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Introduction : Teaching younger learners and adults have many differing areas in terms of learning objectives and the needs of the students. Some learners may want to learn English for a specific reason and therefore will be highly motivated and interested. On the other hand, younger students maybe learning English out of necessity and have no choice in the matter. The following essay will discuss differences and similarities in relation to each of the respective learner groups. Firstly, I would like to mention younger learners. These students may be in the age range of 5-15. For younger kids a lot of classroom management is needed potentially in regard to the overall discipline of the classroom. Younger kids need structure to their learning environment and a purpose. However, a lot of younger kids may be taking English classes as extra circular classes or for purposes of external examinations. For the very young kids a lot of effort should be put into keeping students motivated and the lesson interesting. This could be done using visual aids, games or activities. Where younger kids do not have a strong foundation in English flash cards could be used, and it is important that teachers bring energy to the classroom. Repetition and exaggeration can help when teaching very young kids in kindergarten for example. For teenagers a lot of group work can be used as some beginners may be shy, students where their English is relatively better can be paired with the weaker students. Topics should be relevant to the students age by using a mix of authentic and non authentic learning materials particularly for teenagers and high school students. High school students would rather discuss such topics in their daily lives such as shopping, latest movies and music. They may also be interested in comparing and contrasting non sensitive cultural differences between each of the students assuming the students are of different nationalities. Its important that the teacher is interactive with the students in the classroom and always approachable. Due to students progression through the school system it is important that parents and students a like get useful feedback from their lessons. Providing feedback by monitor the students progress can assist in adapting and making appropriate changes to the courses curriculum. Secondly, adult learners are a relatively unique learner group as they often start late when learning a second language. Adult learners often have a specific purpose when learning English, e.g. to emigrate to a western country or possibly learn English as part of a workplace requirement in order to participate in global commerce (business English). It is very helpful when commencing a course where the target students are adults to create a questionnaire for the students in order to gauge each of the students interests, motivation, and needs for learning English. Most content should be relevant to the learner and practical in nature especially in regard to business English. However, this does not necessarily mean the content needs to be too technical in nature. Adult learners may vary in terms of their levels of English so it is important to also teach main language concepts and everyday conversational English. Adult learners may ask more questions in regards to grammar, i.e. the mechanics of the language so the teacher should be aware and prepared for longer class discussions. Due to adults usually having a higher cognitive ability more complex concepts may be explained and different learning resources may be used such as newspaper articles or video news clips. Younger learners would be exposed to learning resources such as cut out shapes/drawings, board games and so on. In summary, there are some obvious differences but also some similarities between younger learners and adult learners. Depending on the age group different resources may need to be utilized and the overall learning environment needs to be considered. Learning materials should be appropriate and meet the needs of each student group.
