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Until a couple of years ago, I have always dedicated myself to teaching children of all ages, especially the youngest ones. Since I studied the Master to be a Teacher of Spanish as a foreign language, I have discovered an interesting, motivating world and it has surprised me greatly, since I would never have expected the amount of benefits that education for educated supposes (from a perspective like teacher).
Adult education, among many other factors, helps improve people’s quality of life. In addition, they are people interested in what they are learning, respectful and motivated.
On the other hand, I would also like to emphasize that, for this, a series of strategies must be taken into account and followed in order to be able to teach. Starting with the fact that students have the ability to manage their own learning and, for this reason, education must be participatory.
The main idea is that the adult feels comfortable at the moment of receiving the knowledge from the teachers. The more dynamic the lesson, the greater the receptivity on your part.ADULT EDUCATION
Adult education has a different needs analysis than that of children. Once an adult enters the world of self-responsibility and work, the dynamics change. Therefore adults connect learning to their own personal or work situations, this allows them to personalize the learning in this regard. Adults are not used to taking direction in education because the decision is made by adults and the adult alone.Adults become more motivated when they are offered these opportunities to reflect on new learning in order to internalize and retain information. They also like to learn a certain way e.g. some prefer to more visual techniques in order to retain information or some adults prefer to study in the evenings instead of the day etc. It is also interesting to note that adults don’t want to fail and therefore the drive is much more fierce, it’s a survival mechanism.
Adults are very independent and therefore we cannot teach adults the same way we teach children. It is important to give adults more autonomy in their lessons and the level becomes more advanced. Adults should work things out for themselves rather than giving them the answers, asking them to organize themselves into pairs or groups instead of allocating partners and even giving input into the topics or activities of the lessons.
Adults can bring a lot to the class, but they can also be demanding in terms of expectations and needs. There are many advantages in teaching adults. First of all, they are able to engage with abstract thought, while young kids are unable to do this. In addition, as adults have a range of experiences, they can draw on them during a lesson. So, for example, they can easily talk about a past event which occurred to them or about a meaningful incident of their life. As they already have some experience in learning, they come into the class with a set of expectations about the learning process. The trainer can take advantage of this situation by using a wide range of activities with them. In addition, they tend to be more disciplined and they are ready to get bored less easily than children and teenagers. The most important aspect of adult learners is that they know why they are learning and what they want to achieve by this process.
Adults can also be somewhat problematic for an unprepared trainer, as they can be very critical of teaching methods. This is due to the fact that they already have some learning experience, which leads them towards preferred methods. Some adults might not be very self-confident, due to their age or to the fact that they’ve experience some kind of learning failure in the past. More importantly, adult learners find it difficult to master pronunciation and oral fluency.
A trainer should find out the needs, leaning preferences and past experiences of his/her adult learners and build on them, to make the lesson engaging and relevant.The needs of adult learners can be very varied on the one hand, and very specific on the other.
If their learning a new language comes from a professional standpoint, then their needs will be specific to the job and position that they have. They also might be on a lot of stress to learn their TL quickly.
Some areas of work might require a deeper knowledge of the TL. A person might need to be able to be very precise in their wording of things, to understand nuances and social cues. This is true for a political context, for trade, management etc. – areas to involve a lot of social skills, negotiating/diplomatic wording, presenting and public speaking.
Areas that are more technical might not need such a fine understanding of the TL. The needs of people who work in finance, the digital etc. may be met in a deeper training in vocabulary and structures that are specific to their work, that is to say “jargon”.The way we learn as we grow older undoubtedly changes throughout our stages in life. The education in the later stages of life are often supplemented with more complex material. From books and theories, and all the years of personal experience and social interactions, all of these shape how a learner absorbs information.
As an adult, we have more access to a wider range of vocabulary, personal methods of learning, and life examples that we can adapt our knowledge into. Adults often refer to their mother tongue as their base when learning a language, as they can compare and contrast the differences in grammar and pronunciation.
At this stage in life I would argue that adults are more likely to share personal experiences within social settings like for example: the classroom. Oftentimes, adults are self-motivated and choose to learn things should they want or need to. There are many reasons in doing so and would have to pursue their goals themselves as they have the independence and autonomy.Nevertheless, each learner, child or adult, have their own personal needs to why they want to learn something in particular. Adult learners, as I have mentioned, have more knowledge and experiences to share and thus real life scenarios and activities that directly cater to their goals are more easily learned as it links to their motivations.
Teaching adults differs from teaching young people or children in many different ways.
First of all adults who are interested in learning a language may need it for professional matters while others will join a class for the pleasure of discovering another tool to communicate.
Nevertheless approaching adults could be more challenging.
When you are dealing with a young audience of students who are still used to studying, the goal is easier to reach as they don’t mind repeating , doing extra exercices or watching series.
The difficulty comes up with older students who want to learn a language through conversation, without grammar and doing very little out of the class. In this case you have to be extremely patient, be able to act diplomatically highliting the fact that the aim will be long to reach but at the same time you have to encourage them in their quest to learn.
To put it in a nut shell, I would insist in the fact that each adult student has his/her own outlook of learning a new language, some are afraid of talking while others are talkative, so the teacher’s job is to look for a perfect balance in order to allow an atmosphere of trust and security, then the class should flow easily.Adult education is different in many ways than children education, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it!
The positive side of teaching adults is that, in general, they are more responsible, more motivated, and very demanding of themselves (which can be both a positive and a negative aspect). Another factor is that they are very clear about their goals, needs, interests and aspirations. Very often, their interest is focused on well-being, career progress or self-esteem. On the other hand, what is also very interesting, is that adults bring with them a cultural and social historical background and all their life and work experience, which allows us to diversify and enrich our classes and have all kind of conversations on different topics in a funny way.
But we cannot fool ourselves, because not everything is easy. Adults have their demands and want quick answers that relate directly to their lives. They want professionalism and respect on the one hand and on the other hand, they learn better if the learning satisfies their needs and interests. Another problem is related to the way that adults learn in general, which is very different from children. They have more difficulties to adapt to new situations, which may clash with Inlingua method since it’s a different learning than the one they had when younger. In other words, adults usually classify and process information and then memorize it. By experience, adults need to understand the information firstly. They are often impatient and want the translation or the grammatical equivalent in the mother tongue. Of course, we need to manage those situations and cannot fall into the trap of the translation.
Let’s talk about groups, more specifically how difficult a business class can be. The teacher has to be prepared and foresees any kind of situation that may be uncomfortable for one or another student. They are learners, but they are also work colleagues or managers. Adults like participating in class, but if they are co-workers we can see a certain shyness, a certain concern about failure or susceptibility about any comments from the other learners or teacher. The teacher has to be aware when correcting any mistake during the class and has to think very well before doing it, because any uncomfortable situation could discourage more than one learner.
In summary, when preparing classes with adults we must consider their aspirations, needs, experiences and interests. To achieve positive results, participation requires reflection, creativity, interaction, communication, confrontation of ideas and experiences without forgetting the time availability, work, and family factors. All within a well-prepared and respectful environment.Adult education is a very controversial matter. Adults usually are self-motivated when choosing to learn: it can be for work, to move to another country, to help their children at school , or simply to travel around the world and get to know other cultures through the eyes and the words of native people they could come in contact with. This is the reason why they usually have a higher level of attention and concentration compared to teenagers or children , who mostly consider education as a waste of time, sitting long hours hearing other people talking, being forced to study things they find boring. This level of motivation makes it easier for the trainer to work with them, but on the other side the training requires much more efforts to prepare material focused on the main points of interest for the learners, do the most things in the shortest time ever possible, and be very patient and understanding with their often feeling unable to learn as quickly as they would like to simply because they are adults and full of thoughts and worries that distract them from the target of learning. Sometimes adults are scared of learning the target language starting directly by speaking it, although in a simple way, and so the trainer has to be a little psychologist and find different ways (role plays, games, visauls to descibe something) to lead them to do it step by step.
Adults do things with a purpose. This same purpose is applied while learning.
They are driven by motivation. So when the time comes for them to learn something new, their approach is very different to what is considered to be the traditional form of learning. Most of the time, their purpose is very closely tied to what their key motivations are for learning something new.To begin with, adults are always on the hunt to learn something new. As they rightly say, you’re never too old to learn something new. All of life itself is a learning experience. Whether it’s a new skill acquired at work or a full-fledged knowledge based course or even a quick class in something they’re passionate about like cooking or learning a new language. And even learning to cope with life itself. Learning is a constant for adults. Adults come with rich experience, unique perspectives and a whole truck load of knowledge. They’re able to apply what they’ve learnt in the real world to what they’re currently learning, easily. And vice-versa. This certainly makes it easier for them to understand contexts and various concepts.
When it comes to adult education, it is no mean feat. Yes, there are times when one would think that teaching children is more difficult. And, it can be because children are impressionable. But training adults in anything can be tricky too. Mostly because they already are quite set in their ways. Not that they’re rigid per se, but they already have a certain way of thinking. This is a challenge for a trainer but a positive one. As the trainer and the learner in this case are both adults. They can meet half-way to strike a good balance between the two in order for both, the trainer and learner, to achieve their goals. This is already applied in the daily routine interactions anyway. Which also makes group discussion more stimulating and makes the group dynamics on a whole, more interesting.
With adults, they are more open to learning the ways of the trainer and what the course expects from them. They are willing to accept change and adapt to their new routine. It’s also interesting to see how they apply all they have learnt into their regular life or for the reason they are doing this course. It’s important to remember that most of the time, they have taken up a course to enhance their existing skills and knowledge. It helps them to maybe get a leg up in the world, or help them adapt to a city or even get a new job for which they are learning this new skill in the first place.
Adults also know what it expected of them. So there is not a lot of hand-holding when it comes to training them in anything. They are quite self-motivated. And it’s not about how well they do on a test, or the number of marks they get overall. It’s more about getting a complete understanding of why they’re doing a course in the first place and in the end, what’s in it for them. For example, they’re not forced to do any homework, but they already understand how important it is for their progress to do it. And so for them to move up to the next level and enhance their learning, they are willing do it.
That is not to say that trainers would not use methods that are just a tad similar to teaching children or young adults because both would possibly be starting at the beginning, but are at different levels of development, and adults could progress faster. Adults are highly interested in self-learning too. So perhaps they would on their own, try to read a book or watch a movie or strike up a conversation in the target language. Solely, to be able to enhance their skills and slowly make progress towards achieving their desired results.
Teaching adults and children or teenagers are obviously two very different approaches. Children have a short attention span and thus there is a need for the teacher to vary activities. In addition, I found that children usually perform better in a group class than in a one-to-one class. Nonetheless, adults and children have one thing in common; the demand to be constantly encouraged, to receive some kind of incentive that stimulates them to study further.
Adults’ motives to learn a foreign language may diverge substantially. They may study a language out of mere curiosity, for their own culture, possibly because they are fond of a particular language. It may be for travelling and they encountered difficulties or obstacles in the past when it came to communicating with locals because of their lack of knowledge. Another purpose may be a professional opportunity that requires moving abroad, hence the need of acquiring basic understanding of the idiom spoken in the country they will move to. It may also be a training required by the company they work for in order to get a promotion. Based on my personal experience, I once had a student who wanted to learn English simply to be able to watch films in original version.
The atmosphere in the class also plays an important part. On the whole, adults tend to be more participative than children who are sometimes reluctant to speak. They probably apprehend their mates’ comments or are too shy to express themselves. On the other hand, an adult group class can be quite interactive. Adults like to raise questions focused on professional topics or generally related to real-life experiences of their own. However, I find easier to get children or teenagers to do their homework rather than adults as those frequently come up with the excuse they were too busy at home or at work to complete it.I have taught the English language to younger learners in previous years. The motivation of each student usually varied widely (especially the 7-17 age range). Some students loved language learning, while others found it quite difficult or not worth their time. There was always a difference. For the younger students, it usually depended on if one their parents spoke the language, were supportive of them learning English/saw value in them studying it, and if they had a solid English language base from their previous years. Due to this, the needs of the students varied. Some students would need more attention from the teacher than others, and could be easily discouraged by the level of their peers. Of course, mostly all of the older students knew they had to focus on their grades and the English exams they had to take, as these were also determining factors on future high school/universities they would apply to. The motivation for learning the language mainly came from wanting to pass the course and do well on the exams to get to the next level they needed to for the following year.
My experience in teaching adults—especially those at a higher B1/B2 level—was very different. Many in the intermediate level had more internal motivating factors. They truly wanted to learn the language, asked many questions, and even wanted homework so that they could study/practice more. Some had outside motivators, such as needing to learn the language for work, moving to an English-speaking country, or because their spouse’s family spoke the language. Some of them were in class despite of all of the other things they had to do, because they really liked learning the language and wanted to continue to improve for themselves.
Teaching adults, I generally didn’t have to explain the importance of studying outside of the classroom, because these students already knew this. They were also able to add more valuable language to the classroom by discussing their own experiences/ideas with one another. They also tended to be okay with making many mistakes. They knew that it was important to try and speak, no matter if the answer may not have been completely correct. For young learners, many did not want to speak in class for fear of making a mistake in front of their peers, and so it was important to establish a classroom where everyone felt comfortable. This is also true for adults at a beginner level, who are not as confident in their language ability yet and do not want to constantly make mistakes. However, usually the adults at the beginner level were there because they really wanted to learn the language. Although, sometimes there were adults in the classroom who didn’t necessarily want to be there and were only there because they had to be.
I have loved teaching younger learners as well as adults, but it is true that the motivations of the students are very different, along with what they need from the teacher/course. Students should feel comfortable enough to make mistakes in the classroom, have engaging lessons that keep them interested, and through encouragement try to ensure everyone feels as though they are making some progress.It is not unusual to practise two or even three different professions in a lifetime, whereas decades ago people dedicated their entire professional life to a single occupation or employment, hence the importance of adult education.
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. It takes place in the workplace, through schooling or school of continuing education. It can take the form of a course via lectures or correspondence for adults who are not otherwise engaged in formal study. Other learning places may include colleges, universities or libraries. It is often referred to as “Training and development”. Adult education is different from vocational education, which is mostly workplace-based for skill improvement, and also from non-formal adult education, including learning skills or learning for personal development. One way of practising adult education is through tutoring on the Internet.
I do believe that our achievement as individuals and our success as a democratic society depends to a grat extent on learning continually, adapting to change readily and evaluating information critically.Adult education takes different forms and applies to learners in a variety of situations. There are ‘occasional’ educational opportunities which present themselves in the context of employment such as technical training, leadership training, product training, sensitivity training, etc.. These types of training can be implemented within an organization, organized by human resources management, and can involve mentorship or coaching by senior employees, formal apprenticeship programs, or hiring trainers or coaches from outside of the organization.
Another aspect of adult education involves students returning to a formal education system after a hiatus, such as a graduate student who returns to University to pursue further specialization in a given field of study. In these situations, a student can face challenges not faced by the continuing student. Due to biological limitations, older students who decide to continue their studies may have difficulties caused by health problems, memory limitations, or high stress arising from other areas of their life. These limitations may also apply to leaners who decide or are required to pursue studies in a second or third language. Care must be taken to have consideration for the learner’s limitations in physical mobility, mental agility, or speed of language production. Humor can help learners to relieve mild stress levels and create an atmosphere more conducive to learning.
A philosophy of continual learning is embraced by some organizations, particularly in technical fields, which provide opportunities for continual advancement for their employees. Many individuals also consider themselves continual learners, constantly seeking to develop their knowledge and understanding of given fields, particularly in the in the areas of management, technology, science, medicine, law, etc., which are continually advancing. Other fields that might be pursued throughout a person’s life include art, language, music, or philosophy. Continual learners may be able to maintain mental acuity and disciplined study habits well into old age, by constantly exercising their faculties through exposure to new material.
Other considerations to be taken into account in adult education are competitiveness, aversion to failure, and motivation. In general, adult learners are self-motivated and determined to succeed. They may feel an incentive to compete with younger students, or to demonstrate their knowledge or experience. Other learners may be required by a changing job market or by other personal needs to acquire new knowledge or training. Such learners may be reluctant to participate in the learning process if they feel they are being ‘forced’ to do so, such as those whose employment requires them to complete a training program.
In conclusion, the needs and abilities of adult learners are many and varied. Each learner should be given individual consideration so that they are able to maximize the benefit of an educational program. Learners can be grouped by their prior knowledge and ability to learn so that a group can proceed at roughly the same pace, with equal attention being given to each member of the group.
The following is an edit of my previous post, completed after viewing lessons 15.1 and 15.2
Adult Education
Adult education takes different forms and includes instruction in a variety of situations. There are ‘occasional’ educational opportunities which present themselves in the context of employment such as technical training, leadership training, product training, sensitivity training, etc.. These types of training can be implemented within an organization, organized by human resources management, and can involve mentorship or coaching by senior employees, formal apprenticeship programs, or hiring trainers or coaches from outside of the organization.
Another aspect of adult education involves students returning to a formal education system after a hiatus, such as a graduate student who returns to University to pursue further specialization in a given field of study. In these situations, a student can face challenges not faced by the continuing student. Due to biological limitations, older students who decide to continue their studies may have difficulties caused by health problems, memory limitations, or high stress arising from other areas of their life. These limitations may also apply to leaners who decide or are required to pursue studies in a second or third language. Care must be taken to have consideration for the learner’s limitations in physical mobility, mental agility, or speed of language production. Humor can help learners to relieve mild stress levels and create an atmosphere more conducive to learning.
A philosophy of continual learning is embraced by some organizations, particularly in technical fields, which provide opportunities for continual advancement for their employees. Many individuals also consider themselves continual learners, constantly seeking to develop their knowledge and understanding of given fields, particularly in the in the areas of management, technology, science, medicine, law, etc., which are continually advancing. Other fields that might be pursued throughout a person’s life include art, language, music, or philosophy. Continual learners may be able to maintain mental acuity and disciplined study habits well into old age, by constantly exercising their faculties through exposure to new material.
Other considerations to be taken into account in adult education are motivation, needs analysis, and learning style. In general, adult learners are internally directed and self-motivated. Their motivation generally arises in response to changing situations or from a desire for personal advancement. Two type of motivation are Integrative and Instrumental, the first of which is a motivation to integrate themselves into a surrounding cultural milieu, such as a new work environment, and the second is motivation for practical purposes such as to achieve a promotion or to be better prepared to deal with customers.
A need analysis can reveal the exact reasons that a person has for learning a language, and can help the learner focus on the language that they will need to acquire for practical purposes. For example, person who wants to read technical documents will need different language than a person who wants to socialize at dinner parties. The needs of the individual may also influence the methods they choose to use to learn a language, which can range from viewing foreign-language films and studying bilingual dictionaries to reading instructional books or taking structured language courses.
Finally, a person’s learning style can have an effect on their ability to acquire language. Learners can be divided into visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, or into right-brained and left-brained thinkers. There are a number of other scales that can be used to measure learning styles, such as Dr. Howard Gardener’s “Multiple Intelligence Theory”, which separates intelligence into different types; Verbal-Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Visual-Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical-Rhythmic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic. These and other scales can be used by the teacher to tailor her methodology to suit different types of learners.
In conclusion, the needs and abilities of adult learners are many and varied. Each learner should be given individual consideration so that they are able to maximize the benefit of an educational program. Learners can be grouped by their prior knowledge and abilities to learn so that a group can proceed at roughly the same pace, with equal attention being given to each member of the group.
Adult education as apposed to that of young learners’ can be looked at from two perspective of ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’, which are interwoven. This means that the way an adult learns is different from the way a young learner does, and respectively the methods a trainer applies to teach a language to them must be different.
Focusing on adult education, one can say the main factor in learning is motivation, i.e. the reason why he/she intends to learn a new language. These reasons may include personal interest, social status, work, travel, immigration, etc.
Following this, comes the importance placed on language skills needed by the learner, which in itself, is dependent on the motivation, for example, a learner who needs to learn a language because he/she travels a lot, mostly needs to learn how to listen and speak.
Additionally, a trainer cannot overlook the importance of a leaner’s learning style when choosing the material he/she is going to apply in order to help the learner acquire a language best. (Learning styles will be talked about in details in How Learners Learn discussion part.)
Conclusively, adult education is affected by different factors which need to be taken into consideration by the trainer before choosing the right method to help the learner achieve what they have in mind.
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