One year ago Claire and David went to the British Consulate in Brazil to talk with students and teachers about ‘Growth Mindset’. This is the idea that although it is true that people are born with differences in ability, these differences are not the biggest influence on how much we achieve in our lives. People are not born as geniuses. To become very good at something, perhaps to become the best in the world, you need 3 things:
Practice: 10,000 hours of purposeful practice
> You need a lot of practice. In fact, all the people who are the best in the world at anything (from chess, to playing an instrument, to tennis) have done 10,000 hours of focused practice. They are not born the best. They become the best.
Motivation: intrinsic motivation
> To be good at something you have to want to be good at it. “Intrinsic motivation” is motivation from inside yourself. Another kind of motivation is “extrinsic motivation”. This is motivation from outside, for example, somebody else telling you that you must do something. To be very successful, you have to discover what will ‘fire up’ your intrinsic motivation.
Feedback: quality of feedback
The best learners make more mistakes. For example, good language learners are not afraid to try using new grammatical structures and make a mistake. Good ice skaters are not afraid to try a difficult new move and to fall on the ice. However, at the same time, to improve, you need a good teacher who will help you see your mistakes and learn how to fix them and learn ‘new moves’.
Intelligence can change
If you have a Growth Mindset you believe that ability and intelligence can change. If you have a Fixed Mindset you believe that our abilities cannot change.
Maybe the most important lesson that Growth Mindset has for teachers is that teachers should praise their students for their effort not for their grades. If a teacher says to a student “You got a grade ‘A’ – you are a genius” why will the student want to takes risks to improve? They already have been called a ‘genius’. Why would they want to risk losing that label by making a mistake? However, studies show that if a teacher praises students for effort not ability, they will take more risks and they will learn more.
Growth Mindset on summer school
What we say to students at More Than English is that the important thing is not how good you are at something right now. The important thing is how good you are going to be in the future. One of the best things about summer school at More Than English is that students are in an English speaking environment all day from 0730 until 2230 with teachers there to correct them, so they get lots of practice and the help they need to improve. At More Than English students use their English to make friends with young people from 15 other countries. They use their English to new learn things from Film Making to Debating skills to Cooking. They use their English to discover the best places in the UK from Liverpool to London. Our students are able to see that English is a real tool that will unlock many doors. So, our hope is that when they go home, they return with the intrinsic motivation to learn more.
In July 2016 Diego and Maria from Brazil listened to our seminar about Growth Mindset and decided to visit our summer school. Last week we saw them both again in Brazil. We’d like to say congratulations to you both for working so hard this year to make your dreams come true. Now you are inspiring us! Thank you Maria and Diego.
If you are interested in summer school for your child, here is what Diego’s mother Daniela says about More Than English:
"I would do it all over again, and for parents that are not sure yet about sending your kids, you all should do it. Get involved and you also be part of this wonderful experience. Thank you all More than English."
Maria -15 (Brazil)
“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned at More Than English and it’s something that I’m taking with me for my life, it is that I can do anything!”
