This week, Pat Moores, Director of UK Education Guide, writes about teenage brain development and how this can affect international students’ learning.
Teen brain development – how it can affect international students learning in a second language
There is obviously the stereotype of the moody teenager who doesn’t like to get up in the morning, but how much of teen behaviour is linked to brain development and how does this particularly affect international students trying to learn in a second or even third language?
Cory Lowde, Headmaster at Box Hill, has researched this subject and has highly relevant insight to share:
“Learning doesn’t take place in the classroom – it takes place in the brain. Specifically, through a billion neurons, each with numerous dendrites (branches) seeking to communicate through neurotransmitters (chemicals) across microscopic ‘gaps’ (synapses) between dendrites and each neuron’s own axon. During the teenage years, this neurological development is happening at breakneck speed and doesn’t slow down until the age of 26.
“One of the harmful aspects of society is that we have a tendency to describe the teenage years as moody, confrontational, selfish and prone to irresponsible risk taking but without the understanding that this is a perfectly normal process of brain renewal just as important as the infant years. The negative attributes listed above can be mitigated by a sensitive understanding of this phenomenon and an adaptation of teaching style and curriculum,” he adds.
Cory explains that the teenage brain’s ‘frontal cortex’ needs ‘rewiring’ to make it better able to cope with the demands of adult life. Whilst this is happening, certain processes need ‘rerouting’. This can affect learning in a very meaningful way.
In many ways, as Cory explains, teachers ARE the frontal cortex for children. Role modelling, articulating, demonstrating, and repeating, repeating and repeating the same messages over again. This reinforcement of desired behaviours links to a key neurological function called ‘myelination’. The brain preserves and strengthens synaptic pathways which are used repeatedly and ‘prunes away’ unused connections. Nobel prizewinning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman has described that process as ‘neural Darwinism’ — survival of the fittest (or most used) synapses.
So, particularly for international students learning in English, repetition of tasks is crucial to make sure the ‘connections’ between the synaptic pathways are made as strong as possible during this state of flux in brain development. As Neil Herrington, Head of International Recruitment, Cognita Schools, says, “Neurons that fire together, wire together, making it a prime time for learning so it is vital to explain to students why they should be selective about how they spend their time, as their brain is physically changing in response to what they do and the experiences they have.”
So how practically can schools provide this additional support?
Well, first of all, ensuring as much time as possible is spent focusing on English language development is a critical first step, seemingly obvious, but the pandemic has certainly impacted on this as many pupils have returned home and therefore have not been so exposed to learning and speaking in English as they would be at a UK boarding school.
Ensuring maximum time is spent ‘thinking’ and speaking in English can be a challenge in some schools, notably in schools with large cohorts of international students from one country. As Simon Northcote-Green, recently retired Deputy Master at Dulwich College and Education Consultant at UK Education Guide points out, even when pupils are in a boarding school environment there needs to be a huge effort to ensure pupils engage fully with the experience to expand their knowledge of English:
“International students who come to study in UK boarding schools can either have a totally positive, immersive experience. On the other hand, the temptations of technology and social media, especially where large groups of students from similar cultures and languages are naturally congregating, can impede the progress and development of fluency in English and this is something schools really need to guard against.”
The teenage brain is also exceptionally sensitive to reward, so ensuring there are plenty of opportunities for success in the curriculum and that rewards are given regularly, not just at the end of term, are both very important. “Appearances can be deceptive,” adds Simon Northcote-Green, “teenagers often like to give the impression they don’t care about positive feedback and rewards, but this simply isn’t the case.”
But what about the ‘grumpy in the morning’ issue? Actually, there are now scientific studies to back up this perception. As Dan Pink says in his book, “When does learning happen best?” people between the ages of about 14 and 24 are very “owly.” Because of puberty teenagers and young adults’ bodies begin changing and that shifts their wakefulness forward a couple of hours. So people go to sleep later in the evening and wake up later in the morning. He argues that for teenagers and college students, school typically starts way too early.* So, it is also important to consider ‘when’ key instruction is given…
Overall, international teen students will learn best in an environment where mistakes are accepted, where they can listen without pressure to speak unless ready, where repetition is encouraged, and where they feel accepted and not judged.
“By understanding the difficulties faced by teenagers as they learn, we are better able to be more understanding and to maximise the learning process. When this takes place in a second language, a deep understanding of internal cognitive processing is needed to create a tolerant, understanding, environment,” says Cory Lowde.