in isolation, and the same it was with my activities.

Some of them were designed, for example, as the combination of speaking and

vocabulary, or speaking and reading. Other activities worked, for example, with the

same text, and related activities to it appeared in more than one lesson.

For this reason, I decided to number them. The key for understanding is following:

activities that are assigned to the same number relate to the same topic. Letters a, b, c,

and d show a number of activities related to the topic. Sometimes, there was only one

activity to the topic; no letter is assigned then:

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1. Revision and practice of past simple tense (a, b, c)

2. Revision of vocabulary - Shops and shopping

3. Pocket money (a, b) - used as the source Open Doors 213, p. 25

4. Prepositions of place - used as the source for vocabulary Open Doors 2, p. 23

5. A teenage genius - talking about geniuses - Open Doors 2, p. 26

6. Daily routine (a, b, c)

7. Working with the text of the unit (a, b, c) - Open Doors 2, p. 29

8. Giving advice - should (a, b)

9. At the restaurant (a, b) - used as the source vocabulary from Open Doors 2, p. 32

10. Festivals - texts (a, b, c, d) - Open Doors 2, p. 33

11. Halloween and St. Valentine's Day - texts (a, b, c, d) - Open Doors 2, p. 34

12. Describing pictures - pelmanism cards (a, b)

13. Story building (a, b, c, d)

It is not possible to change one's style overnight. As the table shows, there are both

teacher-pupil interaction activities, as well as pupil-pupil interaction ones. In

comparison to my previous teaching, a number of pupil-pupil interactions highly

increased, which one of my goals was. Also, movement and physical activity appeared

in the lessons as something quite regular and not only in occasional cases. Further, what

is not obvious from the table is the fact the pupils used English in the lessons much

more than ever before.

I believe that all teachers know how it is difficult to implement changes into our

teaching. It cannot be done suddenly, but our pupils must get accustomed to it

gradually. For this reason, some of the activities are not as bold as they could be, but

they would rather serve as an inspiration for, which way to set off and continue.

The following three chapters deal with the activities from Table 11. I chose three

activities for each area of the language that are analyzed in detail. Others are only

briefly introduced, and can be used in lessons according to the reader's own ideas and

imagination. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a short insight into each area of

the language (speaking, reading, and vocabulary); how my perception and

understanding them have changed for the purpose of this research, and, of course, my

pupils' needs.

13 Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors 2 - Student's Book. OUP: Oxford.

87

Table 11

Overview of Type of Activities Used in Modified Teaching Style

Lesson Area of the language

Speaking Reading Vocabulary

1 1a. guessing game (write &

say, P-P*)

2. revision + new vocabulary -

group work (think up & write,

P-P) + HW

2 3a. pre-reading activity (read

& write - individual work)

4. revision - guided practice

(prepositions of place, T-P** )

3 5. brainstorming (T-P) 1b. revision - mingle activity

(P-P)

4

3b. prepared talk (HW,

follow-up activity, P-P)

6b. whole class discussion

(T-P)

6a. revision of vocabulary as a

part of discussion

(T-P)

5 6c. optional activity -

prepared dialogue (HW, P-P)

7a. pre-reading activity

(discussion, guessing,

T-P)

7b. peer-teaching - explanation

of new vocabulary (P-P)

6 8a. Read & do type (read &

write, P-P, mingle activity)

7c. revision - competition with

a bit of movement (T-P)

7 8b. oral testing - imitation of

real-life communication

(T-P)

9a. new vocabulary -

demonstration, role-play (T-P)

8

10a. pre-reading activity

(group work, jumbled texts,

P-P)

9b. revision - guided drill

(flashcards, T-P)

9 10d. discussion (agree &

write, group work, P-P)

10c. while-reading activity -

for detailed comprehension

(individual work)

10b. recording new vocabulary

(mingle activity, individual

work)

10

11b. while-reading activity

(group work, reading out

loud, P-P)

11a. new vocabulary (group

work - peer explanation,

matching activity, P-P,

competition)

11 12a. pelmanism cards

(description according to

pictures, P-P, game)

11d. post-reading activity

(read & fill in + read & check

- peer assessment, group

work, P-P)

11c. revision (pair work in a

group of four, gap-filling)

12b. pelmanism cards -

revision during the activity

12

1c. guided practice (T-P,

revision with cards, like a

game)

13c. story building (group

work, P-P)

13d. reading for pleasure

(mingle activity, P-P)

13a. revision (think up & write,

pre-activity, game, T-P)

13b. grouping activity (cards,

P-P)

* P-P- pupil-pupil interaction

** T-P - teacher-pupil interaction

After each of the selected activities, I try to explain it on the base of my existing

understanding the MBTI typology, namely SP types. There I justify, why I suppose that

the activity is suitable for SP pupils, and what I expect of it. Evaluation by the pupils is

included in chapter 9 where I draw on answers and comments from the feedback papers

that the pupils filled in after each of the lessons.

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8.2 Teaching Speaking

8.2.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils

As it is described in chapter 5.4.2.1, although teaching speaking belonged to the most

neglected skill, my intention was to change it. This research enabled me to think about

my teaching from a different perspective, and in respect to meet my pupils' needs more.

Understanding my SP type pupils made me step out from my routine style of work and

try to change it. Therefore, I decided to include in my lessons more activities of the

following types:

- pair and group work where the pupils can discuss, express their ideas and opinions

in English more freely

- brainstorming

- prepared talks

- surveys with self-prepared questionnaires

- discussions of different types

- on-the-spot talking activities (i.e. board games)

- role plays (use of functional language, i.e. apologies, invitations)

- storytelling

It is important to note that my teaching includes both language and message oriented

speaking activities. I believe that my pupils can profit from both of them, and I do not

exclude language oriented activities from speaking as a skill, as Harmer suggests it

(2001).

It will be also worth trying, when preparing lessons, to think about, so called, 'teacher

talking time - TTT' and 'pupil talking time - PTT'. I, as an ENFJ type, like talking to

people, expressing my own ideas, and thus I get control of much time in the lessons.

Due to this research, I realized that I am not the centre of my teaching, but my pupils

should be. The fact, that I am not visible or heard in the lesson, does not mean that I

lose control over the action in the class.

Of course, it was not possible to include all desired methods in the lessons, for the

time of the research was limited. It will stay a challenge for the lessons that will come

after the research.

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8.2.2 Activities Concerning and Including Speaking

For the research, I planned ten speaking activities that can be divided into three

categories. The first one involves activities realized in the lessons, the second one

includes home preparation, and the last one concerns assessment and testing. The

following lines introduce all activities with their brief description (while using the same

numbers as in Table 11 for better orientation of the readers), and the sources I drew

on.14

The activities realized in the lessons:

1a. Guessing game (revision for past simple tense, suitable as a warm-up activity)

The pupils think up two sentences in the past simple tense, of which one is true,

and the other one is false. One pupil says them loud and his/her classmates guess, which

of them is false. Then another pupil continues.

Source: personal experience, MU Brno

5. Brainstorming (suitable as a pre-activity - lead-in, in our case 'talking about

geniuses' + pupils work with dictionaries)

The pupils brainstorm who, in their opinion, is a genius. They provide an

explanation of the word, as well as suggest famous genius people. The teacher is writing

their suggestions on the whiteboard. They can consult their suggestions with various

types and levels of dictionaries.

Source: personal experience, MU Brno

6b. Whole class discussion (ask & answer activity, topic: daily routine)

This activity is based on listening comprehension. The pupils respond to

teacher's questions about their daily routine. They answer either orally or react

physically by standing up. The teacher tries to involve as many pupils as possible. This

activity also includes revision of vocabulary (vocabulary activity no. 6a).

Source: the author of the thesis

14 Some types of activities I experienced from my teachers as the student of Masaryk University in Brno,

and they stayed in my head, as I considered them interesting and useful. For the time being, I am not able

to relate them to specific teachers or lectures, however. As such, I refer to them as personal experience,

MU Brno.

90

10d. Discussion - agree & write (competition, group work)

After the reading activity no. 10c, the pupils cooperate in three groups and agree

on answers to the questions from power-point presentation, concerning the texts they

read. They write their answers on a piece of paper.

Variation: Each group consists of all pupils from one 'row' in the class. The lesson

where I used this activity showed that there were quite many pupils in one group. I

would recommend the division of each group in half, which could also increase the

sense of competition between them - who remembers more from their text, and will

answer all questions correctly?

Source: the author of the thesis, texts: Open Doors 2.

12a. Pelmanism cards - game

The pupils work in groups where one of them describes pictures from

pelmanism cards and the others guess. The game is understood as a competition. Again,

the pupils revise also vocabulary (activity no. 12b)

Source: the author of the thesis

1c. Guided practice (revision of past simple tense)

This activity was proposed as the revision of past simple tense, namely its

affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms with both regular and irregular verbs.

Three pupils are invited in front of the whiteboard where they obtain a card that

symbolizes their sentence (+, -, ?). The pupils' task is to think up a sentence with a

given verb in the correct form. Pupils can change several times.

Source: the author of the thesis

13c. Story building (past simple tense)

The pupils work in groups of three. They create a story in the past simple tense

containing three selected verbs and other three words from 'snowballs' (activity no.

13a).

Source: the author of the thesis, the idea of story building from personal experience,

MU Brno

Homework:

3b. Prepared talk (evaluation of the pupils' answers to the questions whether the

pupils receive pocket money)

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Two or three pupils can choose this activity as an optional homework after the

activity 3a. It is up to them, if they prepare a power-point presentation or a poster with

results. They present it orally in front of the class.

Source: the author of the thesis

6c. Prepared dialogue (optional activity - 'daily routine')

This activity is suitable for pairs that would like to prepare a dialogue about

daily routine. It is a follow-up activity to speaking and vocabulary activity no. 6b and

6a.

Source: the author of the thesis

Oral testing:

8b. Oral testing – imitation of a real life situation

Two pupils are examined from giving advice, while using 'should.' The teacher

introduces real-life situations and the pupils respond to them.

Variation:1. the whole activity can be left to the pupils in front of the whiteboard

2. pupils from the class can substitute the role of the teacher

Source: the author of the thesis

8.2.3 Three Selected Activities for Speaking

I decided to choose three activities from each area to be described in more detail.

From ten speaking activities, I chose:

- brainstorming (no. 5) that I came to know during my studies at the University,

but I have never tried it in my teaching yet, up to now

- pelmanism cards (no. 12a) because, for the pupils who could control their own

activity, it was something new, as well as for me - I gave up the role of a controller and

tried to be an observer and prompter

- story building (no. 13c) because it was the activity with most freedom for the

pupils who forgot that they were learning and naturally oriented more on the message

than on the language

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8.2.3.1 Activity no 5. Brainstorming (Genius)

Aims15 Skill speaking (message oriented communication)

Language expressing opinion, making statements, commenting

statements of the others, revision of vocabulary - adjectives

Other thinking about a difficult word, listening to other opinions

Organisation pair work (Step 1), whole class (Step 2)

Preparation dictionaries of various types and levels, list with the most famous

geniuses (Handout 1, p. 191), three copied entries from dictionaries

(Handout 2, p. 192)

Time 10-15 minutes

Procedure

This activity is suggested as a lead-in. It can be used as a pre-reading activity, as

well.

Step 1 The teacher writes on the whiteboard the question 'Who is a genius?' and

circles it. The pupils are asked to think about the word in pairs, and discuss their ideas.

The teacher invites three pairs to find the word in one of the dictionaries for elementary,

intermediate and advanced students.

Step 2 When the pupils are ready, they say their suggestions and the teacher

writes their ideas on the whiteboard. The pupils can also suggest famous people who, in

their opinion, were geniuses. In the end, the pupils from three pairs read dictionary

entries in order to see, if the suggestions written on the whiteboard were right.

Follow-up – variations

At the end of the lesson, if the time remains, the pupils can discuss differences

between three dictionary entries. To make it easier, the teacher can re-write the

dictionary entries into the computer and project them on the whiteboard. The pupils can

notice the differences among the entries this way more easily. I believe that using

dictionaries in lessons is necessary from time to time because pupils nowadays use e-

dictionaries, or rather e-translators that do work of translations instead of them.

15 As the inspiration for the content of the frames (aims, skill, language, organisation, etc.) with dividing

activities into the Steps, I used as the source the book by Friederike Klippel, see Bibliography.

93

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

Knowing that S pupils do not cope with words as easily as N pupils and, also as a

help for introverted pupils, I decided to provide the pupils with time to discuss the word

in pairs at first. I supposed that it would end with more hands up, while the pupils would

be expressing their opinions. With including the dictionaries in the lesson, I expected to

attract attention of those pupils who would not be interested in the task. I based this idea

on the fact that S pupils prefer practical tasks. Moreover, if the S pupils felt they could

not draw on their previous knowledge or experience, dictionaries could be the solution.

8.2.3.2 Activity no 12a. Describe and Guess (Pelmanism Cards)

Aims Skill speaking (message oriented communication) + listening to

classmates

Language describing objects from pictures

Other revision of vocabulary, revision of the grammar point – C/U

nouns

Organisation whole class (Step 1), groups of three to five (Step 2)

Preparation pelmanism cards with food (Handout 3, p. 193, or use some of your

own), red pieces of paper (approximately 10 x 10 cm), plastic lids from

bottles for every member of the group (in case of more pupils in the

group), helpful sentences that can be used by the pupils during the

activity (Handout 4, p. 194)

Time 15 minutes

Procedure

This activity is suitable to be used at the end of the lesson, or a unit that

concerned food because provides a possibility to repeat it.

Step 1 The teacher writes the word 'Food' on the whiteboard, and asks the pupils

to suggest what main features of food they can describe, i.e. colour, taste, size, where it

grows, if it is cold or hot, etc. The teacher listens to the pupils' ideas, and then projects

the helpful sentences from Handout 4 via computer on the whiteboard. They are read

together, along with the rules for the work. The teacher can accompany explaining rules

with a practical example.

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Step 2 The pupils form groups of three or four, and obtain one red piece of

paper, bottle lids, and a few pelmanism cards that are laid in the pile with the pictures

down in the middle of the desk. At the beginning, the pupils agree who will describe the

pictures and who will be the 'guessers'. The red piece of paper and the lids are also in

the middle of the desk. The pupil who will describe the pictures takes one from the pile

and starts. When one of the guessers wants to speak, he must take the red piece of

paper. Now he can guess or ask a complementary question. If his answer is wrong, takes

a lid (mainly in case of bigger groups, so that all pupils in the group will get a chance to

guess), and puts the red paper back in the middle of the desk. Then the others from the

group have a chance to guess. When someone's guess is right, he gets the card. Now, the

pupil can describe another card. The winner will be the pupil with the most cards in his

hand at the end of the activity.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

This activity tries to accommodate pupils' preference to work in groups. At the

beginning of the activity, they can choose a role in the group. It is intended as a game,

and the feature of competition should also suit this type.

During the activity, some groups wanted to change the pupil who described the

cards. It is not without interest that it was the case of the groups where the pupils C, E,

F and G were. Two of them described pictures in their groups, and wanted to try to

guess, whereas, in other two groups, the situation was opposite. This fact could be

caused with SP pupils' desire to try everything they enjoy.

8.2.3.3 Activity no 13c. Story Building (Past Simple Tense)

Aims Skill speaking

Language making sentences, using past simple tense

Other thinking creatively, fun, cooperation

Organisation groups of three formed through the vocabulary activity no. 13b

Preparation for each group:

a piece of paper with three words - 'snowball' (activity 13a)

a set of three irregular verbs for each group

a blank piece of paper of A4 format for writing the story

Time 15 minutes

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Procedure

After finishing the activity no. 13b, the pupils are divided into groups of three.

One of the pupils from each group is asked to come to the teacher's table and to choose

one piece of paper with three words (a 'snowball' - the result of activity no.13a) without

looking at it. Then another pupil from each group obtains a set of three irregular verbs.

Finally, the third pupils come for a blank piece of paper.

The pupils are acquainted with the rules of the work. They will write a story

containing three words from their 'snowball', and three irregular verbs that must be used

in the past tense, ideally as an affirmative, interrogative and a negative sentence.

One pupil starts the first sentence. He says it, and the other two pupils approve it; i.e.

listen to mistakes or can add anything. Then the first pupil writes it down on the blank

A4 paper, while the second pupil is thinking about the other sentence for their story.

Then he says it, and the other two can comment on it again. After the sentence is

approved, he writes it too. Then the third pupil continues. They continue this way until

their story is finished.

It must not be forgotten to emphasize that the pupils are thinking up a story, not only

six sentences with the given words.

Follow up Reading activity no. 13d

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

There are more points why this activity is considered as the right one for SP

pupils. Firstly, when the pupils come to the teacher for three tools that should be used

within the activity, the aim is to satisfy the pupils' need not to sit too long in the lesson.

In case, the teacher went around the classroom and distributed the tools, the pupils

could become naughty. This way they are involved in the activity and are cooperating

with the teacher. Secondly, although there are certain rules, namely using the past

simple tense and the verbs, this activity supports the pupils' own work. They can decide

about the pace of their work, so important for SP pupils, and they can feel quite free

during the activity. Thirdly, thinking up a story in a group supports team work that is

attributed to be suitable for SP types who are more oriented on the process than the

result. Moreover, the whole activity includes fun.

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8.3 Teaching Reading

8.3.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils

Chapter 5.4.2.2 introduced a brief look at the way teaching reading was realized in

my previous teaching. After deeper studying how to improve teaching reading, I found

out that it would be more difficult than I thought. I considered it even more difficult

than changing teaching speaking.

Understanding the MBTI typology, and especially SP types, brought me to one

significant conclusion. If I wanted to draw the SP type pupils, who by their nature are

not willing and enthusiast readers, to reading activities, I must include a practical sense

into it, and enable my pupils to stand up from their chairs. If I mastered to involve

reading activities that would encourage the pupils to respond to them subjectively, it

could also help. It is also worth trying to use not only 'close' activities, those with

definite answers to be reached, but also 'open' ones that could help to reluctant readers;

who some of the SP pupils may be.

For these reasons, I decided to include in my teaching the following activities:

- activities of type 'read and do' - read & answer, read &write, read & explain,

read & guess, and others

- reading for pleasure

- reading for gist or detailed comprehension (competition)

- group work with jumbled or cut texts

- reading out loud in groups (with peer listening and correction of pronunciation)

- to use easier authentic texts with interesting topics

- to use texts as models for writing, or for initiating discussions (and thus enhance

pupil' writing and speaking skills)

Similarly to speaking activities, it was not possible to try in the lessons of the

research everything I would have liked to involve there.

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8.3.2 Activities Concerning and Including Reading

The aim of the change in teaching reading was to include physical movement in it,

and to enhance pupils' interest in it. For this purpose, I intended to show the pupils

varied work with texts. Further, I wanted to introduce them reading as the skill that does

not have to work only with texts and articles from the textbook. Finally, I included such

pre-, while-, and post-reading activities that should suit more to the SP pupils.

As the result of my endeavour, there were eight activities that involved reading

(again, the numbers correspond to the numbering of Table 11).

The activities realized in the lessons:

3a. Pre-reading activity (read & write activity, individual work, topic: pocket money)

The teacher projects on the whiteboard several questions concerning a new topic

of 'pocket money', for example: Do you get pocket money? How often? What do you

spend it on?, etc. First, they are read by the pupils and explained, if it was necessary.

Afterwards, the pupils write their answers on pieces of paper that are collected by one

pupil into the hat. One pair of volunteers can evaluate all answers, and present their

findings to the class in one of the following lessons (activity no. 3b).

Source: the author of the thesis, plus based on Open Doors 2, p. 25.

7a. Pre-reading activity (sentences from the text)

This activity belongs to a motivational one. The pupils are sitting in a circle.

Each of them obtains one sentence from the text they are going to work with, and reads

it out loud. The pupils try to predict what the text will be about. In addition, the

sentences contain new vocabulary that can be explained by pupils themselves, or the

with teacher's help (vocabulary activity no. 7b).

Source: the author of the thesis, sentence from the text Open Doors 2, p. 28.

8a. Read & do type activity (read & write, mingling activity - practice of 'should')

The pupils mingle in the class, while they are reading the problems of their

classmates written on pieces of paper on their desks. They write advice what their

classmates should or should not do to solve their problem.

Source: the author of the thesis

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10a. Pre-reading activity (group work – jumbled texts, cut in pieces, topic: Festivals)

The pupils work in groups. Their task is to divide cut slips of three festivals into

three texts, and then, while listening to them from a cassette/CD, put them in the correct

order.

Source: the author of the thesis plus personal experience, MU Brno, texts from Open

Doors 2, p. 33.

10c. While-reading activity (read & remember – reading for detailed comprehension,

individual and group work, topic: festivals)

This activity works with three short texts that the pupils worked with in the last

lesson. The pupils are divided into three groups, and members of each group are asked

to read very carefully one of three texts and remember as much information from it as

they can. This activity is about silent reading, remembering vocabulary, and

comprehension of the text. It is followed with the speaking activity no. 10d that is

perceived by the pupils as a competition.

Source: the author of the thesis, the texts from Open Doors 2, p. 33.

11b. While-reading activity (reading out loud in groups, read & match activity, topic:

Halloween and St. Valentine's Day)

The pupils work in groups of three. They read two texts from the book that are

jumbled. They change in reading sentence after sentence, and match their sentence with

the correct festival. They listen to each other, correct their pronunciation, or can ask the

teacher for help, if it was necessary.

Source: the texts from Open Doors 2, p. 34, I based this idea on the recommendation

for ES pupils who prefer partner's reading (Miková & Stang, 2010)

11d. Post-reading activity (read & fill in activity + read & check, group & pair

work, topic: Halloween and St. Valentine's Day)

The pupils make groups of four. Each group gets two texts with some words

missing. They work as pairs within their group. Each pair works with one text. The

missing words are given to the pupils on flashcards. Their task is to fill in the correct

words in their text. After both pairs finish it, each pair checks the text of the other pair.

This activity also includes revision of vocabulary (activity no. 11c).

Source: the author of the thesis, the texts from Open Doors 2, p. 34

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13d. Reading for pleasure (reading of created stories, mingling activity)

After finishing of the activity no. 13c, the teacher provides the pupils with some

time to read the stories created by their classmates, to discuss them, and share opinions

on them.

Source: the author of the thesis

8.3.3 Three Selected Activities for Reading

I chose three activities that, in my opinion, are each of a different type, appeared

in my teaching for the first time, and the connection to SP type characteristics can be

found in them:

- read & do type activity with 'should' (8a) because it includes physical movement

and has a sense of practical activity from the real life

- while-reading activity (11b) because it provided the pupils with space to direct the

activity on their own, and deputed more responsibility for their learning on them

- post-reading activity (11d) that worked well in groups, and included peer-check and

peer-correction

8.3.3.1 Activity no 8a. Read & do Type Activity (Should)

Aims Skill reading, writing

Language giving advice with 'should', affirmative and negative

sentences

Other pupils provide advice to real-life problems of their

classmates

Organisation individual work, mingling activity

Preparation a piece of paper for each pupil (ideally A5 format)

Time 10-15 minutes

Procedure

This activity is suggested for the practice of new grammar point - using 'should'

when giving advice.

Step 1 At first, the pupils are asked to think about some problem they have or

could have. The teacher provides them with two or three examples. Then the pupils

write their problem on a piece of paper and let it on their desks.

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Step 2 The pupils are asked to go around the desks, read someone's problem and

write a piece of advice. Each advice should be on the piece of the paper only once.

Then, they move to another desk and do the same with another piece of paper. They

continue further until the teacher stops the activity.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

This activity tries to show that also grammar points can be done differently and with

including reading skill into it. For example, I used to practise giving advice on the base

of the exercise from the book where pupils gave advice to the situations in the pictures,

or to the example sentences. In addition, the pupils were usually asked to think up their

own example sentences with a piece of advice in pairs, but it was all.

My new view forced me to think about it differently. Firstly, this is a mingling

activity that is more suitable for SP types, than mere sitting on their places. Secondly,

the pupils respond to the sentences written by their classmates and, while they are

mingling around the classroom, they can choose to what problems they give advice or

not. Moreover, they can feel quite free during the activity, can discuss with their

classmates, and do not have to accept it as a boring duty that must be fulfilled.

8.3.3.2 Activity no 11b. While-reading Activity (Reading Out Loud)

Aims Skill reading (out loud), listening

Language correct pronunciation, reinforcement of new vocabulary

Other to match mixed-up sentences to the correct festival,

cooperation, peer-check and peer-correction

Organisation groups of three

Preparation text from the course book - Open Doors 2, p. 34 (Handout 5, p. 195)

Time 10 minutes

Procedure

The pupils are divided into groups of three. They are going to read mixed-up

texts about Halloween and St. Valentine's Day, that contain new vocabulary that has

already been practised in the activity no. 11a.

The teacher explains to the pupils that they will read the mixed-up sentences

loud; each pupil will read one sentence, and they will change according to their turns.

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They will listen to each other and check one's other pronunciation. After each sentence,

they will agree on, which festival it is. If they needed any help, they can ask the teacher.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

I decided to suggest the activity this way because I know that the mere reading of

texts seems to SP types a bit boring. Moreover, if the text was read out loud with the

whole class, as usually, the pupils would get only one chance to read, if at all. They

need to be engaged in the activity. Group work is the activity that they like and, in this

case, they also get more opportunities to practice reading out loud. The fact they

substitute the role of the teacher and take over the responsibility of checking their

classmates' pronunciation can involve them in the activity more. It can help to retain

their attention during the whole activity, which can be sometimes difficult with SP

types.

8.3.3.3 Activity no 11d. Post-reading Activity (Pair Work in Groups)

Aims Skill reading, speaking

Language revision of vocabulary - gap-filling - agreeing/disagreeing

Other cooperation, peer-check and peer-assessment

Organisation groups of four

Preparation two texts on two pieces of paper with some words missing, vocabulary

on flashcards (Handout 6, p. 196)

Time 10-15 minutes

Procedures

This activity is connected to the while-reading activity no. 11b that was taught in

the last lesson. Both activities work with the same texts. It is suggested as the revision

of vocabulary that is used by the pupils in the context of the texts.

Step 1 The pupils are divided into groups of four. The teacher explains to them

that they will cooperate in two pairs within their group. The teacher distributes two texts

to each group, and two little bags with vocabulary flashcards. Each pair chooses one

text and related vocabulary flashcards. Their task is to read the texts and put the

flashcards in the correct gaps.

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Step 2 After finishing, the pupils change their texts, in order to bec checked by

the other pair, if they were right.

Variation Vocabulary flashcards can be in one bag, and the pupils can choose those

that they need for their text.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

Similarly to other activities, also here I included group work that is a favourite

activity among SP pupils. This is an attempt to test two assumptions. On one hand,

revision of vocabulary, through comprehension in the context, can be more successful

with SP types because they can find a sense in it, contrary to mere revision of

vocabulary through translation or repetition after a teacher. On the other hand, including

the pupils not only in the activity itself, but also in its assessment can provoke SP type's

curiosity to try something new. Moreover, this way all four pupils can work with both

texts, but not the same way twice. As the last point, it can be added that, if SP pupils are

allowed to be in interaction with others, their attention span and interest in the activity

can be prolonged.

8.4 Teaching Vocabulary

8.4.1 A New View to the Benefit of the SP Pupils

Understanding the MBTI typology, especially SP types, revealed to me a few

things. For example, it is a common approach that the pupils are asked to learn new

vocabulary before the lesson where they are expected to work with it. The MBTI

typology helped me to understand that learning unknown words from vocabulary lists

without any context, or prior comprehension is not the best choice. Now, I believe that I

can suggest activities that will be more interesting and useful for the SP types.

The way I taught vocabulary before this research is described in chapter 5.4.2.3. I

listed quite many possible methods there how to present and practice vocabulary, but, as

I noted, it was hardly ever put in any context. This is what I would like to change in my

teaching, because it can help to the SP pupils in their need to connect abstract

expressions of words with real objects and situations. Furthermore, almost all types of

activities in my previous teaching were of teacher-pupil interaction. I was the source

who dictated new words, explained, and translated. Now, I suggested such activities that

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should contain more pupil-pupil interaction. To satisfy the SP pupils urge for action,

some of the activities also includes physical movement. In addition, I believe that also

fun and game has its place in practice of vocabulary, which can suit to the SP type.

As the last point, I would like to emphasize that the teacher's goal should be not

only to teach vocabulary, but also how to use compensatory strategies. They can be

helpful in situations when the pupils search for words, for example, in speaking. This is

something that can seem more interesting to the SP pupils, than mere learning from

vocabulary lists.

To list some of possible activities, I can name:

- brainstorming with dictionaries

- demonstration

- peer teaching (explaining the meaning, miming, compensatory strategies)

- gap-filling in context

- grouping activities

- games with vocabulary

- practice of vocabulary in the context of other activities

8.4.2 Activities Concerning and Including Vocabulary

I tried to work with vocabulary nearly in all lessons of the research. My aim was

to show to the pupils different types of activities that would help them to practise new

vocabulary at school and, in better case, also remember it. Some activities were

suggested as the revision of vocabulary that the pupils should already know. For twelve

lessons of the research, I prepared fourteen activities that dealt with vocabulary directly,

or included vocabulary as their integral part (similarly to the previous chapters, also

here the numbers correspond to Table 11).

The activities realized in the lessons:

2. Revision: Brainstorming (group work, topic: shops, with dictionaries)

The pupils work in groups of four. Each group obtains a sheet of paper with one

name of the shop, and a dictionary. Their task is to write as many items they can buy

there as they can think up in the given time.

Source: the author of thesis

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4. Revision: Guided Practice (a piece of fun - prepositions of place with plush

animals, a revision before a written test)

The teacher brings two objects into the lesson (in our case two favourite plush

animals), and by performing of various positions, the pupils are encouraged to make

sentences (A is next to you, B is behind you, etc.)

Source: the author of the thesis

1b. Revision: Mingling Activity (irregular verbs on flashcards)

This is a mingling activity when every pupil obtains a flashcard with an irregular

verb in Czech. The English version is written on the backside and can be used, if the

pupils did not know the correct answer. All pupils mingle in the classroom and meet in

pairs. They show each other their verbs and say correct base, past and past participle

English forms of their classmate's verb. Then they change the cards and continue to

another pupil.

Variation: This activity can be used for revision of any vocabulary according to the

teacher's requirements.

Source: personal experience, MU Brno

6a. Revision: Vocabulary included in the discussion about daily routine

More explanation is provided at the speaking activity no. 6b. Revised vocabulary

includes time, food, school subjects, and means of transport.

Source: the author of the thesis

7b. New vocabulary – Peer teaching (explaining, miming)

More information about the whole activity is provided at reading activity no. 7a.

Unknown vocabulary from the sentences that the pupils hold in their hands is explained

by various means of miming, explanation or other compensatory strategies without

using Czech. Pupils master it either by themselves, or with the teacher's help.

Source: the author of the thesis, sentence from the text Open Doors 2, p. 28

7c. Revision: Competition (connected with a bit of movement)

All pupils stand up. They compete as three teams - three rows of desks. They

revise vocabulary for the test. The pupils' task is to say correct English word to Czech

equivalent, or vice versa. Who says the correct answer, can sit down. The winner is the

row with all pupils sitting.

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Variations: Many other language points can be revised this way (I provide a few

examples here from the unit I taught in the research: I say nouns - pupils complete, if

they are countable or uncountable, I say English base form of verbs - pupils complete

past form, I say a shop - pupils complete what they can buy there, etc.)

Source: the author of the thesis, personal experience, MU Brno

9a. New vocabulary: Demonstration (with a touch of drama, topic: at the restaurant)

The whole class cooperates with the teacher as waiters and waitresses in a short

role play 'At the restaurant'. The teacher uses real-life objects that help to introduce new

vocabulary.

Source: the author of the thesis, vocabulary from Open Doors 2, p. 32

9b. Revision: Guided drill (flashcards, topic: opposites)

Pupils say opposite words to the adjectives they see on the flashcards held by

their teacher. The class works as a whole, that means all pupils say answers loud at

once. The teacher can increase the speed of changing the flashcards in the course of the

activity.

Source: the author of the thesis, opposites from Open Doors 2, p. 32

10b. New vocabulary: Recording from the text (mingling activity, individual work,

topic: festivals)

The pupils note down new vocabulary from the slips of cut text that are placed

on the desks in the classroom. The words that are new, and are expected to be

remembered by the pupils are of different colours. The pupils move around and, while

writing them, they can observe how the words are used in the context of the sentences.

Note: This activity follows after the reading activity no. 10a and is included in the

lesson following after it.

Source: the author of the thesis, sentences from the texts Open Doors 2, p. 33

11a. New vocabulary: Work with the list of vocabulary (competition, matching

activity, topic: Halloween and St. Valentine's Day)

The pupils work in groups of three. They obtain sixteen flashcards with new

vocabulary. Two flashcards contain red words (concerning two topics, in our case two

festivals of 'Halloween' and 'St. Valentine's Day'), while the others are in black colour.

Their task is to divide vocabulary into two columns to two festivals. They can use their

vocabulary lists to help them. This activity includes also speaking because pupils can

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discuss their opinions. They compete which group will be the first with all words

divided correctly.

Note: This activity precedes the reading activity no 11b.

Source: the author of the thesis, vocabulary from the texts, Open Doors 2, p. 34

11c. Revision: Gap-filling in context (pair-work in groups, topic: Halloween and St.

Valentine's Day)

During the reading activity no. 11d, the pupils also revise vocabulary from

flashcards concerning Halloween and St. Valentine's Day from the last lesson.

Source: the author of the thesis, the texts from Open Doors 2, p. 34

12b. Revision: Describing pictures from pelmanism cards

During the speaking activity no. 12a, the pupils are also expected to revise

vocabulary focused on food, and countable and uncountable nouns.

Source: the author of the thesis

13a. Revision: Game 'Snowballs' (think up & write, topic: word classes)

The pupils write words of certain word classes on pieces of paper. They will

write three words; each time one word on a different piece of paper. The papers are

exchanged among the pupils through making snowballs from them, and throwing it.

Source: personal experience, MU Brno (idea of the activity), the author of the thesis

(content)

13b. Revision + new vocabulary: grouping activity (flashcards, topic: festivals)

This activity can be used for grouping. Each pupil gets a card with one word

concerning a certain topic ('festivals' here). Their task is to find two other pupils with

different words, but belonging to the same festival.

Source: personal experience, MU Brno (idea of the activity), the author of the thesis

(content)

8.4.3 Three Selected Activities for Vocabulary

To make the decision, which of three vocabulary activities to select, was not

easy at all. Finally, I decided to choose those types of activities that somehow differed

from those that I have already described in the chapters on speaking and reading:

- peer teaching (7b) because this activity also used a different arrangement of the

classroom, and I wondered how it affected pupils' feelings in the classroom

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- demonstration (9a) because I was interested in how the pupils accepted this type of

activity that offered them hands-on experience

- 'snowballs' (13a) because it offered in itself a sense of game and fun, and I believe

in its success in every class

8.4.3.1 Activity no 7b. Peer Teaching (New Vocabulary)

Aims Skill speaking, listening

Language explanation of meaning of new vocabulary, guessing -

prediction what the text is going to be about

Other cooperation

Organisation pupils are sitting on chairs in a circle

Preparation each pair (or every pupil) gets a slip of paper with one sentence from

the text that the pupils are going to work with (Handout 7, p. 198)

Time 10 minutes

Procedure

Prior to the beginning of this activity, the pupils make a circle of all chairs where

they sit down. The pupils will work individually or in pairs. The decision is influenced

by the length of the text (how many sentences there are), and teacher's consideration

whether let pupils work individually or cooperate in pairs. In our case, work in pairs

was more suitable. Each pair got a slip of paper with one sentence from an unknown

text.

The pupils are asked to read their sentences out loud. If unknown words appear

in the sentences, the pupils who know their meaning can explain them, describe, use

them in another example, or mime them. After all sentences are read, the pupils can

start discussing what the whole text will be about and can predict what will happen in

it. The teacher can encourage the pupils' discussion with questions that can lead the

pupils to correct guesses, or intentionally to confuse them.

Follow-up This activity is followed with listening to the text. At first, the pupils only

listen and check if their guesses were right. For the second time, they listen carefully

and when they hear their sentence from the slip, they raise a hand. Only after then, they

are allowed to open their books and look at the whole text (Handout 8, p. 199).

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Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

This activity tries to draw on two aspects of SP type characteristic. Firstly, the

fact that I, for the first time, changed the arrangement of the classroom. SP pupils are

not considered to be satisfied when they sit all day in traditional arrangement of three

rows in the classroom. I was looking forward to their reaction to this change. Secondly,

this activity could not be planned in much detail beforehand. I could not know what

words the pupils knew, and which of them were new for them. I took a risk when I

supposed that it would be just SP pupils who would handle unplanned moments of the

activity with ease. I hoped in their flexibility and adaptability that could help to the

positive flow of the activity.

8.4.3.2 Activity no 9a. Demonstration (At the Restaurant)

Aims Skill listening

Language understanding the meaning of new vocabulary, practice of

language from a restaurant

Other cooperation, fun

Organisation whole-class role play + a touch of drama

Preparation the teacher brings real objects: menu, tip, plate, tablecloth, cup, salt

and pepper, saucer, spoon, teaspoon, glass, knife, bowl, napkin, fork,

bill

Time 10-15 minutes

Procedure

Step 1 The teacher brings quite a heavy bag into the classroom and starts to

place the things from it on the table. During the action, she is naming them. All of a

sudden, she notices there are the pupils in the classroom and asks them, if they knew

where they could meet these objects. The pupils guess that at the restaurant and name

all the objects with the teacher. The teacher then suggests going to a restaurant, but, at

first, she must wait for her husband (and indicates that one of the pupils can join her).

Then she asks who must be at the restaurant - a cook, other guests, a waiter and a

waitress. The teacher asks the pupils to be the waiters, and distributes the objects among

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them. During this action, she is naming all the objects once again and the pupils repeat

after her.

Step 2 Now the teacher can go with her husband to the restaurant; they come

and sit at the teacher's table. The teacher freely follows the prepared talk from Handout

9, p. 200. During it, all the pupils - waiters when they hear the name of their object

bring it to the guests.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

This activity was expected to be the right cup of tea for SP pupils. It includes

fun, whole-class cooperation, and hands-on experience. It is focused more on the

content of the activity, which includes role-play, a piece of drama, and the game, than

on the language. For the pupils, there is no goal or result that has to be fulfilled and,

therefore, neither stress, nor a sense of duty for doing the activity. It is said about SP

types that they learn best by example and demonstration, and this is the case.

8.4.3.3 Activity no 13a. Game with Word Classes (Snowballs)

Aims Skill 'skilful hands to throw snowballs'

Language word classes

Other imagination, fun

Organisation individuals and whole-class cooperation

Preparation pieces of paper (A5 format) for each pupil

Time 10-15 minutes

Procedure

Step 1 Since the pupils are expected to work with vocabulary of three word classes, it

is recommended revising them at first. The teacher writes on the whiteboard the words

'noun', 'adjective' and 'adverb', along with an example sentence, for example: Our black

cat Micka acts so stupidly that she catches our lazy dog in the garden every afternoon.

The pupils are asked to identify three word classes in the sentence (adverb can be

understood by the pupils as an adverbial, it will be easier for them). The teacher can

help them with explaining that a noun equals to 'who', an adjective to 'what', and an

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adverb means 'when, where, how'. The pupils can also suggest other words for each of

three word classes.

Step 2 The teacher asks one pupil to distribute A5 format pieces of paper among

all of them. Now, the pupils are asked to think up one 'noun' and to write it legibly on

their piece of paper. When all pupils finish, the teacher shows them how to make a

snowball from it. Now, they can throw it to someone else; and once again and once

again. Then the pupils are asked to unroll it and write there an 'adjective'. Again,

snowballs are shaped from their papers and the 'snowball fight' can start again. Then the

last word, an 'adverb' is written in it. After finishing, all the paper snowballs are handed

to the teacher who announces that they have just prepared three words that will be

included in stories they are going to think up in the lesson.

Note: During the vocabulary activity no. 13b that groups the pupils into teams for

thinking up stories, the teacher reads all snowballs with three words, and choose those

that appear a funny mix of three words, or seem to be really inspiring for thinking up

stories. These are later distributed to the teams.

Explanation of the activity on the base of my understanding of SP type pupils

SP type pupils, who can be considered to be excited with games, can find a sense

of joy in this activity. It enables them to release their energy and to be involved, at least

for a while, in practical action that resembles a game to them. This activity also counted

on their curiosity. If the teacher motivates the pupils, that the activity is important for

what they are going to do later, and, therefore, it is vital to think up very interesting

words, the pupils can accept it with a pleasure. If they understand that what they are

doing is useful, needed, and has a sense now, it can be considered the right activity for

SP types. On the contrary, these types do not understand and accept with difficulties

learning that is explained to them as needed and useful for their future lives and jobs.

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9. The Fifth Phase: Evaluation

The last phase of the research can be divided into three main parts, of which the first

one deals with pupils' assessment of individual activities through feedback papers,

complemented with my observations from the lessons (chapter 9.1). The second one

returns to other issues that came out important of the research, namely, how my

teacher's roles has changed during the research, how successful I was with the different

type of providing instructions, and how the research also inspired me to change the

ways of assessment in the class (chapter 9.2). The third part evaluates the whole

research and introduces overall conclusions that can be deduced from the interview and

discussion with the pupils after the end of the research (chapter 9.3).

9.1 Judgement of Individual Activities from Chapter 8

At the beginning of the research, I planned to observe the lessons I taught carefully

and to make notes during and after them. I believed that it could be enough for the

judgement of the activities. I found out very soon that it was impossible for me to teach

twenty-four pupils, along with being able to follow the work of eight pupils who were

cooperating with me in the research. Therefore, I decided to prepare easy feedback

papers before each lesson where I asked the pupils for their opinions on specific

activities concerning speaking, reading, and vocabulary. They were written again in

Czech (for those related to the selected activities see Appendix 9, p. 155, they are also

translated into English). I distributed them after each lessons and the pupils were asked

to fill them at home, and bring them back to me before the next lesson.

It is important to emphasize that I do not have eight feedback papers from all lessons.

Since these pupils are of P types, it sometimes occurred that they forgot some of the

feedback papers at home. They promised to bring them in the next lesson, or in the

lesson after the next. Finally, I found out that a few feedback papers lost entirely. In

these cases, I asked for the pupil's assessment during the final discussion that took place

after the finishing of the research, and used their oral answers. Another case was when

the pupils were absent. At the beginning of evaluation of each activity a number of

feedback papers, that I had at my disposal, is written.

As it is stated above, to make notes during the teaching of twenty-four pupils was

impossible for me. Because of it, I did evaluation of each lesson afterwards, and wrote

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notes in the margins of my lesson plans. I took down general impressions from the

lessons mainly and, sometimes, concrete facts I remembered. For this reason, they are

not included in the appendices, but are only the part of this chapter.

9.1.1 Speaking Activities

9.1.1.1 Activity no 5. Brainstorming (Genius)

Feedback (six feedback papers)

Such type of activity was something new for the pupils. Two of them stated that they

had ideas what to say, but did not know the English words. Five pupils answered that

they liked the activity, but more than definition of the word they enjoyed the part with

thinking up famous geniuses. Pupil C raised his hand and searched for the answer in one

of the dictionaries. He chose the one for advanced learners. This pupil proved in many

other activities to be a typical risk-taking example of SP characteristics.

Teacher's observation

At the beginning I observed the pupils' self-consciousness and shyness. They seemed

to me like not knowing how to behave and what to do. They were afraid to speak aloud

among them in pairs because they were not used to doing it before. I moved around the

class and encouraged them to speak and express their ideas. I must say that it helped.

9.1.1.2 Activity no 12a. Describe and Guess (Pelmanism Cards)

Feedback (seven feedback papers)

Two pupils wrote that it was difficult for them to describe the cards, but they enjoyed

it and their classmates were successful in guessing. Two pupils considered describing

cards easy. Three pupils, who guessed, stated that they did not ask complementary

questions, but only guessed. All of the pupils, except for one, answered that they liked

the activity. One pupil who described the pictures had difficulties with it and, as the

only one, did not like it.

Three pupils assessed the sentences on the whiteboard as a help for them, while they

were describing the cards. Two pupils wrote that they would not manage it without the

sentences at all. There was only one pupil who answered that he did not need the

sentences.

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Teacher's observation

It was interesting to observe that five from eight pupils of the research took the cards

for themselves and became those who described. Two of them were later eager to swap

the role with someone in their group, and to try also the role of those who guessed.

After reading the pupil's feedback who did not like the activity I asked him for an

explanation why. He told me that he ended in the group of the pupils who he was not

familiar with. They voted for him to become the person to describe and, for this reason,

he could not enjoy the activity. Moreover, he is introverted type.

Since speaking activities are something new for these pupils, they are not self-

confident enough and they do not trust their abilities to speak and compose sentences. I

could observe that many pupils, not only SP types, looked quite often at the whiteboard

and draw on the helpful sentences there. I believe that in the course of time the pupils

will not need this help because through practice of such activities their speaking skills

will improve.

9.1.1.3 Activity no 13c. Story Building (Past Simple Tense)

Feedback (three feedback papers)

Unfortunately, because of the fact this was our last lesson together, not all the pupils

brought me back the feedback papers. I obtained the answers from the others only orally

from our final discussion. One pupil who is introverted type ended in the group with

two classmates who were not his friends. In my opinion, these two are too talkative and

expressive. He wrote to me that it was hard work, and he did not like it much. He would

prefer to write the story on his own, or with someone else. One pupil liked it half to half

because he also considered it a bit difficult. Four pupils were excited by the activity.

They assessed it as easy and also the group suited them.

The only reproach was that at the beginning of the activity the pupils would welcome

an example story to see what they were expected to do. I would attribute it to the SP

characteristics of this type because not all of them immediately understood what I

meant by the word 'story'. On the whole, the pupils agreed that if we did such activities

more often, it would be better and more enjoyable for all of them.

Teacher's observation

The decision to give the pupils three words from the snowballs showed as lucky one.

Together with three irregular verbs, it initiated the pupils' motivation and interest in the

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activity. It was necessary to move around the classroom and encourage the pupils to

speak only in English. At the beginning of the activity, they were full of ideas and were

eager to discuss them, unfortunately in Czech.

From time to time, some pupils asked me for a word they did not know, while the

others were using their own dictionaries. It was a change for me not to direct the pupils'

activity. Conversely, it was a real pleasure for me to see my pupils working without any

prompts and forcing. They actually enjoyed it. Neither the fact that they did not work

with their closest friends disturbed their enthusiasm in most cases.

To my surprise, at the end of the activity when some stories were finished, the pupils

started changing them and read and laugh over the other stories. For the first time in my

practice of being a teacher, I felt unnecessary in the class, but not in the negative sense.

I felt an amazing satisfaction. This activity seemed to offer to SP types everything they

needed - practical action that included fun, team work and cooperation, and possibility

to work in their own way and pace.

9.1.2 Reading Activities

9.1.2.1 Activity no 8b. Read & Do Type Activity (Should)

Feedback (six feedback papers)

This activity attracted pupils' attention more than I expected. All of them responded

that they liked the activity and, except for one pupil, no one judged the activity to be

difficult. All pupils were interested in reading the pieces of advice they got, and five of

them answered that they were eager to read also their classmates' papers. They

appreciated that the activity enabled them to mingle around the class. Two of them

wrote that 'it was fun'. Three pupils would not mind rewriting their lists with pieces of

advice as homework, whereas two pupils expressed that they liked more when they

could freely discuss their lists at the end of the activity, which corresponds to the SP

characteristic.

Teacher's observation

The fact the pupils liked the activity was also observable in the classroom. Not only

the SP pupils, but all the class seemed to enjoy they could mingle in the classroom, read

papers of the others, and contribute to advice on different pieces of paper.

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My original intention was to ask the pupils to rewrite their lists with pieces of advice

they got at home, in order to be better legible, and we would display them somewhere in

the classroom afterwards. I think that what actually happened in the lesson was the

better follow up activity. After ending the activity, the pupils read their lists, laughed,

showed it to their classmates around them, and experienced pleasure. Therefore, I asked

them to choose a piece of advice they considered the best one, and they read it for the

whole class. Although this activity was directed at practicing of the language, it was

hidden under the content that, to my satisfaction, attracted the pupils' attention. I believe

that, for this reason, this activity was so successful because it is what SP pupils need.

9.1.2.2 Activity no 11b. While-reading Activity (Reading Out Loud)

Feedback (four feedback papers)

All four pupils evaluated the activity as their 'cup of tea'. Three of them appreciated

that it was for them better than reading in front of the whole class, while the fourth pupil

did not feel troubled with either. They did not lack my supervision over their reading

and commented, that the presence of their classmates was sufficient. Three of them

answered that they were corrected by their classmates in the group, and two of them

wrote that they also corrected others.

Teacher's observation

As far as my SP type pupils are concerned, I noticed that their groups were working

cooperatively and, whenever I passed them, I heard them reading or discussing in

English. It was obvious that this type of activity suited them. I noted that five times they

asked me for help, of which three times it was because of pronunciation, and twice

because of the content of the texts. In comparison to the whole-class reading when

individual pupils are called out to read, in this activity all pupils seemed to be more

engaged.

I wondered whether all pupils would end the activity approximately at the same time.

My worry was unnecessary because all groups needed the same time to finish the

activity.

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9.1.2.3 Activity no 11d. Post-reading Activity (Pair Work in Groups)

Feedback (seven feedback papers)

All pupils valued that they were allowed to work in groups again. Six of them

remembered vocabulary from the last lesson and did not find the activity difficult,

which is also good feedback for me. Four pupils wrote that when they were not sure, the

co-text was helpful to them.

Teacher's observation

At first, I noticed that the pupils were surprised that they were not required to work

in groups of four as usual. Once they understood what was the sense of the activity they

accepted it with enthusiasm. They started to read their texts and were eager to check

their classmates' texts. I could observe that some of them accepted it as a competition

which pair would have their texts without mistakes.

I was surprised how quickly some pupils finished the activity. To my surprise, two

SP pupils in one group started playing with the flashcards and put them into incorrect

gaps in the texts. They laughed to it, which attracted my attention, because some

sentences became funny. This only proves that SP types do not stay in quiet. They need

to do something all the time, and they are very playful.

9.1.3 Vocabulary Activities

9.1.3.1 Activity no 7b. Peer Teaching (New Vocabulary)

Feedback (six feedback papers)

As far as the new arrangement of the classroom is concerned, all six pupils

appreciated more relaxed atmosphere that arose from that change. All of them felt they

were more in touch with their classmates, which they perceived positively, except for

one introverted pupil. Five of them also answered that they did not have such barriers

speaking out loud.

Comments on the activity itself were not so unambiguous. First part of the activity

was judged more positively, than the other. Five pupils wrote that they tried to join the

explanation of new vocabulary; three of them were not afraid to stand up and move in

the circle where we sat. On the other hand, three pupils stated that they neither were

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interested in guessing what the text would be about, nor they felt motivated for

listening.

Teacher's observation

I must say that after reading the negative comments, I was interested in it and asked

the pupils. Two of them were of introverted types and I could see that they did not like

being included in such a big group. They said to me that, if they had worked in a

smaller group, they might have enjoyed it more, and would have been interested in it.

The last one could not explain his answers.

On the whole, if I included in the judgement of the activity all class, I cold conclude

that the activity worked well and the atmosphere was relaxed. At first, the pupils

seemed to me slightly unsure when they had nothing in front of them, i.e. desks, but

they got accustomed to the new situation quite quickly. When I asked all my eight SP

pupils, whether they would like to work in a similar way again, six of them responded

'yes'. It is easy to deduce that introverted pupils answered 'no'.

9.1.3.2 Activity no 9a. Demonstration (At the Restaurant)

Feedback (seven feedback papers)

According to the pupils' answers, it can be concluded that this was one of the most

entertaining activities that I included in the lessons. All pupils stated that they enjoyed it

and felt actively involved in it, although not all of them had an object. They were

captured with the activity, as if it was a real piece of drama and felt included as

spectators. Moreover, all pupils wrote that in the follow up exercise they remembered

nearly all the words from the activity.

Teacher's observation

I was interested in who of the pupils would react as the first one and understand my

sentence: 'I am waiting for my husband. Where is he?' I dared guess that one of the SP

pupils could be the brave one (namely pupil C), and my assumption was right.

Throughout the research, I noticed that he was the biggest risk taker in the class. When

there was a possibility to stand up and do something, he was the first one with his hand

up.

As far as the activity itself is concerned, to be honest, I could not judge much. During

it, I could follow only two things. The first one was amusement that I heard from the

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class, and the other one was my own nervousness. It was for the first time in my

practice when I performed drama in front of my pupils. I was not sure how they would

perceive it, after all, they were teenagers. Now I can conclude that it was the right step

forward.

9.1.3.3 Activity no 13a. Game with Word Classes (Snowballs)

Feedback (three feedback papers)

This activity is from the same lesson as the story building activity. I have already

written that this was the last lesson of the research and not all pupils brought me the

feedback papers back. I asked them for their judgement during our final discussion.

All pupils stated that they liked the activity. Four of them said that, at the beginning,

they could not decide what word to choose and write there (it was the case with the

'noun'), but when they were thinking about the second and third word, they were

motivated by the words from the snowballs. They intentionally tried to think up such

words that would be funny or contradictory. When answering the question how they

perceived this activity, they agreed on that 'it was fun, it can be more often in the

lessons'.

Teacher's observation

It was always interesting to observe how the pupils felt unsure when they started a

new type of activity. When I asked them to make snowballs from their pieces of paper,

they looked surprised. For the first time, they threw their snowball cautiously. But, as

SP types, they easily adapted to a new, unexpected situation. Immediately, when they

understood picking up other snowballs and throwing them again and again, they

perceived it as a game and started to hit their friends with laugh and enjoyment.

When I was waiting before all pupils finished the writing of their word and forming a

snowball, I noticed that it took the longest time to three of my SP pupils. I asked them:

'Do you know what to write?' and, as an example of their answers it can be used: 'Yes, I

have three words in my head but... I am thinking which of them to choose'. How typical

this is of SP pupils. They enjoyed the activity and wanted to choose the best word from

many, they had in their heads. This can point to their indecisiveness. They are often

described as those, who postpone decisions till the last moment ('what if a better word

appeared in my head').

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9.2 Evaluation of Other Issues Important in the Research

9.2.1 How the Research Influenced My Teacher's Roles

Understanding the MBTI typology caused the revolution in the perceiving of me

in the class. I decided to step aside and provide more opportunities for learning to my

pupils. Not only were they listeners and receivers of my teaching, but to let them

participate more actively in their own learning. Here, I would like to cite the words of

Jim Scrivener (2005) whose consideration 'what is a teacher for?' inspired me much. To

the question, he gave a short and clear answer: “to help learning to happen” (p. 19).

Further, he warned “teaching does not equal learning” (p.17).

With the knowledge of SP type pupils in my mind, I decided to include more

pupil-pupil interaction activities in lessons. This first step meant for me that I had to

abandon my role of the controller, and I had to assign more responsibility to the pupils

themselves. As a result, the roles of the resource and the prompter increased naturally.

Some specific examples can be named to support this conclusion:

1. Resource -

- in speaking activities no. 12a and 13c (pelmanism cards, story building), the

pupils needed me as a resource when they asked for help with structure of sentences or

some details about the activity

- in reading activities no. 8a (should) when pupils asked me for some words

they would like to use, and no. 11b (reading out loud) when they asked for help with

correct pronunciation, and could not agree among themselves

2. Prompter -

- in speaking activities no. 5 and 12a (brainstorming, pelmanism cards) where, in

the first case, I sensitively encouraged them to think creatively and, in the second

activity, I prompted them to use only English

- in reading activities no. 10a and 11d (jumbled texts, pair work within a group)

when I moved around the classroom and, in cases that the pupils seemed not to know

how to proceed, I prompted them with suitable hints, but did not take charge

- in vocabulary activities no. 2, 11a, and 13b (shops, new vocabulary, grouping

activity) I prompted them in a similar way to reading activities

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With the role of the resource,I must be cautious, not to be at the pupils' disposal

too much, especially due to my extraverted feeling. There is a danger that the pupils

could start to be over-reliant on me.

As far as the role of the tutor is concerned, I came across it only in one activity

that is not mentioned in the research, but is included in chapter 9.2.3.1 dealing with

presentations to the given topic. They could be performed in front of their classmates, or

handed to me in a written form. If the pupils needed, they could come to my office

before, and discuss their presentations with me.

As I have already mentioned, the change in teaching cannot be done overnight.

For this reason, the role of the controller still exists in my teaching, but I have tried to

modify it to be more inspiring for the pupils (speaking activity no. 1c, guided practice).

Further, I have tried to involve in the activities as many pupils as I could (speaking

activity no. 6b, the whole class discussion). In addition, I have also included the real-life

context and the pupils' real experience into it (reading activity no. 3a, pocket money),

or at least fun and amusement (vocabulary activity no. 4 with plush animals, or no. 9a,

at the restaurant).

Another goal was to change the role of the assessor. Now I am trying to stay

more objective, mainly in respect to thinking types who suffer when they notice unfair

judges, but I believe to remain sensitive and supportive enough, due to my feeling

preference. The role of an assessor who offered feedback and correction was performed

in many activities, for example:

- vocabulary activity no. 11a where I evaluated correct results of the pupils' work

and, therefore, decided who was the winner

- speaking activity no. 10d when, again, I evaluated a number of correct answers

and, therefore, the winners

- vocabulary activity no. 13b where I checked, whether all pupils were in the right

groups

- vocabulary activity no. 9a where I assessed at the end of the activity through

revision of vocabulary how many wors the pupils redmembered from the activity

Different approach to grading pupils is described in the following chapter 9.2.3.

The role of the participant that I decided to use on purpose, and not only

accidentally from time to time, was a challenge for me. This role appeared in the role-

play (vocabulary activity no. 9a, at the restaurant) and partially in vocabulary activity

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no. 7b when the pupils sat in a circle, I among them and, in case they did not know the

words, I participated in explanation or miming.

Due to the research, my role of the observer has improved much. I have learnt to

observe not only my pupils in the lessons, but also my own action and the way it has

affected the pupils' work.

The role of the organiser is discussed separately in the following chapter because

it is closely connected with the change that was inevitable in my teaching.

9.2.2 The Change in Providing Instructions in the Class

Providing instructions is closely connected with the role of the organiser. I must

admit that, if anything hindered my lessons and disturbed my organisation of the

lessons, it was providing instructions. Since SP pupils perceive them through their

preferred mental function, which is opposite to mine, providing instructions presented

one of many misunderstandings in the lessons. It must be taken into consideration that

there were sixteen pupils with S preference in the class altogether.

As an N type, I understand the concepts quickly through my insight and

imagination. I do not have troubles with the theory, and I provided instructions in the

way that suited me. I often provided more instructions at one moment than S pupils

could absorb. I did not understand the fact it was not my pupils' fault they did not know

what to do. For the SP pupils, my instructions could seem too general and without

clearly stated goals. They did not sometimes understand what I wanted from them, how

to start, and what the result should be. On the contrary, if they understood these three

points, they preferred to choose their own methods and strategies to finish the tasks.

During the research, I tried to use several tactics that actually helped. Firstly, I

pre-planned giving instructions at home. I imagined or wrote how I would provide

instructions for individual activities, and I tried to analyze them from the S pupils' point

of view. Secondly, instead of mere explaining what to do, I started using examples.

This, I must say, was the greatest help. It took extra time in the lessons but, on the other

hand, it saved time that I lost when I had to repeat or rephrase instructions that were not

clear to the pupils. Lastly, I also started to control the speed of my speech because the

SP pupils wrote me in their feedbacks that I was sometimes too quick for them. In

addition to it, I also lowered teacher-talking time in the lessons with it. I started thinking

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more of what I wanted to say, which is not always easy for ENF type who is very

expressive. The fact that I speak less and give the pupils time to understand what I said

(and do not rephrase it speedily) contributes to more situations when the pupils pay

more attention to what I say.

It can be concluded that the teacher-pupil communication, interaction, and

mutual understanding have improved a lot.

9.2.3 New Ways of Assessment in the Class

The change in my teaching style was also connected to the way I assessed and

graded the pupils. Of course, the traditional written tests from vocabulary and grammar

points remained, but alternative occasions how to obtain good grades were offered to

the pupils, as a means of assessment without greater stress. Three of them are chosen

here as the most striking. The first one included the pupils' presentations, the second one

different type of oral testing, and the third one the system for obtaining 'plus points' in

the lessons.

9.2.3.1 Pupil's Presentations to a Given Topic

Every unit in the course book is focused on one topic that can be used for pupils'

presentations. Within the research, I covered one and a half of the units where the main

topics cooking and restaurants were. I agreed with the pupils on preparation of

presentations to the topic of recipes. They could choose, if their presentations were

written or oral, if they prepared them individually or in pairs, and if they presented them

with real-life objects or used computer presentations.

I prepared a timetable for the lessons that were planned to deal with the topic.

The pupils recorded their names to the dates when they intended to hand in or present

their work. They were allowed to prepare it individually or in pairs. They could present

their presentations orally as a practical demonstration or power point presentation, or

they could hand them in the written form. In one lesson, there could be maximally two

oral presentations.

This type of activity suited not only to SP types, but all of them. All types knew

when their 'deadline' was and could count on it. It can be supposed that SP types would

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have prepared it the evening before their presentations, while SJ types would have

started with it immediately after they came home. Moreover, SP pupils were expected to

welcome the possibility to choose form, content and the way to do it.

It is not without interest that one of introverted SP types chose with his SP friend

the written form (pupils B and D). The other introverted SP pupil (A) decided to present

it orally with his extraverted close friend. Pupil C who showed to be the greatest risk

taker and an entertainer prepared presentation of his own. He was the only one who

brought real ingredients and described and demonstrated preparation of real food. Two

other SP types (pupils F and G) prepared power point presentations, whereas pupil H

prepared also a demonstration of a recipe with handmade paper ingredients for cooking

it.

After each presentation, the pupils received feedback and grades for them. Since

this type of activity enlivened the beginnings or ends of the lessons (it depended on the

agreement with the pupils), I decided to use them in my teaching further. My idea is

there should be approximately four presentations within a half-term because four units

are covered in this period. If I want to avoid the fact that some introverted pupils would

prepare all presentations in the written form, I will announce that at least one of them

must be oral. I do not want to force introverted types to be in stress the whole half-term,

if they had to present orally every time. On the other hand, with the decision to invite

them to present orally once at least, I intend to help them to develop also their auxiliary

function.

9.2.3.2 Different Type of Oral Testing

This is a system of assessment that I experienced at the university by one our

teachers, and I consider it very convenient also for SP pupils. It involves a piece of

surprise, an occasion to take risks, and a challenge. The principle is easy. A teacher

prepares at home a few flashcards with topics to be revised (they can be a revision of

vocabulary, answering the question, stating examples to a certain topic, etc.).

At the beginning of the lesson, a few pupils are asked to come to the teacher to

choose one flashcard. The activity is optional, only for those who want. The pupils try

to answer their flashcard. If the pupil answers correctly, he obtains a point. The points

are recorded by the teacher to the special list with the pupils' names. When the pupil

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receives five points for correct answers, he obtains grade one. Wrong answers do not

mean any harm to the pupils. Although the teacher records them, as well, they serve

only to the teacher to see how successful the pupils were, but they do not count as a

grade.

It is desirable, of course, to ensure all pupils would try to answer at least from

time to time. For this reason, it is good to agree with the pupils they should participate

at least five times throughout the half-term.

Since this type of assessment was also included in the research, I asked the SP

pupils for the evaluation of it in feedback papers. To conclude, in most cases (five of

eight on average), the pupils evaluated this activity positively. Except for both

introverted SP types, who repeatedly stated they did not like going in front of the whole

class, all other SP types came to answer the flashcards at least twice. They appreciated

that they did not have to be afraid of being wrong, and two of them even asked me for it

in some lessons.

9.2.3.3 System for Obtaining Plus Points in the Lessons

This form of assessment is based on the same principle as the previous one. The

pupils can obtain, so called, 'plus points' for their work in the lessons. These plus points

are recorded by the teacher and five points equals grade one.

Pupils can obtain plus points from activities that are suggested as competitions

(for example, all members of a group that finishes first and has all answers correct

obtain one plus point), or for extra participation in lessons, or optional homework.

Every teacher can accommodate it to their own demands.

I decided to include this system into the lessons because I assumed that it could

be a motivation for the SP pupils who like competing. In addition, it can also encourage

the pupils to participate in and finish activities that sometimes could seem to them

without sense or practical use.

For the evaluation of how this attempt was successful in the lessons can be used

one number, and that is 'seven'. Seven is the number of the SP pupils who mastered to

obtain grade one from activities, of which they gathered plus points.

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9.3 Evaluation of the Whole Research

After the last lesson of the research, I met the pupils for the final discussion and

evaluation. This time we knew each other more and we met altogether. The discussion

was held in Czech and lasted about an hour.

To start with, I asked the pupils about the lessons, of which I did not obtain

some feedback papers, and asked them for some clarifications (that I used in chapter

9.1), and led them to become more talkative and to express their opinions on the whole

research freely. The following lines cite some of their evaluations:

- Pupil A: Group work suited me most, also the possibility of physical movement

in the classroom, the atmosphere was more relaxed than before.

- Pupil B: Atmosphere was more relaxed, more enjoyable, sometimes a bit

'charged'. When we were working in groups, I would have welcomed, if you had come

to us more often. I felt badly that I could not obtain a point for the correct answer

(assessment activity, chapter 9.2.2).

- Pupil C: Physical activities and group work were fine. I liked the enhanced

creativity from your side, not only doing translations. Due to the relaxed atmosphere,

time ran faster in the lessons.

- Pupil D: I liked physical activities and group work. Visual materials were good,

they helped with practice, I remembered the information from school better, also for

writing tests it helped.

- Pupil E: I also liked group activities. Learning through creating the story,

flashcards, to find someone, not only translations. All this had a beneficial influence on

me. I also liked that you explained things to us in steps, not everything at once. When

you used examples, it was much better.

- Pupil F: The whole class was involved in many activities, and it was not boring.

I liked group work and also individual work was fine. I appreciate visual aids that you

used.

- Pupil G: For me, it was the best that we could move in the lessons, I mean

physical activities, not to sit the whole lessons.

- Pupil H: I noticed that I remembered from these lessons more than before.

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From my observations in the lessons I can add a few remarks:

- On Friday, the English was the first lesson of the day. I observed very soon that

the pupils were lazy and sleepy in the morning. For this reason, I always included at the

beginning of this lesson some physical activity which helped to make the pupils

cooperate.

- With several activities, I noticed that the SP types changed their rules (for

example, when they created stories, or described pelmanism cards). I do not think that

they did it intentionally. It looked rather like they were captured with the activity and

adapted it to current ideas that were running through their heads at the moment.

The pupils' evaluation shows that my aim to improve my teaching style to the

benefit of the SP type pupils' learning had sense. I focused on these pupils because they,

as my opposites, were neglected with my teaching style most. Although I prepared and

suggested many activities in respect to the SP pupils, I could see that more pupils

appreciated the change. Next to my eight SP type pupils, other eight sensing types were

present there, in combination with judging attitude. These types are considered to be the

most compliant learners. They could also find in the change of my teaching style some

good aspects corresponding well with their type, for example, structured tasks, a new

way of providing instructions, or different work with texts.

It could be reproached to me that I focused only on SP types and started

neglecting others. This is not true. The activities that are introduced in this research are

only short parts of the lessons; their length was approximately 10 - 15 minutes. I believe

that other activities that I used in the remaining time of the lessons suited other

personality types. From the changed work of the whole class how they behaved and

acted in the lessons, I can assume that I could satisfy almost all types in the class.

In chapter 8, a few key elements that should be included in the teaching of the

SP types appeared. The following lines summarize, on the basis of the research and

above cited answers from the pupils, methods that proved to be the right choice:

- an increased number of physical activities that included more practical tasks in

the lessons

- group and pair work that brought more pupil-pupil interaction

- clear instructions that explain the pupils what to do, what is an expected result,

but provide them with a piece of freedom for choosing the learning strategy to achieve it

127

- competitions, games, discussions, role-plays

- not to take teaching (and learning) so seriously and include fun and amusement

in the lesson

At the beginning of chapter 8, I thought about how big the change in my

teaching style would have been and, whether it would have influenced either me or my

pupils fundamentally and in a visible way. It can be concluded now that the change

could not have been overlooked. Moreover, the pupils' responses to it were positive for

the benefit of the change and I, as an NF type, cannot ignore it and return to the old

orders. Conversely, I will try hard to understand also other types in my classes to be in

a greater tune with their needs than so far. For example, introverted pupils who in some

of the feedback papers did not respond positively to certain activities, can become

another challenge for me and the core for other research.

128

IV. Conclusion

The aim of this thesis was to improve my teaching style and enhance the pupils'

learning. To reach it, I wanted to understand the differences in people's behaviour. I had

assumed that it could have been a way of understanding my pupils more, and, therefore,

the way to meet their needs in learning with a higher success. I decided to use the

personality typology, namely MBTI - Myers-Briggs typology, as the instrument that

was expected to reveal to me new methods for my teaching.

Although scientists and researchers have discovered certain limitations of this

typology, I believe that I can recommend its using in the field of teaching and learning,

and not only there. Understanding the MBTI typology enabled me to understand

different people's behaviour around me. In my childhood, I used to hear at home: people

are different, you must be tolerant, respect others and their different behaviour than your

one is, and many other educational sayings. Of course, people differ and they cannot be

the same, but I had never understood 'why is it so?' until I met the MBTI typology. The

whole research that was taken in this thesis resulted in the conclusion that the MBTI

typology brings benefits. The theory is helpful when people intend to improve their own

lives, either personal or professional (in my case the teaching style), and understanding

it enables us to develop lives of others, as well (for example, when enhancing pupils'

learning).

The change that happened in my teaching has a great value for me, and this

thesis hopes to be valuable also for others who would want to improve their teaching

style through better understanding their pupils. There is an old saying: Dear God, give

me the power to change things that can be changed, but give me also the power to

endure things that cannot be changed. Sometimes in the past, I felt similarly helpless in

some of my classes. I, as an ENF type, could not be satisfied with the teaching that did

not seem to meet the needs of most pupils in the classes, although their learning

outcomes were satisfactory; even good. Now, I know that certain aspects of my pupils'

behaviour cannot be changed, but I can discern where this behaviour comes from, and

we, I together with my pupils, can work on its improvement to the satisfaction of all of

us.

For the improvement of my teaching style, I suggested activities reflecting the

new view of my teaching to the benefit of the SP type pupils. The activities focused on

129

teaching speaking, reading, and vocabulary. They are suitable, of course, not only for

the SP pupils who became the core of the whole research, but they can enliven learning

of all types. Since a number of J teachers in elementary education is quite high16,

including me, these activities can inspire us in that our well-ordered and organized

teaching style does not have to fit everyone. We should be able to step out of our

teaching routine where we feel well, and try something new. The change in my teaching

style did not touch only activities, but involved also the study of my teacher's roles, how

I provided instructions, and how I assessed the pupils' work and progress.

As far as the activities from the research are concerned, I recognized that they

could be modified further to become more meaningful and of practical use. Now I am

more experienced, and I know about the MBTI typology more than I knew a year ago

when I started the research. This leads to the conclusion that work on improving my

teaching style does not end here. The results of understanding my pupils through the

MBTI typology proved to be so helpful that other research can be conducted. For

example, it will be interesting to study introverted pupils, or those with a thinking

preference in more detail. Also, the additional research dealing with learning styles and

how they reflected personality types would deserve another study. For example, it

would be interesting to focus on specific learning strategies that pupils use and how

these are conditioned by their personality types.

I strongly believe that every teacher is skilful enough to construct lessons, of

which their pupils will benefit the most. After all, our profession is not a job, but a

vocation that does not start at six and finishes at two. We are teachers, and if we try, we

can create an environment where pupils will be in the first place, and learning will be

happening successfully.

16 Miková and Stang (2010) state, on the base of their own research, with nearly 2000 teachers, that there

are about 60 to 80 % of SJ teachers at Czech schools of compulsory education.

130

Summary

The goal of this diploma thesis was to change a teacher's teaching style in order to

improve conditions for pupils' learning in lessons. This aim was expected to be achieved

through understanding both the teacher's and pupils' personalities. For this reason, this

thesis used MBTI personality typology. In the theoretical part, this typology is

introduced in terms of its history and explained in detail. Further, a brief outline of their

successors follows and lastly, the theory is compared with other personality typologies.

The practical part presents the teacher's type with possible reflections on her teaching

style. Further, the pupils with opposing types to the teacher's one are chosen for further

research, and then a change in teaching is applied. This is realized through a series of

activities focused on three areas of the language, namely the teaching of reading,

speaking, and vocabulary. Lessons were expected to become more interesting, increase

pupils' activity, their learning and meet their needs. All of these are evaluated in the

final part of the work, both by the teacher and the pupils. Since in the course of work it

was found out that personality types may reflect on learning styles, additional research

verifying this assumption was taken.

Resumé

Cílem této práce bylo změnit učitelův vyučovací styl tak, aby se zlepšily podmínky

pro učení žáků v hodinách. Tento záměr měl být dosažen skrze porozumění osobnostem

učitele a žáků. Pro tento účel tato práce využila osobností typologii MBTI, která je v

teoretické části nejprve představena z hlediska její historie, podrobného vysvětlení,

stručného nástinu jejich pokračovatelů a porovnána s jinými typologiemi osobnosti. Ve

výzkumné části je představen konkrétní typ učitele s možnými odrazy jeho osobnosti ve

vyučovacím stylu, zjištěn typ žáků vhodných pro další výzkum a následně aplikována

změna ve výuce, která je realizována skrze sérii aktivit zaměřených na tři oblasti jazyka

dohodnutých se žáky, konkrétně výuka čtení, rozvoj mluveného projevu a slovní

zásoby. Bylo očekáváno, že se hodiny stanou zajímavější, zvýší se aktivity žáků, zlepší

jejich učení a výuka bude více odpovídat jejich potřebám. Toto vše je vyhodnoceno

v závěrečné části práce, a to jak na základě pozorování učitelem, tak hodnocení žáky.

Jelikož v průběhu práce bylo zjištěno, že osobnostní typ by se mohl odrážet i v učebním

stylu žáků, byl proveden doplňující výzkum tohoto předpokladu.

131

List of Tables

Table 1 Eight Basic Dimensions of the Myers - Briggs Typology (p. 25)

Table 2 Sixteen Personality Types (p. 28)

Table 3 The Dominant Process of Each Type (p. 30)

Table 4 Relationships between Types and Temperaments of Kretschmer and

Sheldon (p. 42)

Table 5 Chart of the Research Conducted in the Practical Part (p. 50)

Table 6 Results of Eight Preferences How They Occurred in the Class (p. 69)

Table 7 Individual Personality Types Present in the Class (p. 70)

Table 8 Results of Four Pupils Whose Preferences Seemed Clear (p. 71)

Table 9 Results of Six Pupils Whose Preferences Stayed Unclear (p. 71)

Table 10 Eight Pupils with Their MBTI Results and Assigned Letters (p. 72)

Table 11 Overview of Type of Activities Used in Modified Teaching Style (p. 87)

Tables in Appendix 10

Table 12 Division of Two-Dimension Cognitive Styles according to MBTI

Preferences (p. 165)

Table 13 Comparison of Kolb's and McCarthy's Learning Styles in connection to

the MBTI characteristic (p. 172)

Table 14 Eleven Parts - Learning Styles as They Are Introduced in Oxford's

Learning Style Survey (p. 175)

Table 15 Pupils' Results of LSS in Individual Parts (p. 179)

132

List of Figures

Figure 1 Personality and Individual Differences (1958). This figure illustrates the

four H. J. Eysenck's dimensions and their relationship to the four

temperaments (p. 44)

List of Figures in Appendix 10

Figure 2 Kolb's Learning Styles. This image illustrates four learning styles as the

results of different perceiving and processing information (p. 166)

Figure 3 Resemblance of Kolb's cycle of learning styles - accommodator,

diverger, converger, and assimilator to the MBTI theory - NFP, SFJ,

STP, NTJ (p. 167)

Figure 4 4MAT cycle of learning types. This figure shows the placement of four

learning types in the cycle in connection to perception and processing

(p.171)

133

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138

List of Appendices

1. Personality Test - the version with the English statements (p. 139)

2. Personality Test - the version with the translated statements into Czech (p. 141)

3. Observation Sheets - two pairs of examples with my notes from the lessons

(p. 144)

4. Interviews - introductory questions probing pupils' interest in English and other

school subjects (p. 147)

5. Interviews - examples of questions and statements used for clearer determination

of S/N and/or J/P preferences - the first round (p. 148)

6. Interviews - examples of questions and statements from the second round

(p. 150)

7. Survey that preceded discussions in the third phase of the research (p. 152)

8. Examples of the pupils' answers to the survey - three questions

8a. Answers to the first question (p. 153)

8b. Answers to the second question (p. 154)

9. Examples of questions and statements from feedback papers related to the

selected activities (p. 155)

10. Additional research of learning styles and their connection to the MBTI theory

(p. 159)

11. Learning Style Survey by Rebecca Oxford

11a. Original English version (p. 181)

11b. Translated version into Czech (p. 185)

139

Appendices

Appendix 1.

Personality Test - the version with the English statements

Personality Test17

Answering these questions accurately requires honest reflection on how you really

think, feel, and act in general and maybe taking the test on more than one occasion.

Some of the questions on this test measure personality traits differently than you might

guess so trying to answer the test in a way you think would be ideal is just going to

confuse your results, so just focus on being honest if you want the most accurate results.

PLEASE NOTE: SELECTING THE MIDDLE ANSWER MEANS A

STATEMENT IS AROUND 50% ACCURATE18

1) I think rules and regulations are necessary.

2) I am very social.

3) I am weird.

4) I require lots of time alone to recharge.

5) I value solitude immensely.

6) I am very introspective.

7) I prefer to keep things open and flexible.

8) I base my goals in life on inspiration, rather than logic.

9) I tend to value competence more than compassion.

10) I am very open.

11) I tend to be more down-to-earth than head-in-the-clouds.

12) I prefer to keep my spaces clean.

13) I find it difficult to approach others.

14) I am somewhat disorganized.

17 Flynn, Tim. (n.d). Personality Tests - Jung (48 items). Retrieved December, 2012 from

similarminds.com: http://similarminds.com/p_jung.html. 18 The author of the questionnaire offered to the reader five possible answers from very inaccurate to very

accurate. The middle answer means that the reader does not incline towards either edge of the scale.

140

15) I greatly appreciate strangeness.

16) I am extremely outgoing.

17) I tend to prefer actual examples to theoretical ones.

18) I am a private person.

19) I rely mostly on my feelings to guide my decision-making.

20) I am extremely sentimental.

21) I tend to be organized.

22) I frequently do things without a specific schedule or plan.

23) I tend to be more realistic than conceptual.

24) I tend to analyze things objectively and critically.

25) I tend to value fairness more than feelings.

26) I tend to be more practical than abstract.

27) I tend to be more comfortable with the known than the unknown.

28) I tend to make specific plans before taking action.

29) I frequently come up with ideas/solutions out of nowhere.

30) I tend to trust the mind more than the heart.

31) I favour the surreal.

32) I prefer structured environments to unstructured ones.

33) I tend to be spontaneous.

34) I tend to prefer the specific to the general.

35) I make friends easily.

36) I talk a lot.

37) An argument with feeling has more effect on me than a cold rational one.

38) I feel very comfortable around people.

39) I am extremely passionate.

40) I avoid unnecessary interaction.

41) I am more of a planner than an improviser.

42) I often start/do things at the last minute.

43) I am far more casual than orderly.

44) I focus far more on possibilities than present reality.

45) I tend to pay more attention to my thoughts than my feelings.

46) I tend to make decisions based on logic and facts.

47) I value compassion over analytical reasoning.

48) I am extremely interested in abstract ideas.

141

Appendix 2.

Personality Test - the version translated statements into Czech

Co nejpřesnější zodpovězení těchto otázek vyžaduje upřímné zamyšlení nad tím, jak

opravdu přemýšlíte, cítíte a jednáte ve většině případů a situací ve vašem životě.

Některé otázky tohoto testu stanoví osobnostní rysy odlišně, než byste možná

očekávali, tak se, prosím, nepokoušejte odpovídat tak, jak si myslíte, že by to bylo

ideální, poněvadž by to mohlo zkreslit skutečné znaky vaší osobnosti, ale zaměřte se na

to, abyste byli poctiví a upřímní, abychom dosáhli co nejpřesnějších výsledků.

Děkuji vám.

POZNÁMKA: Zvolení odpovědi uprostřed škály znamená vyjádření, že to pro vás

platí tak nějak napůl, směrem doleva, že výrok je pro vás velmi nepřesný, směrem

doprava, že k vám naopak velmi sedí.

1) Myslím si, že pravidla a předpisy jsou nezbytné.

2) Jsem velmi společenský/á.

3) Jsem podivný/á, zvláštní, výstřední, tajemný/á.

4) Potřebuji hodně času o samotě, abych se „dobil/a“ (doplnil/a si síly, načerpal/a

energii).

5) Jsem moc rád/a sám, o samotě, cením si toho, když můžu být sám/a.

6) Jsem velmi introspektivní, tzn. zkoumám sám/sama sebe, zpytuji své svědomí,

rozebírám své myšlenky, pocity, atp.

7) Dávám přednost tomu nechávat své plány a program otevřené, aby se daly

přizpůsobit a měnit situaci.

8) Zakládám své cíle, které si v životě kladu spíše na náhlém nápadu, myšlence,

inspiraci než logice a odůvodněném přemýšlení.

9) Mám sklon více oceňovat u druhých zručnost, šikovnost a schopnosti než slitování

a soucit.

10) Jsem velmi otevřený/á, přístupný/á a ochotný/á naslouchat (např. jiným

názorům).

11) Spíše stojím nohama na zemi než že bych měl/a „hlavu v oblacích“ (jak se říká).

12) Dávám přednost tomu mít ve svých věcech pořádek.

13) Shledávám těžkým přiblížit se k ostatním – navázat s někým kontakt.

14) Jsem poněkud „neuspořádaný/á“ – můj život je tak trochu chaos, moc si věci

neorganizuji.

142

15) Velmi oceňuji zvláštnost, neobvyklost.

16) Jsem nesmírně společenský/á.

17) Spíše dávám přednost praktickým příkladům před těmi teoretickými.

18) Jsem uzavřený/á osoba.

19) Když se o něčem rozhoduji, převážně spoléhám na své pocity.

20) Jsem velice citově založený/á.

21) Mám sklon mít věci zorganizované.

22) Často dělám věci bez určitého plánu nebo rozvrhu.

23) Spíše jsem realistický/á – tzn. zaměřuji se na konkrétní věci, hmatatelnou

skutečnost kolem sebe a dosažitelné cíle, než abych se orientoval/a na představy a

teorie, abstrakci.

24) Mám sklon rozebírat a hodnotit věci objektivně (s odstupem, bez pocitů) a

posuzovat je kriticky.

25) Spíše si vážím spravedlnosti a nestrannosti než pocitů, které by ovlivňovaly

úsudek.

26) Kloním se k tomu být více praktický/á (vycházet ze skutečných věcí, které jsou

použitelné v praxi) než být teoretický/á (přemýšlet, uvažovat, odvozovat).

27) Cítím se klidnější a více ve své kůži s věcmi známými než neznámými.

28) Kloním se k tomu udělat si určité plány předtím, než se pustím do práce.

29) Často přicházím s myšlenkami či řešením situace z čista jasna, z ničeho nic.

30) Spíše důvěřuji své mysli, hlavě než svému srdci.

31) Upřednostňuji snový svět místo skutečného.

32) Dávám přednost uspořádanému prostředí před neuspořádaným.

33) Jsem spíše spontánní, tj. nenucený/á, přirozený/á, živelný/á.

34) Spíše dávám přednost určitému, přesně stanovenému před všeobecným,

celkovým – tzv. „širším rámcem“.

35) Lehce se spřátelím.

36) Hodně mluvím.

37) Debata, hádka či spor opíraný o city má na mě větší účinek než chladná

rozumová argumentace.

38) Mezi lidmi se cítím pohodlně a spokojeně.

39) Jsem neobyčejně nadšený/á, zaujatý/á pro věci, kterými se zabývám.

40) Vyhýbám se kontaktům a komunikaci, které nejsou nezbytně nutné.

143

41) Spíše věci plánuji, než improvizuji (tzn. nemívám připravené věci předem, ale

vymýšlím je a dávám dohromady v momentě akce).

42) Často začínám / dělám věci na poslední chvíli.

43) Jsem daleko více bezstarostný/á a neplánuji, než že bych byl ukázněný/á,

spořádaný/a a systematický/á.

44) Zaměřuji se daleko více na možnosti (i do budoucna) než přítomnou skutečnost.

45) Spíše věnuji pozornost svým myšlenkám, tomu, co mi říká hlava, než pocitům.

46) Dávám přednost tomu rozhodovat se na základě logiky a faktů.

47) Cením si slitování a soucitu více než analytického, rozumového uvažování.

48) Mám neobyčejný zájem o abstraktní, hypotetické myšlenky – tj. obrazy

myšlenek, představivost, fantazii, rád/a si hraji se slovy a jejich významy, atd.

144

Appendix 3.

Observation Sheets - two pairs of examples with my notes from the lessons

- the pupils' names are deleted due to confidentiality

- the first sheet is the original one with notes from the lesson

- the second one is the computer version; the re-written sheet from the lesson

For writing notes, I used abbreviations that helped me to follow more pupils at one

moment in lessons. Due to the fact it was just the beginning of my research, I did not

think much about the way I used for recording notes. For this reason they are a mixture

of Czech and English (this was my own idea that emerged in my head during the first

observation when I did not catch to follow work and behaviour of all pupils while

taking notes in the whole

words):

H - I (hlásí - hand up)

NH (nehlásí - no hand up)

QR - quick reaction

NR (nadšená reakce - enthusiastic reaction)

K (konzultace se sousedem - discusses with

classmates)

K - IR / voc. (konzultace - searches for in the list

of irregular verbs or vocabulary)

ZÚ (zapsal úkol - writes down homework)

ÚS (úprava sešitu - arrangement of notebooks)

A (very active in the lesson)

FS / FL (finished sooner / later)

In (interaction with teacher - + positive, x

negative)

A-L (odpovídá nahlas bez vyvolání - answers

loud without being asked by Teacher)

C-L (comments loud - ne k tématu - not to the

topic)

I? (introvert?)

C-W (comments his/her own work)

D-L (dialogue - liveliness + yes, x no)

CA (correct answer - knows!)

NU (nesleduje učitele očima - does not follow

the teacher - with eyes)

D - S, Q, L (dotazník - questionnaire slowly,

quicker, later)

N-O (no expression - facial)

S-voc. (searches in vocabulary lists while

listening to the text)

145

27 March - re-written at home (the individual squares equal to the places where the

pupils were sitting)

H - II (1) IIII i na opakování, FS -

1., D-L + with Luboš, u tabule

pak huhlali

H IIII, dělal něco jiného,

nevěděl co se dělá, D-L + s

Martinem, u tabule pak oba

huhlali absent NH - věděl, CA - úsměv, I, D-L +

H - i na opakování sice později,

ne NR když odpovídala, I, In -

+, D-L - úsměv

H - opakování!, III, In- úsměv,

D-L - neutral absent absent

NR - no!, tišší při odpovědi,

neodpověděl jednou vůbec,

NH, D-L + s Honzou

H - opakování III, In - x, FS,

"never like your ideas" -

comment to T

H - opakování, úsměv III, H - III,

In - +, K směrem k Lukymu, D-L

x In - x, tišší při odpovědi, D-L x absent

H - opakování!, In - +, dotaz -

can jen dva sloupce, A-L, III -

hlásí se nedočkavě, furt

diskutovala s Terkou,

nevěnovaly pozornost

poslechu, K - IIII

H - opakování!, In - +, K - IIII,

ZÚ - Dict., II, more active than

yesterday, furt diskutovaly s

Ájou u poslechu, nevěnovaly

pozornost

H opakování, II, tišší při

odpovědi, In - úsměv, ironie,

nesledoval, D-L x, jednou se i

hlásil jako 1.

II, NR u pairwork NO!, ZÚ -

Dict., FS H - opakování III, C-L, D-L +

H - opak. později, In - x, C-L dyť

to vím, proč to mám říkat, I? -

nejistý, II - hlásí se nedočkavě,

když o to stál, C-W, NH když by

mohl, K- III, skrytá energie

mezi jím a Pepou, ZÚ - dict., D-

L x

I, D-L x, K - comments to T, III,

C-W, NH, ZÚ - Dict., jednou se

nedočkavě hlásil

H - opakování, I (1.) III (1.), C-

L, FS - 1., hlásí se na těžší - CA,

D-L úsměv ožil

na těžší, složitější, zajímavější,

II - i k poslechu, D-L + , úsměv

H - opakování, IIIII, ZÚ - dict.,

dělá něco jiného - dvě věci

najednou stíhá, dotazy nahlas

bez vyvolání, hlásí se

nedočkavě, čeká na vyvolání,

dívá se i na mě, zda sleduji že

se hlásí

K A T E D R A

146

10 April - re-written at home

hraje si s učebnicí po celé

lavici, QR bez přípravy u cv. 1,

H III, K s Danem, K s Lubošem

K- voc., nesledoval text, T-L II,

Notes u poslechu - correct

answers, K - II - culí se u toho,

listují si knížkou někde jinde

K- II, listovali si knížkou někde

jinde, D- FL - last K - II, NH u revision of IrV

K - voc., K - I a culí se u toho, In

- ironic, NH se opak. IrV, Notes

u poslechu - check correct

answers

K - voc., K s Martinem, In - +,

Notes u poslechu - correct

answers, radil/napovídal

Honzíkovi odpověď

QR yes, nejistá, tichá v

odpovědi, H - 1. u těžší otázky

z praxe absent absent

T-L II, Notes u poslechu - check

correct answers, QR - no,

nenašel odpověď, H - II

In - +, jinak N-E, T-L, Notes u

poslechu - correct answers, H -

I, K-I

K-I, celou hodinu schovaný za

knížkou, jednou odmlouval,

NH - revision of IrV

K- voc., In +, a bit ironic,

nesledovala, NH u revision of

IrV

radila Honzíkovi odpověď u

QR, T-L, K - III, H - IIIIII,jednou

1. u těžší otázky z praxe

K- III, K- voc. - intenzivně v

nich hledala, zaškrtávala,

opravila jednou U, když slyšela

chybu, on asi ne, T-L III, Notes

u poslechu- correct answers,

QR - bez přípravy yes ex. 1, T-L

II, ale přitom nesledoval

K- voc., nesledovala, T-L, Notes

u poslechu - correct answers,

H - IIII

In - +++, Notes u poslechu -

correct answers, T- L, H - III

In- +, K - voc., sleduje hodinky -

znuděný výraz, notes u

poslechu - correct answers, NH

- revision of IrV, K- II

K-II, K-voc., Notes u poslechu -

correct answers

H- I, N-U, QR - yes bez

přípravy ex. 1, T-L II, NH u

revision of IrV, H- 1. u těžší z

praxe

In- + úsměv, T-L, H - 1. u

těžšího z praxe, dnes poprvé

víc rozesmátý, projevil se

K-voc. Intenzivně v nich hledá,

zaškrtává, H - IIII, po hodině se

přišla za mnou ujistit, zda ta

kopie souhlasu je fakt pro

rodiče

K A T E D R A

147

Appendix 4.

Interviews - introductory questions probing pupils' interest in English and

other school subjects

(the questions were prepared in Czech, here they are translated into English by the

author of the thesis)

- Do you like English lessons? (Can you explain why yes/no? - for example, you like

English, teaching style of your teacher suits you, etc.)

- What other subjects do you like and why? (Can you be specific what precisely you

like about the subject?)

- Do you like / dislike in English lessons:

a) listening exercises

b) reading - reading aloud, comprehension exercises, silent reading

c) communication activities - dialogues, work in groups, “conversation” with the

teacher in front of the whole class

d) writing - filling in exercises, creative writing

e) testing - oral / written - Which of them do you prefer and why?

148

Appendix 5.

Interviews - examples of questions and statements used for clearer

determination of S/N and/or J/P preferences (the first round)

(suggested in Czech and translated into English by the author of the thesis)

S/N preference

- Are you good at remembering facts? (S)

- Are you good at finding relations and meanings, can you read “between lines?” (N)

- Do you prefer an established way of doing things? Do you start things from what is

known and proceed step by step? (S) Or do you like solving new problems and “jump”

into them with enthusiasm? (N)

- Do you like reading? What do you read and for what reasons? (N)

- Do you tend to be good at precise work? (S)

- Do you follow your inspiration? (N)

- Do you prefer when a teacher says to you precisely what he expects from you? (S)

- Do you prefer to use methods and skills that you are familiar with when solving a

task (S) or do you enjoy learning new skills and inventing new methods and approaches

(N)?

- Do you like practical tasks when you can use visual aids and real objects? Do you

like occasions when you can use your senses? (S)

- Do you think that you are original? Inventive? Do you like discovering your own

solutions?

(N)

J/P preference

- Are you satisfied when your work is organized, when you continue with the tasks to

be fulfilled and concluded? Do you dislike to leave things open? (J)

- Do you prefer not to plan everything? Do you mind surprising, unexpected lessons?

Do you mind to change your plans? (P)

- Do you stick to your plans? Do you create schedules and timetables? (J)

149

- Do you prefer teachers who at first introduce to you the work plan and organization

of their teaching - testing, homework, criteria of assessment, etc.? (J)

- Is it important for you to have fun and enjoyment in lessons? (P)

- Do you adapt well to changing situations? Are you curious and do you have nothing

against spontaneity and sudden impulses? (P)

- Do you welcome in lessons certain autonomy and possibility for your own choice

of work? (P)

When I was sure that the pupil was of S preference, I also included questions

dealing with differences in temperaments SJ / SP:

- Do you welcome when you can discuss things in lessons (oral argumentation,

negotiation) and when you can experience learning? (SP)

- How do you accept teacher's instructions for work - as something obligatory that

must be followed (SJ) or only a guideline or a clue (SP)?

- How do you learn better? - traditional seating in the class, following teacher's

instructions, discipline (SJ) or do you prefer to be actively involved, with action,

movement in a classroom (SP)

- For you, is it more important to reach the result, to have things finished (SJ) or to

understand the procedure and to do it right (SP)?

- Teacher's instructions - do you consider important to know the precise procedure of

what to do; step by step instructions (SJ), or do you only hear what to do and, quite

often, without listening till the end you already start working (SP)

- Do you take school responsibly? - duty is important, you meet your obligations and

homework, are reliable, etc. (SJ)

- Have you ever had problems at school that you were disciplined for disturbing

lessons, annoyance, doing anything else that was required, etc.? (SP)

- What about your activities, hobbies, and interests? - Do you always finish what you

start? - puzzles, collecting things, projects, games, etc. (SP not)

- Do you find it difficult to understand theory? Do you need to connect it with

practical experience? (SP)

- Can you see what you learn now will be useful in your future life (SJ)? Or do you

mind that you cannot find any sense in it now (SP)?

150

Appendix 6.

Interviews - examples of questions and statements from the second round

(They are based on specific examples from the pupils' lives more; translated into

English again. I wrote them as the statements more than questions and used them as

examples that were commented on by the pupils, for example, is this typical for you? or

do you think that this statement suits you better? what about if I say this? - Is it you?,

etc. Sometimes, I also skipped between individual lines as to how the interviews were

developing.)

S x N preference

- in games

- to know rules, to prefer games that you know, not to change the rules (S)

- when you were younger, you used toys for the purpose they were intended for (a

chair is a chair and not a spacecraft, etc.) (S)

- you like stories full of fantasy, unreal (N)

- if anybody breaks the rules, you say it because it is not right to break rules or

change game, etc., you are able to stop playing if it continued (S)

- in general

- you were or still you are choosy in food - you are sensitive to smells, clothes,

materials, colours (S)

- Are you a collector? - you collect different objects and things that are somehow

interesting

for you, nobody else has them, they can come in handy, etc. (N) or you collect

objects of the same type or somehow related (S)

- how you get rid of things - “this I have not had in hands for years,” “what to do

with empty tube,” etc. (S)

J x P preference

- “Mom, why have we got for dinner this when you said something else?” (J)

- you do not like making decisions among more things - to go out with friends but

your favourite serial starts on TV - you feel relief if it solves itself or it can be

postponed (P)

- it is typical for you when you must leave somewhere with others to ask “wait for a

moment, I would like here to....” (P)

- when you do homework, you can lie on a couch with television switched on and

eat crisps while writing it (P)

151

- you like helping at home, you do your homework on time, you like order in your

things (J)

- you hear often from adults: “How often have I told you to do this or that?” (you P,

adult J)

- you ask your parents for money or other things to bring to school at the last

moment, usually late in the evening (P)

- you are the person in your family who warns that Christmas is approaching and we

should start decorating the flat, and who sends a letter to 'Ježíšek' (Santa Claus) in

October (J)

152

Appendix 7.

Survey that preceded discussions in the third phase of the research

(the questions were presented to the pupils in Czech, here they are translated into

English by the author of the thesis)

Učení se anglickému jazyku se skládá z několika částí, které se dají rozdělit

následujícím způsobem:

(Learning English consists of several areas that can be divided in the following way:)

Poslech (listening) Slovíčka, slovní zásoba (vocabulary)

Čtení (reading) Gramatika (grammar)

Mluvení (speaking) Výslovnost (pronunciation)

Psaní (writing)

Zkuste se zamyslet nad těmito otázkami a pokuste se na ně odpovědět:

(Think about the following questions and try to answer them:)

1. Které z těchto částí učení se anglickému jazyku vám činí potíže a zkuste vysvětlit

proč?

(Which of the above written areas when learning English cause difficulties to you

and try to explain why?)

2. Které z těchto částí považujete vy za důležité a rádi byste se jim více věnovali,

popř. co vám doteď ve výuce těchto částí ne/vyhovovalo? (vyberte si z prvního sloupce

dvě části a ze druhého jednu):

(Which of these areas do you consider important and you would like to devote to

them in lessons more time, and what has (not) suited you in teaching of these areas so

far? - choose two skills from the first column and one area from the other one)

3. Mohli byste zkusit navrhnout, co by vám pomohlo – při učení, lepším pochopení,

zapamatování, co vám ve výuce Aj chybí?

(Try to suggest what would help you - in learning, better understanding,

remembering, what you miss in teaching of English, etc.)

153

Appendix 8.

Examples of the pupils' answers to the survey (three questions)

8a. Answers to the first question:

Grammar:

- I have problems with translation of sentences, mostly because of the articles

(when to write a, the), or verbs (pupil G)

- In grammar I must learn rules how to compose a sentence (pupil E)

Listening:

- I do not understand all words, but I like it (pupil G)

- I do not understand specific words (pupil H)

- I am not quick enough to catch everything or the most important facts (pupil B)

Vocabulary:

- Sometimes there are too many words at once, or they are difficult to remember

(pupil G)

- I remember pronunciation better than how the word is written (pupil A)

Pronunciation:

- I have had problems with pronunciation for a longer period of time (pupil H)

- Because it is tricky (pupil C)

154

8b. Answers to the second question

Speaking (appeared in the answers four times):

- In English lessons we must speak in English a lot because it is important to be

able to communicate when you are abroad (pupil E).

Vocabulary + pronunciation (appeared in the answers twice):

- Without correct pronunciation other people would not understand us, therefore it

is important to devote more time to it in English lessons (pupil E).

- To practise more vocabulary in lessons because it helps me to remember it (pupil

A).

Grammar (appeared in the answers three times):

- I have difficulties with understanding grammar; I would understand it better if

we used some specific examples (pupil G).

- Not only to copy exercises from the textbook, but practise more tenses in real-

life situations and create our own sentences (pupil H).

Listening (appeared in the answers four times):

- It would be fine to work more with 'real-life' English, to work more with

differences between British and American English (pupil A).

Reading (appeared in the answers twice, but without any comments)

155

Appendix 9.

Examples of questions and statements from feedback papers related

to the selected activities

(suggested by the author of the thesis, translated into English, originally in Czech)

Activity no 5. Brainstorming (Genius)

- How did this activity suit you? Try to describe, please ...............................................

- Was it better for you to discuss the topic in pairs at first or would you rather start

whole-class discussion at once?

- Did you join the activity with any suggestions? - yes/no

- Did you try to say anything loud more than once? - yes/no

- Did it attract you to search in the dictionary (and then to present it to the class) or

did you prefer to discuss the topic in pairs?

Activity no 12a. Describe and Guess (Pelmanism Cards)

In case you described the cards:

- Was it difficult to describe the cards (did you have to search for words? did you

suffer from lack of vocabulary?)

- Did you enjoy it?

- How did the communication and understanding work in your group? (Did your

classmates understand what you wanted to express?)

- What about helpful sentences on the whiteboard? - Did you need them? Would you

master the activity without them? (definitely / partially / no)

In case you guessed:

- Did you enjoy the activity?

- Did you want to win?

- Did you ask probing questions or did you only listened and then tried to guess?

- If you wanted to ask - can you ask in English without difficulties or did you have to

search for words?

156

Activity no 13c. Story Building

- Was this activity interesting for you? Try to explain your answer:

..............................

- How did the group suit you? (Please, write me all the names of your group)

- Was the cooperation on the story equally distributed?

- Was it difficult? How did you struggle with the language?

- Any other impressions from this activity? .....................................

Activity no 8a. Read & Do Type Activity (Should)

- Your opinion on mingling activity around the desks? ..............................................

- Was this activity interesting for you?

- Was it difficult to think up sentences with 'should'?

- Were you curious to read your classmates' advice to -

a) the cards on the desks (while you were mingling)?

b) your own card with the problem?

- How would you like re-writing and processing of your card with your classmates'

advice at home (for example, to be more legible and afterwards they would be displayed

in the classroom)?

Activity no 11b. While-reading Activity (Reading Out Loud)

- Did you like reading in groups of three? - Was it better for you than in front of the

whole class or you do not mind either of them?

- Was it sufficient for you to have two pupils who checked your correct

pronunciation (and not the teacher)?

- Did you correct your classmates' pronunciation?

- Did you call the teacher for any help? - If yes, what did you need?

...................................

- Would you like to repeat such type of activity?

Activity no 11d. Post-reading Activity (Pair work in groups)

- Was the text helpful for gap-filling of the words?

157

- Did you remember the words from flashcards from the last lesson?

- How did you perceive to work in pairs within a group? (Did you agree

immediately, which text each of the pairs would use?)

Activity no 7b. Peer-teaching (New Vocabulary)

How did you accept the change in the arrangement of the classroom (work in a

circle)?

- Was it better for your work?

- Did you feel more in touch with your classmates? If yes - was it positive or

negative for you?

- Did you feel better (or not) when you should speak loud in a such arranged

classroom?

- What about your feelings about the atmosphere in the classroom? .......................

- Any other observations from the lesson? .................................

Activity itself:

- Was it interesting for you?

- Did you listen to your classmates' slips and did you listen to new vocabulary that

appeared there?

- Were you only a spectator or did you try to join actively and helped with

understanding new words (explaining, miming)?

- Did you enjoy guessing what the text was going to be about on the basis of slips?

- Was it motivation for you to listen to the whole text?

Activity no 9a. Demonstration (At the restaurant)

- presentation of new vocabulary this way - Was it beneficial for you? Did it help

you to remember the words better?

- Did you enjoy being included in the activity this way? Or would you prefer

anything else? - If yes, write, please ........................................

- Was it funny? Boring? Embarrassing?

- During the listening exercise after this activity - how many words did you

remember from this activity?

158

Activity no. 13a. Game with Word Classes (Snowballs)

- Did you understand fully what types of words you should think up? - Was the

revision and practice before this activity sufficient for you?

- Did you know immediately what words you would write on the cards?

- Did you enjoy this activity? (try to explain why)

159

Appendix 10.

Additional research of learning styles and their connection to the

MBTI

Table of Contents

1. Perceptual Learning Styles ........................................................................................... 160

2. Cognitive Learning Styles .......................................................................................... 1611

2.1 Two Dimension Scale Cognitive Learning Styles ..................................................... 1611

2.2 Four Dimension Scale Cognitive Learning Styles ..................................................... 1655

2.3 Rebecca Oxford's Learning Style Survey .................................................................... 173

2.4 Probing the Pupils' Learning Styles ........................................................................... 1766

A brief survey in the first and SLA (chapter 1 in the theoretical part) showed that the

choice of learning strategies that pupils use during their learning is influenced by their

learning styles that can be considered closely interrelated with personality types. The

theme seemed so interesting that a theoretical research was taken at first, of which

assumptions were verified in practice with the pupils who were involved in the research.

Since the integration of this extra research would have been beyond the scope of this

work, it was decided to include it only as an appendix to this paper.

Learning styles are according to Dunn and Briggs, as they are cited in Oxford

(2003a), conditioned biologically and developmentally and create a set of features that

influence pupil's learning. Learning styles have a high impact on how pupils perceive

teacher's instruction along with teaching methods. What suits one pupil perfectly, can be

completely incomprehensible and without a possibility to cope with for others.

Ligthbown and Spada used for the definition of learning style Reid's words which

described it as “natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and

retaining new information and skills” (2013, p. 83).

From both definitions can be concluded that there can be found a connection between

personality type and learning style. The existing research has proved the truth of this

assumption. Similarly to personality typologies, also in this field more theories on

different distinction of learning styles exist. Some of them draw on perceptual

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experience while the other emphasizes the role of cognitive style. This chapter explores

some of them in more detail.

1. Perceptual Learning Styles

At the beginning, it is useful to note that perception alone cannot encompass the

entire nature of learning styles. Both authors of two models discussed in this sub-

chapter stated this and were aware of that fact.

Some people characterize themselves to have 'photographic' memory, in other words,

they remember everything written they can see well and have a good memory for

details. Other people need not learn much at home because they remember quite much

information from the lessons. For them, it is enough to hear it. It is common to call such

people as being of 'visual,' and 'auditory' learning style. These two, however, are not the

only two related to senses, although the most widespread and known.

In this field, there are two names that are more well-known than others. The first one

is of the professor Rita Dunn who devoted her life to learners and learning. In the

1980s, she conducted research dealing with perceptual learning channels and she

distinguished four learning modalities: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic (Reid,

1987). All four expressions are included in the multi-sensory approaches to learning:

- auditory - prefer listening as a tool for learning, explaining, instructing,

repeating, reinforcement, providing and obtaining feedback

- visual - prefer viewing, watching, visualisation, drawing, annotations,

highlighting, circling in their learning

- tactile - prefer to handle and manipulate with concrete information or relevant

materials, produce and create their own learning instruments

- kinaesthetic - prefer real-life experience, physical activities, games,

demonstrations (Learning Styles, 2010).

She was the co-author of the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Model where these

four perceptual channels are included along with environmental, emotional,

sociological, and other psychological elements (Learning Styles, 2010).

The second name is of Neil D. Fleming, the author and designer of an inventory from

1987 that was composed as the help to students for better understanding their personal

learning preferences. His division of learning styles is done similarly to Dunn's and is

known under the acronym VARK where V stands for visual, A for auditory, R for read

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& write, and K for kinaesthetic (Fleming, 2011). It is logical that descriptions of visual,

auditory, and kinaesthetic learning strategies are almost the same as Dunn's. It can be

concluded that a tactile approach corresponds to the definition of read & write strategy:

Dunn - “need to write or type notes ... mobiles ... iPods ... magnetic words / letters ...

multi-coloured pens” (Learning Styles, 2010)

Fleming - “manuals (computing) ... lists ... headings .... glossaries ...” (Fleming,

2011)

Both authors concurred that many people used multimodal study strategies, in

other words results from testing showed often the same or near number of answers with

two or more strategies.

Obviously, some relations can be inferred to the MBTI inventory. As perceptual

learning strategies, they seem to be more related to the sensing preference than to the

intuition.

2. Cognitive Learning Styles

As for an introduction why also cognitive styles are discussed here, words of

Saville-Troike can be used as an explanation. She stated that a cognitive style is

“closely related to and interacts with personality factors and learning strategies” (2009,

p. 87). Cognitive styles are about consistent differences in people's receiving,

organizing, and processing information. They are described in terms of dimensions

where people are supposed to be somewhere along the scale of a continuum (Clark,

2000a; Culatta, 2013; Kozhevnikov, 2007; Martens, n.d.; Saville-Troike, 2009; Witkin

et al., 1977). Since cognitive styles are about mental functions, they can be easily

connected to the MBTI inventory, mainly to its mental functions that are also about

perceiving and processing information.

2.1 Two-dimensional Scale Cognitive Learning Styles

Since the half of the last century, many cognitive styles based on two-dimensional

scale were identified and studied. Some of the most well known styles that were

explored are:

- field-dependence vs. field-independence

- holistic vs. analytic

- global vs. particular

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- serialist vs. holist

- levelling vs. sharpening

- deductive vs. inductive

- reflective vs. impulsive (Culatta, 2013; Martens, n.d.; Nisbett, et al., 2001;

Saville-Troike, 2009; Witkin et al., 1977).

One of the first researchers who dealt with cognitive styles was Herman Witkin

who in the 1950s introduced his theory of how differences in perception reflect on

general cognitive styles. Individuals were described as a field-dependent (FD) or field-

independent (FI) in respect to their ability to process information from the context. FD

individuals usually have difficulties with discerning information from the background

whereas FI not. In other words, field dependence-independence means “the extent to

which the person perceives part of a field as discrete from the surrounding fields as a

whole, rather than embedded in the field” (Witkin et al., 1977, pp. 6-7). Further research

proved other interesting points that were related to social interactions:

Field-dependent individuals

- take things as they are given

- are attentive, look at other's faces to see their thinking and feeling

- have greater attentiveness to social cues

- are drawn to other people and like to be with them

- are perceived as warm, tactful, considerate and thus have greater skill in getting

along with people

- see themselves as part of the whole

- prefer externally defined goals

Field-independent individuals

- restructure things, take them as separate clusters, analyse them and tend to create

structures where they are not

- tend to organize things

- are more impersonal, cold and distant with others

- are more interested in abstract and theoretical

- accept themselves as something distinct from the whole

- prefer self-defined goals (Witkin et al., 1977).

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These two characteristics show FD people in terms of the MBTI as those who prefer

feeling preference. On the other hand, FI people can be described like those who prefer

thinking preference. As far as S/N preference is concerned, it can be concluded that FD

learners can be of N type due to their difficulties to spot details. FI learners can be, on

the other hand, of S type because they can include their senses. It is obvious that this

distinction is not sufficient because it describes only NF and ST combinations but not

NT and SF.

The dimension concerning holistic / global vs. analytic / particular cognitive style

from the point of the MBTI shows itself slightly problematic. Holistic style deals with

context as a whole, search for relationships between them and is related to associative

thinking and experience-based knowledge. As such, it can be stated that it corresponds

more to intuition rather than to sensing, although 'experience-based knowledge' points

to sensing preference. On the contrary, analytic style is rather detached from the

context, uses categorization and rules for interpretation. Thus, it can be concluded that it

is related more to sensing. Analytic style represents, however, a symbolic system and,

therefore, it also reflects some features of intuitive preference (Nisbett et al., 2001).

Similarly to the holistic and analytic, the difference between 'holist' and 'serial'

division defined by Pask can be explained. Holists prefer to utilize much information

from the start, and they reach understanding through identifying and focusing on the

main ideas. This is, without a doubt, an intuitive preference. Serialists prefer a step-by-

step method that helps them to proceed, which the approach of sensing types is

(Kozhevnikov, 2007).

The differences between 'sharpeners' and 'levellers' were for the first time identified

in the 1950s by George Klein who divided people into two groups on the basis of

changes that are made in their minds by perceived stimuli. People who tended to notice

contrasts and maintained a high degree of differentiation were ranked to be 'sharpeners'

(Kozhevnikov, 2007). In addition, Harry Morgan asserted that sharpeners are good at

identification of new knowledge and can relate it with precise accuracy to previous

experience. They are skilful at sorting and differentiating information (Martens, n.d.).

On the other hand, according to Klein people who ignored differences and more noticed

similarities were ranked to be 'levellers' (Kozhevnikov, 2007). Morgan identified them

like those who inaccurately sort data due to neglecting minor differences. Such people

come to ambiguous conclusions about later information (Martens, n.d.). On the base of

the MBTI knowledge, it can be claimed that sensing types are more skilful in logical

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analysis, finding differences and contrasts than intuitive types and therefore 'sharpeners'

could be of S types. N types who are more oriented on possibilities and finding

similarities thus could be 'levellers.'

Deductive and inductive dimensions of cognitive styles refer to the well-known 'top-

down' for deductive and 'bottom-up' for inductive processing. The former style starts

with rules and explanations that are applied in practice afterwards, or in other words

from general to particular. The latter one starts with individual examples and on the

basis of similarities that can be found between them general conclusions are deduced

(Nakonečný, 2003; Saville-Troike, 2009). Occasions to discover rules on the basis of

specific examples, deductive approach, would suit more to S types, whereas to be

provided with theory and abstract rules that are applied on examples, inductive

approach, would suit more to N types.

Jerome Kagan was the first one who in the 1960s started the research on

'reflectivity' and 'impulsivity.' People who are slower but more accurate in results are

considered to be reflective whereas people who are quicker but demonstrate more

mistakes are of impulsive cognitive style (Martens, n.d.). Without a doubt, this has an

impact on learners' work in lessons. From the MBTI point of view, reflective learners

can be of judging attitude whereas impulsive learners can be of perceptive attitude. In

addition, due to the findings from experiments conducted by Zelniker, Jeffrey,

Dubnikov A. and G., Golan, Bentin, Robert, Kagan, and Wright (1976) reflective

learners tend to use detail analysis that can point to S preference whereas impulsive

learners rather use global analysis that can indicate N preference. To conclude,

reflective learners seem to be more of SJ type while impulsive learners seem to be more

of NP type.

It can be easily derived that such division of cognitive styles focused on only

two dimensions was not sufficient enough. Although all of them look quite clear

concerning the division of S/N mental functions, they consider T/F preference less.

Table 12 divides these cognitive styles according to their preferences and it can become

a base for understanding 'Learning Style Survey' by Rebecca Oxford (see chapter 2.3. in

Appendix 10). Note that only at S/N preference all two-dimensional cognitive styles can

be ranked. Neither being a psychologist nor having access to all relevant materials that

would be needed, I do not dare to judge other preferences than those that are expressed

in the Table.

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Table 12

Division of Two-dimensional Cognitive Styles according to MBTI Preferences

MBTI pref. Dimensions of Cognitive Styles

Sensing FI Analytic Serial Sharpener Deductive Reflective

Intuition FD Global Holist Leveller Inductive Impulsive

Feeling FD - - - - -

Thinking FI - - - - -

Judgement - - - - - Reflective

Perception - - - - - Impulsive

2.2 Four-dimensional Scale Cognitive Learning Styles

One of the first researchers who started using four-dimensional scales was A. F.

Gregorc (1979, 1982, 1984 cited in Kozhevnikov, 2007) who built his model on two

dimensions with four poles. The first dimension involves perception that can be

'concrete' or 'abstract' and the other involves ordering which is about how people

arrange, organize and systematize information. It can be 'random' or 'sequential.' These

four dimensions create four learning styles:

Concrete Sequential (CS) - hard-working, conventional, accurate, having a schedule,

working step by step, solving real-life problems, likes order, logical sequences,

following directions, predictable

Abstract Sequential (AS) - analytic, objective, logical, able to work alone, likes

access to experts and information, do not like repeating tasks, too little time to study the

task thoroughly

Abstract Random (AR) - sensitive, compassionate, imaginative, general guidelines,

focused at an issue at hand

Concrete Random (CR) - quick, intuitive, instinctive, use insight, do not like

deadlines, restrictions, take risks (Anderson, n.d.; Boubert, n.d.; Kozhevnikov, 2007).

Gregorc's theory states that 'concrete' perception is realized through five senses

and, therefore, is comparable to the MBTI's sensing S whereas 'abstract' perception uses

intuition and imagination and, therefore, the MBTI's characteristic of intuition N can be

ranked to it. Similarly, 'sequential' ordering seems to point to judging J, while 'random'

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ordering seems closer to perceiving attitude P according to the MBTI (Anderson, n.d.).

On the basis of these claims Gregorc's learning styles can be compared to the MBTI

theory as following:

CS = STJ

AS = NTJ

AR = NFP

CR = SFP

Only one discrepancy stays that concern the last learning style. Concrete Random

should be of S type, but characteristics of this style in different sources (Anderson, n.d.;

Boubert, n.d.; Kozhevnikov, 2007) point more to intuition N. Another interesting

reflection can be noticed from that Gregorc's theory ranks thinking to judging attitude

and feeling to perceiving attitude. The MBTI, however, proved that both J and P types

can use thinking and feeling for ordering.

David Kolb's Learning Styles (1974, 1976, 1984 cited in Kozhevnikov, 2007) were

only a complement to his experiential learning model. He, with his associate Roger Fry,

built his theory on two scales with two dimensions for perception and two for

processing at their ends. For the perception continuum, he defined 'thinking' and

'feeling' and for processing continuum 'doing' and 'watching'. Combination of these four

dimensions lets emerge four learning styles that are expressed in Kolb's cycle of

learning styles:

Figure 2. Kolb's Learning Styles. This image illustrates four learning styles as the

results of differences in perceiving and processing information (Clark, 2000b).

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More detailed study of the learning cycle leads to the conclusion that although Kolb

named his dimensions differently a correlation can be found to the MBTI distinction.

Without a doubt, Kolb's thinking/feeling corresponds to MBTI's thinking/feeling. In his

definitions of learning styles, the differences between thinking and feeling preference

are obvious and most common. Another conclusion can be made on a scale of

doing/watching. It can indicate to both extraversion/introversion and

perception/judgement preferences. Due to the lack of enough relevant information, this,

however, cannot be claimed with certainty. As far as sensing/intuition preferences are

concerned, it must be concluded that even after studying several sources (David Kolb,

2013; McLeod, 2010) it cannot be stated that 'concrete' corresponds to 'sensing' and

'abstract' corresponds to 'intuition.' To imagine it easier, Figure 3 shows these

conclusions graphically:

Figure 3. Resemblance of Kolb's cycle of learning styles - accommodator, diverger,

converger, and assimilator to the MBTI theory - NFP, SFJ, STP, NTJ.

It is important to emphasize that although F/T and J/P preferences correspond to

Kolb's labelling of thinking/feeling and reflective/active, it is not the case with the

concrete/abstract dimension. As the figure shows, S/N preference does not correspond

to Kolb's concrete/abstract distinction. The review below explains a few specific

examples of these conclusions:

active

reflective

accommodator diverger

feel and do feel and watch

converger assimmilator

think and do think and watch

concrete

abstract

S F J

N T J S T P

N F P

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Divergers (reflective observer / concrete experience) - people who might have

preferences in S, F, (E, J - cannot be claimed with certainty)

- are sensitive, interested in people (F)

- use different perspectives, more viewpoints (N)

- receive personal feedback, prefer to work in groups (E, F)

- proceed from concrete, specific to more general (S)

- prefer hands-on exploration of a system (S)

- prefer information to be presented to them in a detailed, systematic manner (S,

J)

Assimilators (abstract conceptualization / reflective observation) - people who might

have preferences in N, T, (J - cannot be claimed with certainty)

- apply concise, logical approach (T)

- ideas and concepts are more important than people (T)

- are good at organizing, respect knowledge of experts (T)

- need time to think things through (T)

- are more attracted to abstract ideas than practical matters (N)

- explore analytical models (T)

Convergers (abstract conceptualization / active experimentation) - people who might

have preferences in S, T (P - cannot be claimed with certainty)

- can solve problems, find solutions based on practical experience (S)

- are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects (T)

- learn best when given simulations, practical applications (S)

- prefer interactive instruction, not passive (P)

- the relevance of the situation is important for them (P)

Accommodators (concrete experience / active experimentation) - people who might

have preference in N, F, (E, P)

- rely on intuition rather than on logic (N)

- are attracted to new challenges and experiences (N)

- use rather instinct than logical analysis (N, F)

- tend to rely on others for information (F)

- like working with others (E)

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- prefer independent discovery and are active participants (N, P)

(David Kolb, 2013; McLeod, 2010)

Despite its popularity, it must be admitted that Kolb's learning styles have still not

been able to cover next to the functions also orientations and attitudes (E, I, J, P) in a

clear and unambiguous way.

Another interesting concept is Bernice McCarthy's 4MAT learning styles that

appeared in 1979. Similarly to the previous cognitive styles also this one is about

perceiving and processing information. Perception is based on 'experience' and

'conceptualization' that can be compared to the MBTI sensing and intuition. The 4MAT,

however, does not take it as a dimension with two opposite poles but rather claims that

from 'experience' that is related to feeling people should move to 'conceptualization' that

is connected with thinking. The act of processing involves, similarly to Kolb, 'action-

doing' or 'reflection-watching.' Again, McCarthy emphasizes the importance of an

interplay between watching-reflection and action-doing as it is crucial for a learner's

development in the learning process (What is 4MAT, n.d.).

Based on these acts of perception and processing four types of learners are identified:

Type 1 - imaginative learning (feeling-watching)

- is people oriented, an outstanding observer of others (F)

- prefers sensing perception before conceptual one (S)

- likes to talk about experiences, to listen to others and discuss ideas, works well

in groups, learns well through asking and answering, exploring ideas (both S and N plus

P)

- needs to connect patterns with the real life (S plus P)

- has difficulties with memorizing abstract information, does not like theory and

long verbal explanations (S)

- needs to discuss their perceptions (S)

As a whole, Type 1 inclines more to S and F preferences, though it is called

imaginative learning.

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Type 2 - analytic learning (reflection-thinking)

- has love for school, solving problems (SJ)

- analyzes, organizes ideas and facts (T, S, J)

- is fascinated with the structure (J)

- prefers step-by-step logical analysis (T)

- is impersonal (T)

Without a doubt, this type is of STJ preference. SJ types are considered the most

compliant learners at school of all types.

Type 3 - common sense learning (thinking-doing)

- is familiar with tasks and deadlines (J)

- learns through problem solving, touching, manipulating, experimentation (SP)

- has troubles with unclear choices, ambiguity (S)

- uses impersonal, objective thinking that is interested in facts (T)

- needs to do something concrete with things (S)

- does not like open-ended tasks (S)

This type is interesting in its orientation to the world that should be of P preference,

but there are also some features of J preference. It can be, however, concluded that, as a

whole, this type can be classified as STP.

Type 4 - dynamic learning (doing-feeling)

- does not mind ambiguities, changes, is a risk taker (N, P)

- learns through trial and error, comes to creative solutions, uses free flows of

ideas (N)

- prefers open-ended tasks and possibilities of more than one solution (N)

- has problems with time management (P)

- is subjective and relational (F).

The last type seems to incline to NFP preference.

All these four types can be lucidly placed in the learning cycle (see Figure 4).

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Figure 4. 4MAT cycle of learning types. This figure shows the placement of four

learning types in the cycle in connection to perception (experience = feeling; abstracting

experience = thinking) and processing (reflection = watching; action = doing) [What is

4MAT, n.d.].

According to 4MAT, if a teacher follows the learning cycle that encompasses all four

types, pupils in a class will be included in successful learning and can improve it.

4MAT admitted that every person has one preferred way of learning, but it is also

desirable to discover the patterns of different learning styles for it can help. Moreover,

this theory takes into consideration left and right brain dominance that influences

people's learning. McCarthy labels them as 'Left Mode' and 'Right Mode'. (McCarthy,

1997; What is 4MAT, n.d.). Like many other theories, although this one has been

doubted, mainly for the fact claiming that certain characteristic traits were attributed to

one or the other hemisphere (Wanjek, 2013).

The Left Mode is responsible for analytical thinking, operates well with

structures, is sequential, good in organizing ideas and works in time. All these,

according to the MBTI, refer to S/T preferences. Conversely, the Right Mode is

intuitive, imaginative, seeks for relationships, patterns, connections, forms mental

combinations and senses feelings, and is good at synthesis. All these, according to the

MBTI, refer to N/F preferences. Although there is a predominance of one mode over the

other with different types, the truth is that both modes are present at all types

(McCarthy, 1997; What is 4MAT, n.d.). This can have an effect on the description of

individual types that describe three types as sensing S and the only one as intuition N.

On the other hand, the division of T/F preference corresponds to the expectation and

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also attitudes J/P seem to be distributed in accordance with the cycle. In addition, if

McCarthy's types are compared to Kolb's learning styles, as it is expressed in Table 13,

it is obvious that three types are described similarly. All of them appear to correspond to

the same MBTI characteristic. Only Type two is not clear with its characteristic of S/N

preference.

Table 13

Comparison of Kolb's and McCarthy's Learning Styles in connection to the MBTI

characteristic

Kolb's types McCarthy's types

Type

Diverger

MBTI char.

SFJ

Type

Type 1

MBTI char.

SFJ

Assimmilator NTJ Type 2 STJ

Converger STP Type 3 STP

Accommodator NFP Type 4 NFP

McCarthy emphasizes that, for a learner's growth and improvement, it is vital to

encourage pupils to discover and develop all four learning styles. This claim can be

accepted without reproaches. The question remains nevertheless what is the right age to

start with it because according to the MBTI theory dominant and auxiliary functions are

in progress at children's age. Not all pupils can be able to use their intuition or thinking

functions with expected success the same way it is described by McCarthy.

As a conclusion to these models, an interesting reflection can be made. The study of

them leads to the knowledge that as these models belong to cognitive styles, there can

be found an equal division of T/F preferences in connection to J/P attitudes. Namely, it

means that there are always types or styles FJ, TJ, FP, and TP. The problem is with the

perceptual division of S/N preference. In this respect, these models are a bit limiting for

the MBTI division of function works with the assertion that both FJ and TJ can be of S

and N preference. The same case it is with FP and TP styles, both of them can be S or

N.

All of the described learning styles - perceptual learning styles, two-dimensional and

four-dimensional learning styles - were of great importance in searching for the model

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that would encompass fully the question of learning styles. It is evident that, in

connection with sixteen MBTI types, the using of only four learning styles is rather

limiting. At present there exists another theory dealing with learning styles that seem to

incorporate much of the analyzed above. The author of this concept is Rebecca L.

Oxford who the following chapter is about.

2.3 Rebecca Oxford's Learning Style Survey

This woman with her research on learning strategies is considered having caused

a change in “the way the world teaches languages” (Oxford, 2003b, p. 3). On the base

of current research she defined four major style dimensions that influence pupil's

learning, although more of them exist. These four appear to be the most relevant to L2

learning, namely:

- sensory preferences,

- personality types,

- desired degree of generality,

- biological differences.

They are considered to have the biggest impact on pupils who learn foreign

languages, and this chapter analyzes them later (Oxford, 2003a). The fact that she

included also personality types in her theory confirms the sooner stated view which

claimed that the personality types have an impact on pupil's learning, either good or

wrong. If learning styles are accepted as general approaches, learning strategies are the

expression of specific actions and techniques used intentionally by learners. They

choose them on the basis of what suits them and what they feel as helpful in their

learning. In addition, they are observable from pupil's behaviour (Scarcella & Oxford,

1992 cited in Oxford, 2003a). They can be categorised into six groups – cognitive,

metacognitive, memory-related, compensatory, affective, and social strategies (Oxford,

2003a). Oxford created the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL)19 that is

nowadays one of the most well-known and used to measure language learning strategies

(Fazeli, 2012). Her SILL became the model for other tools, for example, Language

19 in Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston:

Heinle & Heinle.

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Strategy Use Survey that helps to characterize specific strategies for reading,

vocabulary, speaking, writing, and listening skills use20.

Unfortunately, not all teachers are familiarized with learning styles and strategies,

and thus the following situation happens quite often in real life. A teacher is of a

particular learning style while pupils are his complete opposite. The teacher uses certain

teaching strategies that suit him, but are not necessarily the same that pupils would

choose as their learning strategies. It is quite easy to conclude that learners in such

environment cannot perform well, and their progress in learning will be slow, hard, and

it can also have an influence on their results and grades. The same idea can be found

also in Oxford (2003a) who moved the conclusion further. In the case of such clashes

between the teacher and his pupils, not only the teacher-pupil interaction will be

severely disturbed, but it can even end with pupil's rejection of the whole subject.

If we desire to become better teachers understanding more ourselves as well our

pupils, we must take into consideration our pupils' learning styles. Within the series

Maximazing Study Abroad, published by the Center for Advanced Research on

Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota, Oxford with Andrew

D. Cohen and Julie C. Chi created Learning Style Survey - LSS (Learning Style Survey,

n.d.). This instrument is of the greatest interest in this thesis.

Oxford's LSS proves that it is not easily possible to create a simple theory of learning

styles. The Survey includes both perceptual and cognitive learning styles of both

divisions, i.e. two or four dimensions. The four major dimensions of sensory

preferences, personality types, desired degree of generality and biological differences

combine many of the theories discussed in the previous chapters, for example:

- sensory preferences divide learners to visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic

types

- desired degree of generality includes such dimensions such as global or holistic -

particular, synthesizing and analytic one, along with sharpener-leveler, deductive-

inductive, field-dependent - field-independent, and impulsive-reflective.

- personality types contain dimensions based on Jung's work, i.e.

extraverted/introverted, intuitive/sensing, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving

(Learning Style Survey, n.d.; Oxford, 2003a).

20 Cohen, D., Oxford, R., & Chi, J. C. (n.d.). Language Strategy Use Survey. Available at:

http://www.carla.umn.edu/about/profiles/cohenpapers/lg_strat_srvy.html

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Since the thesis is focused on the influence of personality types on L2 learning,

sensory preferences, desired degree of generality, and biological differences do not have

to be studied in more detail further.

Oxford introduced eleven sections in her LSS. Each of them includes two dimensions

(except for Part one that contains three) that are described in terms of preference of one

learning style over the other. Table 14 names all the parts along with the dimensions of

learning styles they refer to.

Table 14

Eleven Parts - Learning Styles as They Are Introduced in Oxford's Learning Style Survey

Part Dimensions - learning styles

Part 1 Visual Auditory Tactile/Kinesthetic

Part 2 Extraverted Introverted

Part 3 Random-Intuitive Concrete-Sequential

Part 4 Closure-Oriented Open

Part 5 Global Particular

Part 6 Synthesizing Analytic

Part 7 Sharpener Leveler

Part 8 Deductive Inductive

Part 9 Field-Independent Field-Dependent

Part 10 Impulsive Reflective

Part 11 Metaphoric Literal

Three parts offer clear links to the MBTI theory from the point of personality

typology view:

- Part 2 How I expose myself to learning situations - extraverted vs. introverted -

corresponds to E/I preference

- Part 3 How I handle possibilities - random-intuitive vs. concrete-sequential -

corresponds to S/N preference

- Part 4 How I deal with ambiguity and with deadlines - closure-oriented vs. open

- corresponds to J/P preference

T/F preference cannot be deduced unequivocally, but it can be related to one of

the parts - it is explained further below.

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Also other parts offer, after their deeper study, possible links to the MBTI

preferences. They can be deduced from the conclusions made in the previous chapters

concerning cognitive styles. When thinking about cognitive styles, the words of Boyle

can be reminded who in his critical review of psychometric limitations of the MBTI

claimed that it “clearly places a proportionally greater emphasis on cognitive styles than

do most other personality instruments” (1995, p. 3). If the Oxford's LSS is compared

with two dimension scale cognitive styles(Appendix 10, chapter 2.1, Table 12),

interesting conclusions can be reached in connection to the MBTI preferences:

The following parts may correspond to distinction of S/N preference:

Oxford's sections from LSS and how they, in most cases, reflect on two dimensions of

cognitive Styles (chapter 2.1)

Part 5 How I receive information global vs. particular

Part 6 How I further process information synthesizing vs. analytic

Part 7 How I commit material to memory sharpener vs. leveller

Part 8 How I deal with language rules deductive vs. inductive

Part 9 How I deal with multiple inputs field- dependent vs. field independent

Part 11 How literally I take reality metaphoric vs. literal

Here an additional conclusion concerning T/F preference can be deduced. If it

was considered that Witkin's field-dependence expressed F preference and field-

independence expressed T preference, it can also here be assumed that:

Part 9 How I deal with multiple inputs may correspond to T/F preference.

Lastly, Part 10 reflects on the dimension borrowed from the four dimension

scale learning styles (chapter 2.2), namely their reflection/watching - action/doing

dimension. Similarly to Part 4, also this one seems to point to J/P preference:

- Part 10 How I deal with response time corresponds to J/P preference.

2.4 Probing the Pupils' Learning Styles

Due to the presumed connection between personality types and learning styles,

pupils who were selected for the research were also asked during the third phase to fill

in Rebecca Oxford's Learning Style Survey (LSS). It will be interesting to compare the

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pupils' results in individual sections with their results from MBTI questionnaires. The

concordance of the results in S/N, E/I, J/P, and possibly in T/F preferences could prove

the rightness of considerations from the previous chapter.

The survey consists of eleven parts - all of them are listed in the previous chapter, or

for the whole LSS see Appendix 11a, p. 181. Each part contains from four to thirty

statements that are judged by learners on the scale from 0 – never to 4 – always with

rarely, sometimes and often between. Similarly to the questionnaire, also the LSS was

translated from English to Czech because of easier understanding of the pupils

(Appendix 11b, p. 185). The results of the LSS were evaluated according to the

instructions that are included in the LSS (Learning Style Survey, n.d.).

On the base of the study undertaken in the theoretical part it was expected that:

1) Part 1 might offer connections between sensory preferences and personality types,

namely SP pupils with their characteristics should obtain quite high numbers in

'tactile/kinesthetic' statements.

2) Part 2, 3, 4 and possibly 9 could correspond to the pupils' MBTI results from the

questionnaires, namely:

- Part 2 - E/I preference

- Part 3 - S preference, which equals to 'concrete-sequential'

- Part 4 - P preference, which equals to 'open'

- Part 9 - T/F preference.

3) Part 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 might express pupils' sensing preference (S) and,

therefore, the results were expected to be 'particular,' 'analytic,' 'sharpeners', 'deductive',

'field-independent', and 'literal'.

4) Part 10 might reflect on the perceptive attitude (P) and, therefore, the result

should be 'impulsive'.

Whatever results the survey showed it is important to bear in mind that learning

styles are more general than specific learning strategies. Moreover, the fact that the

seventh grade pupils have entered their difficult period of adolescence could also

influence the overall results. Although they were asked to answer as they behaved in

general, a certain number of instant subjectivity while filling in cannot be excluded.

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The difference between two opposite learning styles is not determined by how high

the numbers are but with a gap between them, i.e. results in 22 x 24 do not give such

strong evidence as 3 x 10. When assessing pupils' totals the recommendation from the

original questionnaire was taken into consideration. Results differing in less than five

points can be received as very close and in such cases both explanations should be taken

into account.

Table 15 offers interesting results. Some of the expected answers were confirmed,

while others not. It is not possible to find reasons for all individual results that did not

correspond to expectations. For this, another survey could be taken. The main interest

here is to prove connections of pupils' learning styles with their MBTI types.

Ad 1) Since the pupils are of sensing preference, receiving information through the

senses is natural for them. It must be emphasized that the pupils evaluated what they

knew as helpful for their learning. To be honest, I expected higher numbers in

tactile/kinesthetic preference. The cause can be found in that the pupils are not used

much for kinetic activities in lessons; therefore, they do not know that it could be more

helpful for them than employing other sensory preferences. Despite that, four pupils (C,

F, G, and H) obtained high numbers just in tactile/kinesthetic preference; for two pupils

it was a part of their even results while, for another two, they were numbers quite high

above other scores. It was a bit surprise to find out that six pupils received the highest

numbers in auditory preference that I did not expect. As an explanation can be used the

fact that what pupils do at school the most is that they listen and are not actively

included in lessons.

Ad 2) This point was the most important for the research because it should clearly

show that the pupils' personality types reflect on their learning styles.

- E/I learning style was confirmed with all eight pupils, although some of them

have very close numbers that also corresponded to their percent results from the

questionnaire.

- S/N learning style was a hard nut for me at first because more pupils obtained

results of intuitive-random style instead of concrete-sequential. When I studied the

statements in more detail, I discovered that the way they were written would suit

better to SJ pupils, but not to SP types who lacked in them space for freedom,

unexpected and unplanned occasions, and use of their own way of work.

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Table 15

Pupils' Results of LSS in Individual Parts

Parts Pupils

A B C D E F G H

1

visuals 9 22 18 21 20 21 25 24

auditory 15 24 24 27 21 27 22 25

kinesthetic 9 13 28 16 11 33 26 22

2 E 11 12 15 13 16 21 21 15

I 15 12 10 14 9 12 11 11

3 N 13 10 14 17 10 16 20 15

S 16 12 9 14 5 11 11 14

4 J 7 5 7 9 10 7 9 4

P 8 10 10 9 8 10 11 13

5 global 15 13 9 11 13 12 14 16

particular 10 5 10 10 7 9 12 9

6 synthesizing 9 10 13 11 10 13 14 14

analytic 5 6 11 10 11 12 12 10

7 sharpener 4 7 6 7 6 6 8 1

leveler 6 4 7 8 5 6 8 6

8 deductive 3 3 7 8 8 7 6 10

inductive 9 6 6 7 6 7 7 4

9 FI 4 3 4 6 8 11 9 6

FD 7 6 5 6 6 6 10 11

10 impulsive 10 5 9 6 8 9 9 4

reflective 6 4 5 6 6 6 7 10

11 metaphoric 1 3 5 4 4 5 5 3

literal 7 4 3 4 7 6 3 8

- J/P learning style was not as convincing in its results as I expected it to be. The

little gap between the numbers, except for pupil H and B, I would attribute to the sense

of duty that these pupils in their age have. Therefore, they stated that they tried to have

their preparation for school done on time and their notes and school materials

organized.

- Part 9 was expected to be related to T/F preference. Except for pupil F, all others

obtained the same results as in their MBTI type, although with no significant

predominance.

Ad 3) As far as a learning style preference in parts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 is

concerned, the fact that the results did not correspond to S preference does not mean

that either the pupils' MBTI types were derived wrongly or that LSS is not right. Some

of the statements in LSS are very specific in the information that should be judged.

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Pupils' answers only showed that they are capable of including both style preferences

into their learning, either global or particular, synthesizing or analytic, sharpener or

leveler, deductive or inductive, FI or FD, and metaphoric or lyrical. This enables them

to master what is expected from them at school.

Ad 4) In part 10 all results, except for one, corresponded to impulsive learning

style and, therefore, to P preference, though the numbers in most cases were close to

each other.

To summarize, learning styles reflect MBTI types. Many of the results from LSS

prove that. The fact that the results were in some parts different than it was expected can

be caused by the MBTI dynamics that could influence pupils' answers in individual

parts. The pupils were not able, when evaluating statements, to exclude the influence of

their auxiliary process or orientation and attitude to the world. In addition, many of the

statements, although they were comprehensible for the seventh grade pupils, were quite

long and also the number of 110 statements was quite demanding. Especially, for my SP

type pupils it was difficult to concentrate fully on all sentences they read.

As many pupils we have in classes, as many learning styles we can describe.

We, teachers, should include into lessons varied activities that would enable our pupils

to employ a vast range of learning strategies.

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Appendix 11.

Learning Style Survey by Rebecca Oxford21

11a. Original English version

The Learning Style Survey: Assessing Your Own Learning Styles

The Learning Style Survey is designed to assess your general approach to learning. It

does not predict your behaviour in every instance, but it is a clear indication of your

overall style preferences. For each item, circle the response that represents your

approach. Complete all items. There are 11 major activities representing 12 different

aspects of your learning style. When you read the statements, try to think about what

you usually do when learning. It typically takes about 30 minutes to complete the

survey. Do not spend too much time on any item—indicate your immediate feeling and

move on to the next item.

For each item, circle your response:

0 = Never 1 = Rarely 2 = Sometimes 3 = Often 4 = Always

Part 1: HOW I USE MY PHYSICAL SENSES

1. I remember something better if I write it down.

2. I take detailed notes during lectures.

3. When I listen, I visualize pictures, numbers, or words in my head.

4. I prefer to learn with TV or video rather than other media.

5. I use colour-coding to help me as I learn or work.

6. I need written directions for tasks.

7. I have to look at people to understand what they say.

8. I understand lectures better when professors write on the board.

9. Charts, diagrams, and maps help me understand what someone says.

10. I remember peoples’ faces but not their names.

11. I remember things better if I discuss them with someone.

12. I prefer to learn by listening to a lecture rather than reading.

13. I need oral directions for a task.

14. Background sound helps me think.

15. I like to listen to music when I study or work.

16. I can understand what people say even when I cannot see them.

21 Learning Style Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from:

http://www.carla.umn.edu/maxsa/documents/LearningStyleSurvey_MAXSA_IG.pdf

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17. I remember peoples’ names but not their faces.

18. I easily remember jokes that I hear.

19. I can identify people by their voices (e.g., on the phone).

20. When I turn on the TV, I listen to the sound more than I watch the screen.

21. I prefer to start doing things rather than checking the directions first.

22. I need frequent breaks when I work or study.

23. I need to eat something when I read or study.

24. If I have a choice between sitting and standing, I’d rather stand.

25. I get nervous when I sit still too long.

26. I think better when I move around (e.g., pacing or tapping my feet).

27. I play with or bite on my pens during lectures.

28. Manipulating objects helps me to remember what someone says.

29. I move my hands when I speak.

30. I draw lots of pictures (doodles) in my notebook during lectures.

Part 2: HOW I EXPOSE MYSELF TO LEARNING SITUATIONS

1. I learn better when I work or study with others than by myself.

2. I meet new people easily by jumping into the conversation.

3. I learn better in the classroom than with a private tutor.

4. It is easy for me to approach strangers.

5. Interacting with lots of people gives me energy.

6. I experience things first and then try to understand them.

7. I am energized by the inner world (what I’m thinking inside).

8. I prefer individual or one-on-one games and activities.

9. I have a few interests, and I concentrate deeply on them.

10. After working in a large group, I am exhausted.

11. When I am in a large group, I tend to keep silent and listen.

12. I want to understand something well before I try it.

Part 3: HOW I HANDLE POSSIBILITIES

1. I have a creative imagination.

2. I try to find many options and possibilities for why something happens.

3. I plan carefully for future events.

4. I like to discover things myself rather than have everything explained to me.

5. I add many original ideas during class discussions.

6. I am open-minded to new suggestions from my peers.

7. I focus on a situation as it is rather than thinking about how it could be.

8. I read instruction manuals (e.g., for computers or VCRs) before using the device.

9. I trust concrete facts instead of new, untested ideas.

10. I prefer things presented in a step-by-step way.

11. I dislike it if my classmate changes the plan for our project.

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12. I follow directions carefully.

Part 4: HOW I DEAL WITH AMBIGUITY AND WITH DEADLINES

1. I like to plan language study sessions carefully and do lessons on time or early.

2. My notes, handouts, and other school materials are carefully organized.

3. I like to be certain about what things mean in a target language.

4. I like to know how rules are applied and why.

5. I let deadlines slide if I’m involved in other things.

6. I let things pile up on my desk to be organized eventually.

7. I don’t worry about comprehending everything.

8. I don’t feel the need to come to rapid conclusions about a topic.

Part 5: HOW I RECEIVE INFORMATION

1. I prefer short and simple answers rather than long explanations.

2. I ignore details that do not seem relevant.

3. It is easy for me to see the overall plan or big picture.

4. I get the main idea, and that’s enough for me.

5. When I tell an old story, I tend to forget lots of specific details.

6. I need very specific examples in order to understand fully.

7. I pay attention to specific facts or information.

8. I’m good at catching new phrases or words when I hear them.

9. I enjoy activities where I fill in the blank with missing words I hear.

10. When I try to tell a joke, I remember details but forget the punch line.

Part 6: HOW I FURTHER PROCESS INFORMATION

1. I can summarize information easily.

2. I can quickly paraphrase what other people say.

3. When I create an outline, I consider the key points first.

4. I enjoy activities where I have to pull ideas together.

5. By looking at the whole situation, I can easily understand someone.

6. I have a hard time understanding when I don’t know every word.

7. When I tell a story or explain something, it takes a long time.

8. I like to focus on grammar rules.

9. I’m good at solving complicated mysteries and puzzles.

10. I am good at noticing even the smallest details involved in a task.

Part 7: HOW I COMMIT MATERIAL TO MEMORY

1. I try to pay attention to all the features of new material as I learn.

2. When I memorize different bits of language material, I can retrieve these bits

easily—as if I had stored them in separate slots in my brain.

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3. As I learn new material in the target language, I make fine distinctions among

speech sounds, grammatical forms, and words and phrases.

4. When learning new information, I may clump together data by eliminating or

reducing differences and focusing on similarities.

5. I ignore distinctions that would make what I say more accurate in the given

context.

6. Similar memories become blurred in my mind; I merge new learning experiences

with previous ones.

Part 8: HOW I DEAL WITH LANGUAGE RULES

1. I like to go from general patterns to the specific examples in learning a target

language.

2. I like to start with rules and theories rather than specific examples.

3. I like to begin with generalizations and then find experiences that relate to those

generalizations.

4. I like to learn rules of language indirectly by being exposed to examples of

grammatical structures and other language features.

5. I don’t really care if I hear a rule stated since I don’t remember rules very well

anyway.

6. I figure out rules based on the way I see language forms behaving over time.

Part 9: HOW I DEAL WITH MULTIPLE INPUTS

1. I can separate out the relevant and important information in a given context even

when distracting information is present.

2. When I produce an oral or written message in the target language, I make sure that

all the grammatical structures are in agreement with each other.

3. I not only attend to grammar but check for appropriate levels of formality and

politeness.

4. When speaking or writing, I feel that focusing on grammar is less important than

paying attention to the content of the message.

5. It is a challenge for me to both focus on communication in speech or writing while

at the same time paying attention to grammatical agreement (e.g., person, number,

tense, or gender).

6. When I am using lengthy sentences in a target language, I get distracted and

neglect aspects of grammar and style.

Part 10: HOW I DEAL WITH RESPONSE TIME

1. I react quickly in language situations.

2. I go with my instincts in the target language.

3. I jump in, see what happens, and make corrections if needed.

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4. I need to think things through before speaking or writing.

5. I like to look before I leap when determining what to say or write in a target

language.

6. I attempt to find supporting material in my mind before I set about producing

language.

Part 11: HOW LITERALLY I TAKE REALITY

1. I find that building metaphors in my mind helps me deal with language (e.g.,

viewing the language like a machine with component parts that can be disassembled).

2. I learn things through metaphors and associations with other things. I find that

stories and examples help me learn.

3. I take learning language literally and don’t deal in metaphors.

4. I take things at face value, so I like language material that says what it means

directly.

11b. Translated version into Czech (by the author of the thesis)

Posouzení vlastního učebního stylu – celé se týká výuky anglického jazyka!!!

Dotazník je sestaven k posouzení vašeho obecného přístupu k učení. Nepředpovídá

vaše chování ve všech běžných situacích, ale je jasným ukazatelem vašich celkových

učebních preferencí. U každého řádku zaškrtněte jednu odpověď, vyplňte všechny

položky. Dotazník obsahuje 11 hlavních oblastí reprezentujících 12 odlišných aspektů

vašeho učebního stylu. Pokuste se přemýšlet, co děláte obyčejně, obvykle, když se

učíte. Nezdržujte se u žádné položky příliš dlouho – zaškrtněte váš okamžitý pocit a

pokračujte dále.

Pro každou odpověď máte na výběr z čísel:

0 = nikdy 1 = zřídka kdy 2 = někdy 3 = často 4 = vždycky

Part 1. Jak využívám své smysly

1. Věci si lépe zapamatuji, když si je napíšu.

2. Během výkladu si dělám podrobné poznámky.

3. Když poslouchám, představuji si obrázky, čísla, nebo slova ve své hlavě.

4. Dávám přednost učení se z televize či videí před jinými médii.

5. Používám barvičky, zvýrazňovače – pomáhají mi, když se učím či na něčem

pracuji.

6. Potřebuji pro zadané úkoly napsané instrukce.

7. Musím se na lidi dívat, abych pochopil, co říkají.

8. Lépe rozumím výkladu, když učitel píše na tabuli.

9. Tabulky, diagramy a mapy mi pomáhají rozumět tomu, co druhý říká.

10. Pamatuji si dobře obličeje, ale ne jména.

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11. Věci si zapamatuji lépe, když je s někým prodiskutuji.

12. Dávám přednost učení se tak, že raději poslouchám výklad, než si látku přečtu.

13. Potřebuji při zadávání úkolu ústní instrukce.

14. Hudební kulisa mi pomáhá při přemýšlení.

15. Rád poslouchám hudbu, když se učím či pracuji.

16. Rozumím tomu, co lidé říkají, i když je nevidím.

17. Pamatuji si jména lidí, ale ne obličeje.

18. Lehce si pamatuji vtipy, které jsem slyšel.

19. Rozpoznám lidi dle jejich hlasu (např. v telefonu).

20. Když zapnu televizi, více poslouchám, než sleduji obrazovku.

21. Dávám přednost tomu začít dělat věci hned než si přečíst pokyny.

22. Potřebuji časté přestávky, když pracuji nebo se učím.

23. Potřebuji něco jíst, zobat, když si čtu, nebo se učím.

24. Když si mohu vybrat, jestli chci sedět nebo stát, raději stojím.

25. Začnu být neklidný, nervózní, když sedím příliš dlouho.

26. Přemýšlím lépe, když mohu být v pohybu (např. chození, poklepávání nohou,

atp.)

27. Hraji si nebo okusuji tužky a pera během výkladu.

28. Možnost manipulovat s předměty mi pomáhá si lépe zapamatovat, co někdo říká.

29. Gestikuluji rukama, když mluvím.

30. Během přednášek si kreslím hodně bezmyšlenkových obrázků (čmáranic) do

sešitu.

Part II. Jak přistupuji k učebním situacím

1. Učím se lépe, když pracuji s ostatními než sám-sama.

2. Lehce se seznamuji s novými lidmi tím, že se zapojím do konverzace.

3. Učím se lépe ve třídě než se soukromým učitelem.

4. Je pro mě lehké oslovit cizí lidi, navázat s nimi kontakt.

5. Kontakt s hodně lidmi mi dodává energii.

6. Nejprve si věci vyzkouším a pak se je snažím pochopit.

7. Povzbuzuje mne a energii mi dodává můj vnitřní svět (to, o čem přemýšlím, atp.)

8. Dávám přednost samostatným hrám nebo aktivitám ve dvojicích.

9. Mám několik zájmů a soustředím se hlavně na ně.

10. Po práci ve velké skupině se cítím vyčerpaný/á.

11. Když jsem ve velké skupině, spíše zůstávám potichu a poslouchám.

12. Chci věcem dobře rozumět, než se do nich pustím.

Part 3. Jak se vypořádávám s možnostmi a zvládám je

1. Mám tvořivou představivost.

2. Pokouším se nacházet mnoho možností a alternativ pro to, proč se něco děje.

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3. Pečlivě plánuji pro budoucí události.

4. Raději objevuji věci sám, než aby mi bylo vše vysvětleno.

5. Při diskuzích ve škole přispěji mnoha originálními myšlenkami.

6. Jsem přístupný novým návrhům od mých spolužáků.

7. Raději se zaměřuji na situace takové, jaké jsou, než abych přemýšlel o tom, jaké

by mohly být.

8. Přečtu si návod k použití či obsluze (např. pro počítač či DVD rekordér) předtím,

než ho začnu používat.

9. Důvěřuji konkrétním faktům a skutečnostem namísto novým nevyzkoušeným

myšlenkám.

10. Dávám přednost věcem představeným, ukázaným krok po kroku.

11. Nemám rád/a, když spolužáci mění plány našeho projektu.

12. Pečlivě postupuji dle instrukcí.

Part 4. Jak nakládám s nejasnostmi, dvojsmysly či termíny odevzdání, dokončení

prací

1. Rád/a si pečlivě plánuji přípravu do hodin a dělám ji včas nebo raději dříve.

2. Mé poznámky, sešity a další školní potřeby jsou pečlivě uspořádané.

3. Rád/a vím a jsem si jistý/á, co věci znamenají ve druhém jazyce.

4. Rád/a vím, jak používat pravidla a proč.

5. Nechávám termíny, aby se klidně posunuly, pokud se zrovna zabývám něčím

jiným.

6. Nechávám věci na mém stole růst a hromadit s tím, že je jednou roztřídím.

7. Nedělám si starosti s tím, že bych měl/a pochopit všechno.

8. Nemám pocit, že bych potřeboval/a dospět k rychlým závěrům ohledně daných

témat.

Part 5. Jak přijímám informace

1. Dávám přednost krátkým a jednoduchým odpovědím před dlouhými

vysvětleními.

2. Nevěnuji pozornost detailům, které se nezdají mít souvislost s daným tématem.

3. Je pro mě jednoduché chápat celkový plán nebo znázornění něčeho.

4. Pochopím hlavní myšlenku, a to mi stačí.

5. Když vyprávím starý příběh, mám sklon zapomínat spoustu detailů.

6. Potřebuji velmi konkrétní, určité příklady, abych věci plně pochopil/a.

7. Věnuji pozornost přesným faktům, skutečnostem či informacím.

8. Jsem dobrý v pochycení nových frází či slov, když je slyším.

9. Baví mne aktivity, kde z poslechu doplňuji chybějící slova do prázdných míst.

10. Když se pokouším říct vtip, pamatuji si detaily, ale zapomenu jeho pointu (vtip

toho vtipu).

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Part 6. Jak dále zpracovávám informace

1. Umím lehce věci shrnout.

2. Umím lehce převyprávět, co řekli jiní.

3. Když vytvářím přehled něčeho, nejprve zvažuji klíčové body.

4. Baví mě aktivity, kde musím dávat myšlenky dohromady.

5. Náhledem na celou situaci lehce někomu porozumím.

6. Pokud neznám všechna slovíčka, prožívám těžké okamžiky, než porozumím.

7. Když vyprávím příběh, nebo něco vysvětluji, zabere to hodně času.

8. Rád/a se zaměřuji na gramatická pravidla.

9. Jsem dobrý/á v řešení složitých záhad a hádanek.

10. Jsem dobrý/á v tom, že si při řešení úkolu všimnu i těch nejmenších detailů.

Part 7. Jak zaznamenávám látku dále do paměti

1. Pokouším se věnovat pozornost všem částem nové látky, kterou se učím.

2. Když si zapamatovávám různé části látky, vybavím si je pak lehce – jako bych je

měl uložené v různých částech mozku.

3. Když se učím něco nového z druhého jazyka, dělám rozdíly mezi hláskami,

gramatickými formami a slovy a frázemi.

4. Když se učím nové informace, seskupuji dohromady údaje tím, že odstraním či

zmenším rozdíly mezi nimi a zaměřuji se na podobnosti.

5. Nevěnuji pozornost odlišnostem, které by to, co říkám, učinily v daném kontextu

přesnějším a správnějším.

6. Podobné vzpomínky mi splývají v mysli, stávají se nejasnými. Nové učební

zkušenosti si spojuji s těmi předchozími.

Part 8. Jak zacházím s pravidly jazyka

1. Když se učím cizí jazyk, rád/a jdu od obecných pravidel a vzorců ke konkrétním

příkladům.

2. Raději začínám s pravidly a teorií než konkrétními příklady.

3. Rád/a začínám se zobecněním, obecným závěrem a pak hledám předchozí

zkušenosti, které s nimi souvisí.

4. Rád/a se učím pravidla jazyka nepřímo tím, že pracuji s příklady gramatických

struktur a dalších jazykových prvků.

5. Vážně se nestarám, zda se dozvím pravidlo (např. gramatické struktury,

jazykových jevů), protože si pravidla stejně moc dobře nepamatuji.

6. Dám si pravidla dohromady v průběhu času na základě toho, jak vidím, že se

vyskytují v cizím jazyce.

Part 9. Jak nakládám s mnohočetnými informacemi

1. Dokážu rozdělit související a důležité informace v daném kontextu, dokonce, i

když se tam vyskytují „rušivé“ a nesouvisející informace.

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2. Když vytvářím v cizím jazyce ústní nebo písemnou zprávu, promluvu, ujistím se,

že všechny gramatické struktury jsou ve shodě (např. všude jsem použil správně

množné číslo, všude mám správně minulý čas, atp.).

3. Nevěnuji se pouze gramatice, ale zkontroluji si i správnou úroveň formality a

zdvořilosti.

4. Když mluvím nebo píšu, cítím, že zaměřit se na gramatiku je méně důležité, než

věnovat pozornost obsahu toho, co chci sdělit.

5. Je to pro mne výzva zaměřit se současně na komunikaci v mluvení či psaní a

současně věnovat pozornost gramatické shodě (např. jednotné a mn.č., osoba, čas,

rod).

6. Když používám rozvláčné, zdlouhavé věty v cizím jazyce, rozhodí mne to a

opomíjím, zanedbávám pravidla gramatiky a stylu.

Part 10. Jak nakládám s časem pro odpověď

1. V jazykových situacích reaguji rychle.

2. V cizím jazyce se řídím citem.

3. Jdu do toho, uvidím, co se stane a když tak se opravím, pokud je to potřeba.

4. Než promluvím, nebo něco napíšu, potřebuji si věci promyslet.

5. Řídím se heslem: Dvakrát měř, jednou řež, když se rozhoduji, co říct či napsat

v cizím jazyce.

6. Pokouším se najít podpůrnou látku v mé mysli předtím, než se rozhodnu se

vyjádřit nahlas.

Part 11. Jak doslova vnímám realitu, skutečnost

1. Zjišťuji, že používání metafor v mé mysli mi pomáhá nakládat s jazykem lépe

(např. dívání se na cizí jazyk jako stroj sestávající z částí, které mohou být

rozmontovatelné, rozebrané).

2. Učím se věci skrze metafory a asociace s dalšími věcmi. Zjišťuji, že příběhy a

příklady mi pomáhají se učit.

3. Beru učení se cizímu jazyku doslova a nezabývám se metaforami.

4. Beru věci takové, jaké jsou, takže mám rád látku, která vyjadřuje přímo to, co

říká.

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List of Handouts

Handout 1 List with the most famous geniuses (speaking activity no 5)

Handout 2 Three copied entries from dictionaries (speaking activity no 5)

Handout 3 Copied pelmanism cards for describing food (speaking activity no 12a)

Handout 4 Helpful sentences and phrases (speaking activity no 12a)

Handout 5 Copied text from the course book (reading activity no 11b)

Handout 6 Two texts with vocabulary to match (reading activity no 11d)

Handout 7 Slips with sentences from the text (vocabulary activity no 7b)

Handout 8 The copy of the whole text to vocabulary activity no 7b)

Handout 9 A model for demonstration activity 'At the restaurant' (vocabulary

activity no 9a)

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Handouts

Handout 1. List with the most famous geniuses (speaking activity no. 5)

- suggested by the author of the thesis (as the result of browsing on the Internet)

Albert Einstein

Galileo Galilei

Bobby Fischer

Blaise Pascal

Leonardo Da Vinci

J. W. Goethe

Charles Darwin

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Handout 2. Three copied entries from dictionaries (speaking activity

no. 5)

Originally this handout was prepared as the power point presentation by the author of

the thesis (four slides - a, b, c, d). At first, pupils compare entries from the dictionaries

on their own; slide d) is only to check their suggestions

a) Oxford Elementary Learner’s Dictionary

Genius n. (pl. geniuses) very clever person: Einstein was a genius.

b) Oxford Wordpower Dictionary

Genius noun 1 (U) very great and unusual intelligence or ability: Her idea was a

stroke of genius. 2 (C) a person who has very great and unusual ability, especially in a

particular subject: Einstein was a mathematical genius. – look at prodigy 3 (sing) a

genius for (doing) sth a very good natural skill or ability

c) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Genius noun (pl. geniuses) 1 (U) unusually great intelligence, skill or artistic

ability: the genius of Shakespeare x a statement of genius x Her idea was a stroke of

genius. 2 (C) a person who is unusually intelligent or artistic, or who has a very high

level of skill, especially in one area: a mathematical / comic genius x He’s a genius at

organizing people. X You don’t have to be a genius to see that they are in love! 3 (sing.)

genius for sth / for doing sth a special skill or ability: He had a genius for making

people feel at home. IDM sb’s good / evil genius (especially BrE) a person or spirit

who is thought to have a good / bad influence over you

d) Comparison

What are the differences / similarities between these entries?

- all of them are from the same publisher

- the length

- the level of vocabulary used in definitions

- number of examples

- the extent and depth of explanation

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Handout 3. Copied pelmanism cards for describing food (speaking

activity no. 12a)

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Handout 4. Helpful sentences and phrases (speaking activity no. 12a)

- originally the text was in a size 16

It is ……………….. (colour, taste – sweet, sour, shape – circle, cube,… cold / hot /

baked, Czech or exotic?)

You can buy it at ……………………

It is made of / from ………………………..

You drink / eat it ……..

You put / spread it on….

It is usually in a cup / tin / jar

It grows (where? – in the vegetable garden, orchard – on fruit trees, bushes,….)

It is ripe in (when? – spring, summer, autumn,….)

THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT RULES:

- only one pupil is speaking – holds the red card – you can ask only one question and

then you can try to answer, then you must pass the red card to another pupil

- you have one possibility to guess in one round - if you try to say the correct answer

and you are wrong, take a lid, when all pupils have the lids and no answer was correct,

start a new round of guessing

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Handout 5. Copied text from the course book (reading activity no. 11b)

Source: Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors: Student's Book (p. 34). Oxford: OUP.

196

Handout 6. Two texts with vocabulary to match (reading activity no.

11d)

- re-written from the mixed texts from part D, Unit 4 (see Handout 5) by the author

of the thesis

First text:

………….………………….is a special day for people who have a

………….………………. romance.

They send each other romantic ……………….….

They write a ……………………..……… inside, or perhaps a poem.

But they don’t write their name – that’s a ………….………………….

The person who receives the card must ……………………………...

who it is from.

Sometimes, people also give ………….………………….- some flowers

or chocolates.

Second text:

Be careful on the night of ………….………………….!

This is the night when ………….…………………. and

………….………………….come out!

Children make ………….………………….out of

………….………………….

Sometimes, they go to people’s houses and

………….………………….the door, saying ………….………………….

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If they don’t get a treat – some sweets or chocolate, the children

………….…………………. them.

Vocabulary for gap-filling:

31 October 14 February

ghosts secret

witches cards

lanterns message

pumpkins secret

knock on guess

Trick or treat! presents

play a trick on

Source: Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors: Student's Book (p. 34). Oxford: OUP.

198

Handout 7. Slips with sentences from the text (vocabulary activity no.

7b)

- sentences from the text to Unit 4 (see Handout 8) chosen by the author of the thesis

There's a fancy dress party at Mark's house later tonight.

We need some mushrooms and some cheese.

Do we need any pepper?

Be careful with the flour, Becky!

And, Mark, you shouldn't put the pizza in the oven yet.

That pizza tasted quite good, you know.

You shouldn't be so surprised.

What's that awful smell?

Something's burning!

We don't need your advice.

How embarrassing!

We forgot to take them out of the oven.

It's too early.

How much do we need?

Leave us alone!

Source: Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors: Student's Book (p. 28). Oxford: OUP.

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Handout 8. The copy of the whole text to vocabulary activity no. 7b

Source: Whitney, N. (1994). Open Doors: Student's Book (p. 28). Oxford: OUP.

200

Handout 9. A possible model for demonstration activity 'At the

restaurant' (vocabulary activity no 9a)

After the teacher with her 'husband' sit at the 'table' at the restaurant, the teacher

can follow the lines below (thought up by the author of the thesis). They can be

modified, of course, but it is important to use the bold words - new vocabulary because

they represent the objects that the 'waiters' - pupils are holding (only the teacher is

talking according to these notes and can adapt them to the situation in the class and

reactions of the pupils):

Oh, can you see it, my darling? What a beautiful restaurant here. I wonder we

have never been here before. Oh, the waiter, and he is bringing the menu for us - yes,

here, thank you very much.

Could you be so kind, my dear man, I have noticed that the tablecloth here - can

you see it, it is a bit dirty - could you be so nice and bring us a new one? - Oh, yes, your

colleague there - he is bringing a clean tablecloth, thank you very much.

Yes, we will eat, so we will need napkins - to lay them in our laps, to clean our

hands and mouths, oh, I can see another waiter with them there, thank you.

May I ask you to bring also salt and pepper, you know, my husband likes spicy

and salty food, oh, here they are...

Ok, we will choose food. But before that, my darling, would you like anything to

drink? I am so thirsty, I need something to drink - yes, the waiter there, he is bringing

glasses with water for us...

Could you send another waiter with spoons, forks and knives? we will eat - oh,

I apologize for asking you that, I can see that he is already coming with them. Yes, you

can put them here, thank you.

Now, after we have chosen and ordered our food, we are waiting .... for the

waiter with plates - I can see him, I hope he is coming to us because I am very hungry,

yes - they are our plates, thank you

Excuse me, could we have a bowl of salad with our food too? Yes, of course, it

will be marvellous, you are very kind, thank you

After the dinner, my husband would like to have a cup of tea, may I order it?

Please, bring it with the saucer, please, you know, my husband is accustomed to drink

tea only from cups with saucers, not mugs! - in no case, you are so helpful, here it is,

thank you very much and with a teaspoon, great, right the way my husband likes it

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I am glad that we chose this restaurant tonight, I am satisfied here much, could

we have a bill / check, please? My darling, will you leave some tip, please? - oh, do not

look so silly, my dear, you know what I mean, some extra money -

Thank you for all, we will come again, see you...