Teach English in Jiangzhuang Zhen - Weifang Shi

In this essay, I will pinpoint what attributes distinguishes a classroom of adult learners from younger learners. Then I will address how a teacher must alter her lesson plans and teaching style for successful learning in each of the two types of classrooms and state why those responses will be effective. Adult learners understand the value of their education. In the context of ESL, adult learners can be enrolled in classes because they know that learning English is marketable, making them a more impressive job candidate or a more useful existing employee. If the community is investing in tourism, bilingual people will satisfy a demand for those who have both local knowledge and the ability to communicate with foreigners. They are choosing to take the class, which shows a level of eagerness. On the other hand, they are adults, and are flooded with obligations. They may have some dependents, and will be juggling the ESL class with an already busy life. If this is the case, then assigning more work may just be discouraging to the learner and create gaps in the group’s skill level if students with more time take advantage of the extra work. Another difference between adult learners and child learners can be summed up by the colloquial phrase, “can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Adult learners can have more trouble assimilating to a new language because they have so much experience with other languages, which have been ingrained into them. Adult learners also are less likely to be open to making mistakes. Young learners, it follows, have the opposite propensities. They are forced to go to school and often won’t see the benefit to their ESL classes. They are less likely to have dependents so can probably do more work outside of class but because they lack motivation they are unlikely to do it. However, the language might come easier to them because they are used to learning language, as they recently learned their own language! Young learners can also be more creative and more willing to make mistakes in the learning process. To address the problem’s with the young learners then. There are a few things that a teacher can do. The first is to use their intrinsic ability to make mistakes to ensure the classroom takes advantage of that, devoting a lot of class time to the Engage and Activate parts of the lesson. Create a lot of situations in which the learners are speaking and listening, regardless of the accuracy. To address the weakness of not understanding the value of the ESL, a teacher can bring in a local adult or a few local community members who wish they possess the skill that the students are learning, and to explain why it’s important. It may be important to give relevant examples explaining why it’s important to learn English now, such as understanding TV shows, talking to people around the world through a pen-pal program, or making it easier to travel all over the world. Give them assignments that they can do with friends that will be fun, so it doesn’t feel like an obligation, that way it won’t really matter that the class is forced. For adult learners, it’s even more imperative to create an environment that facilitates making mistakes, which will be an even more challenging task because adult learners are prone to do the opposite. Immediately establish the expectations in the class, use the eagerness to set the boundaries, “if you are eager to learn this language, then you have to try to use the language as much as possible” that way, adult learners understand that they have to attempt to make mistakes if they really want to get better at the language. Communicate that if they do that then it will make the time spent in class much more valuable and will take priority over the learning at home, making it okay if they don’t have the time. For the adult learners, it’s imperative to communicate the goals of the class because they are there for a reason, so first learn why they want to learn English, and then communicate what is required for them in order to make that happen. It’s more than just attending class, but instead how the class must be oriented for successful lessons: speak and make mistakes. For young learners, clear communication of goals is less important because they don’t have to have a personal reason for why they are there. They are there because they are forced to be. That’s okay and can be used advantageously by creating fun lesson plans that take advantage of an eagerness to explore and make mistakes. They will lose track of the “goal” and focus on the process. For adult learners, by taking the goal and waving the carrot in front of their faces, they will become more likely to engage in the process. Therefore, the teacher must focus on fun and exciting lesson plans for the young learners, and clear communication of accomplishing goals that will lead to more participation in fun and exciting lesson plans for the adult learners.