SOCKS AND COGNITIVE BIASES

Or critical thinking for language learners

Paraphrasing the infamous song: What’s {socks} got to do with it?
At first glance, nothing.
Look again, and socks turn out to be the perfect way to help learners spot and reflect on their own cognitive biases in language learning.

Complex Things in Simple Stories

In April, I completed a 5-day Gen AI Intensive Course with Google for developers, where the final assignment was to create an app or agent.

While checking out apps created by other developers, I came across an interesting one: Explain Things with Lots of Tiny Cats – an app that breaks down complicated ideas using loads of little cats. I loved the idea, but I thought it would be even better to use an LLM to explain complex concepts with all sorts of quirky stuff, turning it into a tool I could use throughout a course. So, I reworked the app and added a few extra handy features.

One complex topic I’ve wanted to bring into the classroom for a while is cognitive biases.

‘We can’t really think critically unless we are aware of our biases.’

If you’re into this topic, check out the webinar on the Impact of Bias in Critical Thinking by Mauricio Shiroma. It’s one of the most practical sessions I’ve seen, with a step-by-step way to talk about bias with students.

One step in that process is formally introducing biases in the classroom. So, I decided to use the app to help create a simple story that introduces the concept of cognitive bias, covering a few biases that matter for language learners. The goal was to keep things light, without going too deep into psychology, and to keep the main focus on language learning.

After numerous experiments and many versions, including bugs, bunnies, clouds, cups, muffins, and whatnot, I decided to stick with the sock story. Because, given the topic, it just makes sockological sense.

How to use it in the classroom

The app is fun, but bringing it to students as is will land it as just another gimmick. No teaching magic in, no learning impact out. Well, maybe a little, if it ends up in the hands of a perfect, clockwork student found only in the dream world of edtech optimists.

So, I used it as a brainstorming tool to design a set of story-based materials and activities to help students become aware of cognitive biases and reflect on how those biases might affect their language learning.

*The activities are suitable for students from the intermediate level and up.

Step 1

Before class: Cut the story into individual lines and prepare 3-4 sets, depending on the number of students in your class. *Subsection titles and their first sentences are in grey.

In-Class: Split students into small groups and ask them to put together the story.

At this point, focus only on language work. Go over the vocabulary:
‘cognitive – cognition’, ‘bias – biased – unbiased’, ‘confirm – confirmation’, ‘available – availability – avail’, ‘anchor – to anchor’, without getting into psychological nuances just yet.

When they’re ready with their stories, play the video to compare and check their understanding.

Then, give students three short case studies of different language learners. Ask them to decide which cognitive bias is at play in each case. Make the examples relatable by using classroom scenarios or common habits and errors you’ve observed:

Case 1: Ana always says she’s ‘very bad at listening’. In her last English test, she got 8 out of 10 in the listening section, but she only talked about the two questions she got wrong.

Case 2: Zlatan keeps saying ‘explain me’ in class. When his teacher corrects him, he says, ‘But everyone online says it like that!’

Case 3: Andrea learnt to say ‘I have 15 years’ from a fellow student years ago. Even after her teacher explained that it’s wrong in English, she keeps saying it.

After talking about the cases, ask students to explain what each bias means in their own words. Keep it simple.

For example:

Confirmation bias – I only notice things that agree with what I already believe.
Availability bias – I think something is true just because I can remember examples of it.
Anchoring bias – I stick to the first thing I hear, even if better info comes later.

Step 2. What are the socks in your own learning?

Now it’s time for students to think about their own experiences. You can use a framework like a KWL chart to help them reflect on their own learning.