مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت الف

Active Speaking - Part A

We’ve all heard the warnings about having high expectations: don’t get your hopes up; don’t put all your eggs in one basket; hold your horses; don’t get too excited.

Have you heard the expression ‘Don’t get your hopes up?’ Yes, I’ve heard the expression ‘Don’t get your hopes up.’ Are you the type of person that puts all your eggs in one basket? No, I’m not the type of person that puts all his eggs in one basket. Do you get very excited? Yeah, sometimes I get excited, but it depends on the situation.

Then there’s the other camp saying that with belief, all things are possible; faith can move mountains. Is it truly possible for our beliefs to change reality?

With belief, all things are possible. Do you believe that? Hmm, I’m not sure. Is it truly possible for our beliefs to change reality? In some situations I think it’s possible. I think that belief can do a lot, but it can’t change some things.

In 1964, a Harvard professor named Robert Rosenthal set out to answer that question.

Did Rosenthal set out to answer that question? Yes, Rosenthal set out to answer that question.

Who was Rosenthal? Rosenthal was a Harvard professor.

He conducted a study on school children’s academic abilities and found something remarkable.

Did he find something completely normal and boring? No, he didn’t find something completely normal and boring. He found something remarkable.

When teachers placed higher expectations on certain students, those kids rose to the occasion and excelled in school.

Did these kids rise to the occasion? Yes, they rose to the occasion. How did they do in school? They excelled in school.

This is called ‘expectancy’, and it’s an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Is expectancy an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Yes, expectancy is an example of a self fulfilling prophecy.

The higher the expectations that are placed on people to succeed, the better they will perform.

Do higher expectations make people perform better or worse? Higher expectations make people perform better.

Rosenthal’s study demonstrated this effect by giving an IQ test to students at an elementary school in the San Francisco area.

Who did he give IQ tests to? He gave IQ test to students at an elementary school in the San Francisco area.

He told the teachers of these students that this was a very special test.

Did he tell the teachers that this was a normal IQ test? No, he didn’t tell the teachers that this was a normal IQ test. He told them that it was a special test.

It could accurately predict which students were going to make major jumps in intelligence in the near future.

What did he say the test could predict? He said the test could predict which students were going to make major jumps in intelligence in the near future.

But in reality, this was just an ordinary IQ test, and Rosenthal didn’t even look at the results.

Did Rosenthal look carefully at the results? No, he didn’t look carefully at the results. He didn’t look at them at all.

He randomly chose which students were supposedly special and gave this randomly selected list of names to the teachers.

How did he choose which students were special? He randomly chose which students were special.

The teachers were told to not tell the students about the test results.

Did the teachers share the results with the students? No, the teachers didn’t share the results with the students. The teachers were told to not share the results with the students.

It seems hard to believe, but these students went on to be much more successful in school than their peers.

What happened with these students? These students went on to be much more successful in school than their peers.

So how does a teacher’s belief about a student shape reality and make that child smarter?

Rosenthal says, “It’s not magic; it’s not mental telepathy.” What did Rosenthal say? Rosenthal said, “It’s not magic; it’s not mental telepathy.” These teachers were most likely communicating their beliefs in very concrete ways.

Were they communicating in invisible ways? No, they weren’t communicating in invisible ways. They were communicating in very concrete ways.

They gave the supposedly special students more attention and more correction. They made more eye contact.

Did they give the special students more attention and more correction? Yes, they gave the special students more attention and correction. Did they make more eye contact with the special students? Yes, they made more eye contact with the special students.

They touched them more. They asked them more questions. They gave them more time to answer questions.

Did they touch them more? Yes, they touched them more. Did they ask them more questions? Yes, they asked them more questions. Did they give them more time to answer questions? Yes, they gave them more time to answer questions. Did they give them more homework? No, they didn’t give them more homework.

And they were usually kinder to these students. These actions were probably unconscious, but they had a very real effect.

Were these actions conscious or unconscious? These actions were probably unconscious. Did they have a real effect? Yes, they had a very real effect.

According to scientists, other people’s expectations don’t just affect students. They affect people from all walks of life.

Do they just affect students? No, they don’t just affect students. Who do they affect? They affect people from all walks of life.

A teenager’s chance of having alcohol problems is affected by the expectations of the mother.

What is affected by the expectations of the mother? A teenager’s chance of having alcohol problems is affected by the expectations of the mother.

A soldier’s ability to run faster or slower is affected by the expectations of the trainer.

What is affected by the expectations of the trainer? A soldier’s ability to run faster or slower is affected by the expectations of the trainer.

An employee’s efficiency can be affected by the expectations of the boss.

What can be affected by the expectations of the boss? An employee’s efficiency can be affected by the expectations of the boss.

And that’s not all. The power of expectancy can have extraordinary, almost unbelievable consequences as well. It might even hold the key to helping the blind learn to see.

Do you believe that expectations can hold the key to helping the blind learn to see?