No L's yet - Do Stuff in Car
Remember that your learner can begin a long time before they
have their L's. In fact, this is a great time for them to be
gaining knowledge.
Driving skills are thinking skills
Your learner driver can gain most driving skills from the
passenger’s seat. This is because the majority of skills that
make up good driving are thinking skills not car control
skills.
Control skills, like changing gears and steering, tend
to seem hard to learners when they first begin. But with lots
of practice they usually get good at these very quickly. Control
skills really are the easy part of driving.
Start teaching now
Go driving with your learner driver and talk about
what you're doing. Focus on the mental skills
involved. Mental skills are easier to learn from the
passenger’s seat because there is plenty
of attention to spare.
Remember that the physical skills you take for granted are new
and intimidating for most learners. Removing them frees up an
amazing amount of space in their minds.
In the passenger’s seat there is the choice to switch off to the
driving situation or tune into it. Notice when your learner
driver is tuning in and encourage it. Keen learners often
enjoy the realisation that they can learn a lot doing this.
Help your learner driver tune into driving
Work through the activities in Do stuff in car. It's
usually best to take direction from your learner about which ones
to tackle first and which to practice most. The more
decisions they make about their own learning, the better. Such
direct involvement fosters a stronger sense of responsibility.
Doing these activities in this way will make it easier for them
to:
-
Learn driving-specific thinking skills
-
Become a good driver faster
-
Drive well when they do get behind the wheel
-
Relax into the learning process
-
Gain confidence to tackle new skills
Accredited keys2drive driving instructors can help you
with these activities.
Activities: