Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Beimeng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Weifang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
When teaching a foreign language, the teacher must be aware of many different factors that affect their student’s learning experience. Experienced teachers are able to pick up on these factors and modify their teaching to best reflect these realities. One of the most crucial aspects the teacher must be aware of, is the age of their students. The age of the students can determine what teaching methods that should and should not be utilized. For young learners it may be more appropriate to use music and dance as a way to help teach vocabulary or the alphabet. While this can help motivate younger learners, using this same method could isolate and belittle adult students. With young learners the teacher often has more liberty to assign cumbersome homework assignments to reinforce concepts taught in class. However, this can be more difficult to do with adult learners. Often adult learners have their classes in the evening after a long day of work. Adult learners also have more obligations to worry about such as their career or family. Young learners do not have a lot of background experience. This usually means the teacher must create more scenarios and situations for when language points would be used. Adult learners have much more background experience and knowledge. This allows the teacher to build from their experience and can make learning more personable. Another key difference between adult and young learners is the motivation that drives them to learn. Often young learners are in a class because they were instructed to do so. As a result, sometimes young learners do not have the motivation to take the class as seriously as they should. This means the teacher has the burden of inspiring and creating motivation so that the students will be successful. Adult learners often choose to take a language class by their own choice. Their reasons for learning could be as simple as career success or as ambitious as wanting to become a world traveler. Regardless of the exact reason, adult learners usually have a goal in mind which affect their entire mindset during the learning process. Expectations often differ between young learners and adults. Young learners often have a more dependent nature, while adults are more independent. The teacher will have to dictate and guide a young learner more actively. Often with a young learner the teacher will have to demonstrate more authority. Adults learners need and expect to be treated as equals. As a teacher there should be a difference in the way you instruct and teach young learners and adults. There is a vast amount of differences that can make teaching young learners and adults challenging. However, there are also some similarities which can assist when preparing lessons. Both adults and young learners can be grouped into different categories based on their learning strengths. Depending on where you look, you can divide up all learners from 4 to 7 different categories. (https://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/) Visual, logical, and aural, are 3 of those categories. You can use this knowledge to make teaching easier whether they are a young learner or an adult. Knowing the differences and similarities between young learners and adults will help equip the teacher to effectively communicate teaching and instruction.
