How To Motivate Adult Learners

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching can be extremely satisfying and rewarding, but how we teach and the methodologies that we use should be adapted to teaching each specific learner or groups of learners. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Omar B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Let's begin with defining what is considered to be an adult and what is considered to be a young learner. According to regulatory standards, an adult is an individual over the age of 18. Young learners, on the other hand, can be categorized based on three bases; from the age of seven and under (very young learners), between the ages 8 to 12 and post-puberty, usually from ages 13...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences This post will focus on the differences English teacher face when they are working with a class of young learners compared to a class of adult learners. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca M. First, it is necessary to define what we mean by adult learners and young learners in the TEFL environment. An adult learner is defined as any student over the age of eighteen who engages in English language tuition. A younger learner, therefore, is a student under the age of eighteen years old. There is a much greater variety within the young learner category due to the vast developmental changes that occur during this period. For example, a five- year- old is a very different type of learner...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences If you're a native language speaker, you've likely heard the phrase, “You can't teach an old dog new tricks”. There has been little evidence found to support this claim, but the belief persists. Many adult learners believe that it is too late for them to learn a new language. If you are teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language you may find yourself teaching a class of adult learners. Adult learners differ in many ways from young learners, and one such issue you may encounter is a doubt from the learners that they are capable of picking up a new language now that they are no longer children. Though the style of learning and the issues encountered will inevitably differ from those of young learners,...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas A good TEFL teacher must understand that there are a lot of differences between young learners and adult learners, but also they have some similarities. The following differences and similarities between these two types of students are the most common ones any teacher will notice having worked in both situations. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daria K. One of the main differences between young learners and adult learners is their discipline and behavior during class. Adult learners are generally more disciplined, independent and organised than young learners. They do not need as much attention from the teacher which is why the teacher needs to adopt...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For this task, I have selected learning modes: Young learners v.s. Adults. When teachers are instructing students, they should first think about how to instruct them using the best methodologies to make learning best or what factors or aspects of learning they should consider for their classes, such as student motivation, previous learning experience, language awareness, behavior problems that could arise in class and the students’ life experiences. All of the above factors can be divided by many different students, but it has been shown in this course that these facets are predominantly divided by young learners. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Heejeong K. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When starting a teaching career, it is necessary to be aware of the different difficulties groups of learners one will encounter. This includes young learners, beginners, multilingual, adults, and many more. Each group has a different class attitude and learning ability. While there are hundreds of different teaching activities and styles, not all of them will work with each group. It is important to distinguish the most useful from differing classes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kellyann E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When speaking of adult...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas An ESL teacher will most likely teach a class with young learners and adults at some point in their careers. Teaching young learners and adults has its own set of challenges. Some of these challenges will be the learning experience that each possesses, the different ways of learning and how this affects the lesson, and the motivation of the student and how it affects behavior. Whether it is young learners for adults, the rewards can be satisfying. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chris V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The learning experience will play a big role when teaching students. Given the age, young learners will have...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For people who are learning a foreign language, their lives might change a lot. They have the chance to talk to more people, get more information, and their brains get trained. As we all know, it’s much easier for a child to learn a new language than an adult. Why? What are the essential differences between adults and young learners? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate LU C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Usually, there is a goal that motivates an adult to learn something new, whereas children are acquiring knowledge from what they are experiencing. In other words, children are learning what is provided. Unconscious...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences How does teaching adults differ from teaching young learners? To most people, it should be rather obvious that teaching children is very different from teaching adults, due to adults being more mature and having more life experience than children. This article discusses the advantages of teaching adult students and what the implications on a teacher’s methodology are. Adult learners refers to anyone who is above the age of eighteen. Although it is not a perfect definition, we will nevertheless use eighteen as our cut-off age since it is the most common age threshold in many language schools when it comes to deciding whether a student should go to a children’s class (6-17 in many occasions) or an adult’s...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas An instructor should adapt their instruction based on the student's needs and abilities, and should take into account the age of students as this is likely to affect factors such as student motivation, attention span, and openness to activities. An instructor should anticipate that young students may be less internally motivated than adult learners. Adult learners are likely to have longer attention spans than younger students, therefore the instructor should adjust lesson plans accordingly. Certain activities will be well received by very young students and poorly received by slightly older students or adult learners, this should be taken into account when planning. It is ultimately the instructor's...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The capacity for learning is present in people of any age and the desire for education and knowledge should be nurtured and celebrated to the best ability of not only the student but the educator as well. Because education is something that people seek out for the duration of their lives, the role and processes of an educator are incredibly diverse and are many times determined by the specific educational situation. One of the biggest determinations of the teaching processes and style arises when one considers the age of her students. Though a teacher may use songs and games when teaching children, her approach to teaching adults would be very different. Young learners acquire information in different ways than...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences People of all ages around the world wish to learn English, for varying reasons, and many begin this endeavor at different times in their lives. For teachers, it is important to understand that the approach to teaching English is not painted with a broad stroke across all ages of learners. To ensure that you reach your class in the most effective way possible it is vital to know what level your students are at and also what motivated them to learn English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ilse G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Beginners are not all equal. There are varying sub-levels to the beginning level. As a teacher, it is...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences Learning is something essential in anyone's life, not only as a human being but as a species. As humans we start learning about everything in our environment the moment we come into this world and this experience of learning proceeds with us throughout our lives till the moment we leave this world. The more we learn the more knowledge we accumulate, which will help us, as individuals or societies, to improve our lives in every way possible as long as we use this knowledge that we have learned and apply it correctly in our daily lives. It is evident that learning happens through communication and interaction between an individual and his/her environment and the main tool for interaction and communication for humans is...  [Read more]

1. Introduction 2. Our Services 3. Benefits of ESL Classes for Adults in Singapore 4. Why Choose ITTT for ESL Classes in Singapore If you are an adult living in Singapore and looking to improve your English language skills, you have come to the right place. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we offer high-quality ESL classes tailored specifically for adults in Singapore. Our courses are designed to help you develop your language proficiency in a supportive and interactive environment. At ITTT, we understand the importance of effective communication in today's globalized world. Our ESL classes for adults in Singapore focus on all aspects of language learning, including speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Whether you are a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Generally, anything planned well in advance comes out much better and well organized as compared to something that is just done anyhow in any manner without any planning. As a teacher, it is important to know what you want to teach, why you want to teach and most importantly how you intend to teach. All these questions can only be answered when Lesson planning is done. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lucia F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In trying to answer the questions raised above it is clear that the teacher will know what he/she wants to teach. There is needed to know what you to achieve by teaching the chosen topic...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this short essay, I would like to share the differences in teaching YL and Adults. For effective learning, it is important for us, as teachers, to understand how these two groups go about learning. The critical point is the suitable design and delivery of the program. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eddy P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Malcolm Knowles differentiates between teaching adults (andragogy) and Young Learners/Children (Pedagogy). Malcolm Knowles based his theory on 5 assumptions of the way adults learn: He suggests including adults in both the planning and development of instruction. By giving them a voice...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Young learners and adults tend to have different modes when it comes to English learning due to several factors. This article is going to demonstrate some of the factors. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Fanchun M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Young learners are a special group of people in English learning and have to be treated differently because they are unique in several ways. First, young learners tend to be self- motivated as they are always curious, and curiosity is a motivation factor and important in new language learning. Second, young learners are less conscious of potential mistakes and have a sense of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When teaching English as a second language many considerations go beyond simply presenting language and relying on your expertise as a native speaker. Differences in age and life experience will have profound effects on how students learn and retain information. In this essay, I will look at the differences in young and adult learners in how they learn and important considerations for each group. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Connor M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For younger students, I'm considering the range of elementary to grade school. These students are put in the classroom by parents, and may not be as...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vemund V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Also Read: "7 Great Games for Your ESL Conversation Class" Also Read: How do I choose a TEFL course? Children’s natural ability to acquire new languages is strong before adolescence. Pronunciation comes easier, and vocabulary sticks during this time. A classroom of young students maybe a handful, but in terms of English instruction, everyone will be more or less on the same page. Adults, on the other hand, will have more varying levels and difficulties. The natural ability to pick up a second language drops, we must deliberately and consciously...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Motivation is integral to the development of any language learner. Disengaged learners do not actively participate in or see the reasoning behind their learning. While external motivation is a prominent factor, teachers need to implement a range of strategies to encourage enthusiastic engagement in classroom activities. To provide adequate opportunities for student achievement, educators need to understand their students and utilize prior experiences in their instruction. Effective classroom instruction will implement materials and resources that are relevant to students’ lives and provide ample opportunity for meaningful communication while ensuring activities are fun and enjoyable for a diverse cohort of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Although the Classroom Learning Modes are affected by many variables, a large factor that instructors should be aware of are the differences and similarities between Youth and Adult Learners. Youth versus adult learners may vary in their classroom experience, energy, and sources of motivation, however, all students (regardless of age) can learn successfully if the teacher is cognizant of these dimensions as they design and deliver their course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Julia J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Young English learners typically possess less classroom experience than more mature learners, however, this...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences As we all know, motivation is a core aspect of teaching and learning a language. Lack of motivation is perhaps the biggest obstacle that we face as students and teachers. If a student lacks motivation, he/she will not pay attention in the class or will simply find it boring. At the same time if a teacher lacks motivation to teach he/she will be unable to attract students’ attention and give them all they need. Let us be honest and say that intelligent students are those, who always eagerly attend class and enjoy the process. Here we need a highly motivated teacher who is willing help them. In this article I divide students into several categories because different situations require different approaches. This post...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences ESL teachers must acknowledge that it is not equal teaching English Lessons to children, teenagers, and adults, there are some wide differences between the practices used in each case, classroom, population, levels, and country where English is taught, on this paper we will check how an ESL lesson may be affected by these variables, and how we could overlap them on the practices used in teenagers and adults English lessons. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Javier V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To analyze all the practices and methods used in an ESL lesson differing from its population, we must clarify the first two...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This TEFL course covered a huge variety of topics, and it was all useful information for English teachers broadly. It had a nice balance of actual how-to-tasks (i.e. how to make a lesson), as well as guidance and advice dependent on the situation (i.e. how to deal with a misbehaving student or how to establish rapport with a class). While there was new information throughout each chapter for me, the most useful, applicable information for me as a teacher was the differences between young learners and adults. This is mostly because I have taught ages preschool-late 60s (not necessarily English, I taught preschool in the USA and have taught private piano/harp lessons). I learned how to navigate the challenges when...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Motivation can be seen as the reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a certain way. Many people in the world today battle to find the motivation they need to achieve their goals, be it in the business sector, schools, or even in their day to day activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chéz-lynn M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The higher the level of motivation, the more likely a task is to be achieved. There are different types of motivation such as intrinsic motivation which involves doing something because it's personally rewarding to you and extrinsic motivation that involves doing something to earn a reward...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Many variances exist between teaching English as a Foreign Language to Young Learners vs adults. Despite these dissimilarities, the fundamentals will remain the same. Teachers should motivate their students to communicate in the target language, and utilize students’ previous knowledge while maintaining an engaging atmosphere in the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marlon W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The classroom is not the place for superficial work. Any teacher who is gratified with superficial knowledge will not attain a high degree of proficiency. The teacher should carefully study the disposition...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As an international study major in college, I learned that the United Nations, a non-governmental organization, officially recognizes six world languages: every meeting, written document, and speech are translated into these languages. English is one of them. It is spoken and written by billions of people around the world. Having traveled in eight countries myself, I was surprised to have seen how commonplace it was for countries to translate directional signs in both the official language and in English. A student’s mastery of the English language, or in any language, can be a difficult journey to venture. Therefore, this essay will explore what factors may motivate a student to learn English. This post was...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas ‘You can only give what you have’, so the adage by Leo Buscaglia says, likewise the holy lore brings it out as well to emphasize the truth in it. This is true when it comes to teaching. The teacher can rightly or wrongly offer what he/she has or has not. In a class setting, the teacher is often expected to be in the frontline at all times by the learners. The various activities that are geared towards helping the learners achieve their goals or dreams in an institution of learning all depend on the input of the teacher or properly called the role of the teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate David K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Early in the course, we learn that about key characteristics of good teachers and good learners. A good teacher will have the ability to motivate their students while a good learner will be motivated to learn the English language and be engaged with the coursework. Naturally, adult learners have chosen to learn the language based on their interests while young learners are more likely to be placed in your course from parents or external pressures. The motivated student has a greater chance of success than a student without motivation and so identifying methods to keep these younger learners engaged and ready to learn is of great benefit to you as a teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]