Adult learners and their needs
Adult learners are easily distinguished, but in some cases it is very difficult to decide which of our students can be defined as adults. Many people think that adult students are the ones that study at a university, the ones that have a job, a part-time or a full-time job. Here are some characteristics of adult learners:
· They have experience
· They have habits
· They have pride
· They have worries
· They have an attitude
· They can change to adapt and improve
· They need to make use of what they learn
· They need a choice in what they are learning
How can we achieve students’ motivation?
To help and motivate our students it is very important to understand the reasons that they want to learn a foreign language. Some of these reasons are:
· To meet the expectations of the school/university
· For a better employment or a better pay
· To improve ones education
· To study and travel abroad
· To read masterpieces in their original language
· To get accepted to a university
· To be culturally sensitive
· To compete in global economy
The reasons are different and it is we, the teachers that need to find why our students are learning English. In this way we can find the way how to motivate our students by focusing on the needs that they have.
Do you know your students’ needs? Have you ever thought that they need to be shown and mentioned frequently how this course will be beneficial to them?
Great quick read! At this point, I’ll learn new Albanian expressions if they’ll a) impress others b) help me avoid looking bad or c) provide good quiz questions. For example”ma bere prift dhe…”
That’s great Josh!
Aleksandra, I find your post really interesting. If we want to keep our students motivated we have to know their needs. I frequently ask students what their needs are aiming to meet them. In some cases when they have just started the course they find it really difficult to identify their needs. I personally let them think about their goals and needs for at least 3-4 classes; later I talk to them, either individually or in groups, give them some hints and clues on how English could help them in the future. Providing several examples of my previous students’ goals is very helpful as well. The moment they know their goal, listing their needs is fairly easy. For example a student of mine(interchange 3) wants to improve her English language skills asap as she intends to take TOEFL exam next January. Therefore she is studying hard to reach her goal. In addition she has set specific monthly goals. This month we are working on improving reading skills. She works individually the extra reading passages that I find for her. However what impressed me the most was that once I gave these extras to her, everyone in class asked to get a copy. Up until then they hadn’t realized that reading skills were a need. Now they are all working on improving reading skills and I find it amazing:)