Experiential learning at language and literature lessons

Paper

In this modern time, it is very important to draw the subject matter nearer to students with the help of methods and strategies, which enable them actual experiences and adventures. When students get to know a new topic with a help of drawing, movement, lego bricks construction of syntax structures or present the chosen topic of language or literature with a help of pantomime or role-play etc. they relax, feel less stressed and at the same time develop more difficult ways of thinking. They have to connect concepts in a new way, adapt and cooperate with their schoolmates, search for new solutions and expressions, depict a certain topic with movement or have to put themselves into shoes of a certain literature character, present their experience with posture, speech or drawing. At Slovene lessons, we often come across abstract concepts or expressions that students cannot memorise easily. Students learn and memorise the abstract concepts and connections among them with different approaches of experiential learning. With experiential methods students receive subject matter in a comprehensive way with different senses and feelings, body and mind perceptions, which influence memorising, group dynamics, concentration, development of different types of intelligence and students’ well-being during and after the activities. Students spend more time at individual tasks, and at the same time visualize and memorize the subject matter with the help of experiential learning methods and strategies. The students are usually more motivated for work at experiential learning and encouraged by active cooperation with other classmates in the group in order to do the task successfully and present the text with movement