So, you think teaching adults is pretty much the same as teaching any other age group? Think again, my friends!
Teachers of adults have a radically different occupation to those who teach children. If you’ve been teaching young learners and you feel like making the switch to adults, there are a number of things you have to make sure you do. I refer to these as the five doctrines of teaching adult learners. Before you read on, try to imagine what they could be…
Give yourself a couple of minutes before scrolling down!
Malcolm Knowles (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm) is one of the best known figures in the field of adult learning. He noted that adults learn most effectively when:
- They understand why something is important to know or do.
- They have the freedom to learn in their own way.
- Learning is experiential.
- The time is right for them to learn.
- The process is positive and encouraging.
How many of these did you guess?
OK, so you think that these are similar to how you’d teach young learners… well, it’s the way you apply these doctrines that’s important.
I'm really looking forward to your ideas on this. Do you agree?.
- Yearinthelifeof's blog
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Comments
I think what you have touched upon is quite a known fact, for the ways to teach and encourage kids and adults are completely different, and every good teacher should know that. Moreover kids don't know yet what a part of speech is and other notions, which makes it more difficult to explain grammar, on the other hand children have a better memory for words, thus while teaching them we'd better make a greater emphasis on learning vocabulary etc.
Looks like the ways I would teach young learners too. Are those principles very much different?
There is a big difference between teaching and educating. Children need to learn much more than English from their English teachers. Therefore, assuming that you're a qualified, certified teacher moving from teaching children to teaching adults would be easy as pie. I don't think that would be the case the other way around.
Thanks for sharing,it's useful for me.I'm looking forward to further detailed exploration.
As for me, I've definitely guessed the first point.It's so obvious and helpful to be sure that your student needs everything you teach him\her without any struggle to prove that all this is vital and essential.I wouldn't say that teaching adults is low hanging fruit)but it allows you to concentrate on fundamentals.
It's absolutely different, even psychologically, to teach adults and young learners. For example, grammar. The younger students won't understand the abstract ideas about grammar rules, a teacher might teach them by patterns. It's important to note that a teacher doesn't mention to the students about grammar, they learn the language in the form of language patterns. The adults may operate their own lingustic rules, devising and modifying them. Grammar for adults should be filled with logical explanations, they intuitively apply more learning strategies than kids.
As for the experiental learning #3, I agree, learning is not complete unless the experience is processed through stages of reflection, generalization and application. These stages are more relevant to be observed by an adult.
I guess this is really a very interesting topic to discuss! I'm looking forward to the continuation!
Of course the 5 principles are mostly true, but I'm thinking about #2: do we really need to give so much freedom to our ss? even if they're adults. It might be tempting but may lead to chaos. At least many students are looking to some system. So giving freedom should be done wisely anyway. IMHO, Ss should be prepared to it.
Hi dear
you are quite right that there is a big difference between teaching and educating.We educate children but we teach adults. In both processes working environment is the most important factor. Seeing students develop new skills and gain an appreciation of knowledge and learning can be rewarding. However, teaching may be frustrating when one is dealing with unmotivated or disrespectful students. Occasionally, teachers must cope with unruly behaviour and violence. They may experience stress in dealing with large classes, heavy workbooks, or old schools that are run down and lack modern amenities. Many teachers are frustrated by the lack of control they have over what they are required to teach.
Thanks
Thanks for all of the comments so far. I'm really busy and I will try to respond later tonight, when I get a chance.