TEFL Hatfield Minnesota

Before a teacher starts teaching an age group, I believe it is important to know and understand the difference between how young learners and adults learn, as this affects affects the way they are taught! children are very often “forced” (i.e not through their own choice) to attend these lessons so already from the start have a lack of motivation to learn, which can be a hindrance. It is up to the teacher to make the lessons as fun and hand on as possible to encourage learning. children's brains are like sponges and they absorb ideas and lessons quickly, especially if they are engaged. Getting these students playing interest and ability relevant games, singing songs and moving around (even out of the classroom) will not only help them absorb but also retain. Students of this age group learn best when they are motivated and feel good about themselves so another very important factor in the teaching of young learners is praise. Praising a student when they have done a job is an incredibly effective way of giving them confidence in their abilities and providing them with the motivation to continue. Asking a young learner if they understood the lesson or teaching point can often be a waste of time as most children will eagerly say that they understood it so they can move on and not admit that they need a little more assistance or explanation. The easiest way to establish if the children did actually understand is to review and recapitulate on a regular basis. This way the teacher can gauge whether they can move on or if a little further work is necessary without undermining anyone's confidence. Encouraging and maintaining confidence is also an important point when teaching adults too. Adults will be more likely to take risks (ie participate in class, try the next level of learning) if they are confident their abilities will not be mocked if mistakes are made. It is important to remember when teaching adults that the classroom becomes a hotspot of diverse backgrounds, cultures, age, formal education, life experiences and even language ability and these contexts should be used to interest and motivate the learners. Using these basics and relating them to specific lessons and learning points will increase interest and encourage learning in the class. Although adults are never too old to learn a new language or skill, our brains may not be as absorbent as young children as well as most adults having a busy life outside of school and needing to remember many different things. As such, a key learning tool is the repeated practise of a skill, concept or learning point. Repetition is an effective method of having something “stick” in a relatively short period of time. It is worth remembering when teaching these different age groups that different ages need different tools and triggers, have different goals and motivations and more importantly different needs to learning english which should be reflected in the teaching method.