(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *
You are in your room studying. Your assignment is to read an article for your class. However, you are having trouble paying attention. While you are reading, you start thinking about other things, such as messages, what you will eat for dinner, or the movie you watched last night. After reading a few sentences, you realize you need to read them again to remember what you just read. One possible reason for this might surprise you.
In one study, participants looked at a face on a computer for only 75 milliseconds—less than one-tenth of a second. Sometimes, a second face appeared next to the first and distracted them. The participants pressed a computer key as quickly as possible to identify the face as male or female. They did this with 240 faces.
The first time they took the test, the participants breathed clean air. (See complete article below.)
For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings” Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings
Here is the 22nd article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.
Hard to Stay Focused? The Reason Might Surprise You.
You are in your room studying. Your assignment is to read an article for your class. However, you are having trouble paying attention. While you are reading, you start thinking about other things, such as messages, what you will eat for dinner, or the movie you watched last night. After reading a few sentences, you realize you need to read them again to remember what you just read. One possible reason for this might surprise you.
In one study, participants looked at a face on a computer for only 75 milliseconds—less than one-tenth of a second. Sometimes, a second face appeared next to the first and distracted them. The participants pressed a computer key as quickly as possible to identify the face as male or female. They did this with 240 faces.
The first time they took the test, the participants breathed clean air. Four hours later, they took the test again. During the four-hour wait, researchers burned candles in the room, adding pollution to the air.
Two weeks later, the participants repeated the experiment. This time, they breathed polluted air before the first test and clean air before the second test.
These were the results. After breathing the polluted air, the participants took much longer to press the computer key. This suggests that polluted air can make it harder to pay attention and respond quickly.
In another study, researchers exposed 28 healthy adults to either filtered air or diesel exhaust for two hours. The participants didn’t know which type of air they were breathing. They took computer tests several times before and after breathing the air. The results showed that diesel exhaust slowed their responses to certain questions.
There are also some surprising sources of air pollution in our homes that may affect our ability to focus while studying. For example, cooking can release smoke and tiny particles into the air. Cleaning products, such as sprays used to clean windows or bathrooms, can also release chemicals into the air. Car exhaust from traffic outside can also enter our homes through open windows or other openings.
Students can take steps to help them focus when studying at home. One easy step is to keep their study area free of dust. If the air outside is clean, they can open a window to let fresh air into the room. However, if the room is near a busy road or outdoor pollution is high, it may be better to keep the window closed. An air purifier can also help remove some pollutants from indoor air. Finally, students should avoid using strong cleaning sprays just before studying.
Back in your room, you open the window. You read the first sentence again—and this time, you remember it.
Here is the link to the article and exercises that you can use with your students: Hard to stay focused Article and Exercises
David Kehe
Faculty Emeritus
*About the free-download materials. During my 40 years of teaching ESL, I have had many colleagues who were very generous with their time, advice and materials. These downloads are my way of paying it forward.
