Teach English in Qudi Zhen - Jinan Shi

The modes of learning for younger and older learners seem as though the gap has been widening, but there’s constantly ways to bridge these kinds of differences with similar pedagogical approaches. One magnificent factor of teaching both children and adults in an ESL classroom is that there’s always room for foundational English lessons. This could cover grammar rules involving parts of speech, sentence structure and the power of vocabulary. While both sets of students may have prior or little to no knowledge of English usage, the idea is that an experienced instructor can approach both student bodies with objectives that outline their exposure to the language as a whole. In other words, there’s a tabula rasa element to teaching both sets of students, with nearly every skill level parallel to their progression and advancement. For example, an ESL k-3 setting could count as comparison for teaching a Beginner 1 class; a 6th grade through 9th grade setting could be counted as comparison for teaching an almost Low Advanced class, and so on and so forth. This speculation could vary, as even an ESL class often has mixed level skill sets amongst students. While learning modes of children learners and adult learners can be similar, there is an obvious difference of understanding based on maturity and background of classroom expectations. For adult learners, they have already been molded by their cultural perspective of what education looks like, how the classroom is operated, and what norms fit--and might not fit-- to their individual learning process. This sometimes creates obstacles when it comes to participating in class activities, since generational, traditional and cultural experiences they’ve had impact their comfort level in an unconventional class setting. Some ELL students have been brought up in their cultures to not question their teachers. Some cultures simply don’t lead discussions in the classroom, or there’s more book learning than anything that dominates the lesson. Especially in adult education, students don’t typically like to reveal that they’re unsure or apprehensive. For the instructor, just like with any classroom, it’s essential to alleviate this challenge and establish a rapport by having the maturity within adult education realm help them define the boundaries that respect the multiculturality of the class. On the flipside of this within the space of adult learners, regardless of being ELL students or not, adult students can often display their jadedness of being lectured to, or annoyance of being pushed to participate in work they may not deem significant. This also comes of spending years in the classroom, especially where differences in classroom norms contribute to their reluctance. The best thing to keep in mind for teachers when they come across this occurrence is to deliver as many student-led lessons as possible, making otherwise rising stars out of learners with older stories to tell of their academic journeys. Keeping motivation in mind, it’s a wonder to break the assumption that young learners could be the most difficult to teach because they are new to all language acquisition. On the contrary, their freshness to academics serves many purposes that continue to aid their accomplishments in education. Young learners have sort of a different connection to language learning because it sometimes provides a good challenge for them to master their multilingualism. In many cases, young learners are the only translators within their homes to interpret the English language onto their family’s native language. In other words, they are constantly in between expanding worlds of their classroom and outside classroom knowledge when it comes to rules of speech. While there can be some discomfort with young learners with trying to adjust to this dynamic, the instructor is best suited when providing lessons that create an going balance for students. Emphasizing fundamental skills, as well as introducing appropriate, real-world concepts into lessons, gives the relationship between young students and instructors a compromise of a structured, yet unfiltered language exchange. When trying to implement what I’ve learned in my classes, I’ve found that it varies based upon my levels of learners. In other words, I’ve had to gauge who likes to participate, and who doesn’t; who answers the fastest and slowest; and who simply doesn’t know the answer to assignment questions. In noticing, I’ve aimed to build a Student Response System by resetting expectations and conveying to students that it’s okay to be unsure in language learning. Especially with ESL students, verbal responses are especially difficult simply because language barriers make all students feel shy. I found that having students speak or write out their answers for longer/open ended responses elicits more answers than just choosing one student at a time. Not only is this a confidence-building technique, but this also is a great accountability tool since everyone is sharing. The basis for trying to strengthen my skills as an instructor was to find useful strategies that support an equitable learning environment for all modes of learners within my teaching experiences.