The Hilles and Sutton article describes adult education and the differences between teaching adults versus younger students. It goes into detail on the reasons for these differences, and the span of them. The article also describes what adult students tend to expect from and tend to get out of classes they take. It also explains the varying types of students present in adult education classes today: students who have skills up to the elementary level, up to the secondary level, immigrant students, vocational students, ESL, handicapped/exceptional, health education students, etc.
Hilles and Sutton explain that adult students tend to differ from younger students in that they generally take classes in addition to working full-time. “¾ of adult ESL students have a full-time job in addition to going to school (p. 387).” So taking classes is something they often squeeze into their schedule and therefore something they take seriously. School for them is a choice, whereas school for younger students is often something they are forced to do by Mom and Dad.
Another difference adult ESL students tend to have from younger students is that they are older; more mature… and therefore have a more developed sense of self. This can be a problem, for example in learning a second language, when for so long the have only relied on one. But it can also be an advantage, because they have gone through a lot more than perhaps a fifteen-year-old student has. “In many cases, they have borne and reared children, and, all too often, survived extreme political and economic hardship. Adult students have a maturity and an understanding of priorities that many younger students do not (p. 386).” They often take learning seriously, and take the initiative to form a technique/schedule for navigating their class material. They are proactive learners.
The article also discusses the necessity for a feeling of progress in adult ESL students. If they feel like classes are a waste of their time, or that they are not succeeding, they can get discouraged and drop out. It can also affect their self-esteem and cause them to experience feelings of shame. Learning a second language can be a very big struggle, and if they feel like they are constantly failing, they’re going to continue to have that terrible feeling of shame. However, surprising or not, the majority of adult ESL students that disenroll from classes do it for other reasons. For example, family matters or work conflicts.
Hilles and Sutton explain that there is a definite necessity for positive feedback in any classroom, but especially with adult ESL students. Adults become very discouraged when they feel that they are not making progress, and tend to give up or grow impatient with classes in which they experience this. If they feel a class is wasting their time, they quickly want to drop it and use that time for something else in their busy lives. It is extra important for the teacher to provide a clear path for the classroom, in order to give students a sense of success and direction. Also in the article, is a research finding that explains the brain’s reaction to positive feedback versus its reaction to negative feedback. With positive feedback, the brain in actually becomes more open to cognition, and with negative feedback, it does the exact opposite. This is clearly something adult ESL teachers should consider! (All teachers for that matter.)
Task: A question I ask you to think about is this: As a potential adult ESL teacher, how do you think you would tackle the issue of ensuring that your students did not feel shameful or that they were failing? How would you boost their morale, and give them positive feedback? And/or what kind of class style would you provide in order for them to feel as though they were on a path to learning their second language versus confused with the class?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Teaching Adults - Hilles & Sutton
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On the issue of positive feedback and morale, I find a lot of the basics to be crucial. Things like keeping eye contact with the students when you are speaking with them, ask them if they understand after something confusing is brought up. Just be a patient person in general will be greatly appreciated by your students.
ReplyDeleteHaving a working knowledge of the students' L1 is important too. If you know ahead of time the things they are likely to struggle with, it can make those difficulties not as big of a surprise when they come up.
I was in class this morning and one of our students is from Cuba and he has a very difficult time with vowels. He always gets them mixed up. Now, I'm not Spanish expert, I've never taken a class, but I know that Spanish vowels are written the same as ours, however the pronunciation is very different, in some cases the opposite! When he was struggling I explained to him that "vowels are very difficult and it takes a lot of practice." Just trying to make him understand that it's okay to be confused when your L1 is Spanish.
Similar story with students with an Asian L1. We have four students who speak Chin, which is a language family from Burma. These students have a very difficult time saying the "th" sound, as in "Thursday." After working with a few Burmese, I realized that this sound is very unnatural for them to say, so it takes A LOT of work to get it to speak. Having this knowledge ahead of time and telling them that it's okay to make mistakes and it's difficult makes them more comfortable with it and encourages them to not be "ashamed" to make mistakes, because they are common with all English learners.
Like the blog states, Hilles and Sutton explained that adults and children learn languages in different ways due to many different aspects of their lives. One reason is that an adult is more mature, and has a sense of who they are. Many language conflicts come about when trying to learn a new language when you are so attached to your primary language. Another reason is that some adults are afraid to make a mistake, whereas kids on the otherhand seem fearless.
ReplyDeleteFrom my past experiences, I was amazed at the short amount of time a young pakistani girl learned english in the classroom I volunteered in. Just recently, I left her for the winter break. The last memory I had of her was her pointing at something frustratingly becuase no one could understand her. When I came back I was shocked. I said, hi to her, and she responded back with perfect english, hey, how are you? I was shocked. I said, Do you understand me now? And she responded wiht perfect english again, yes, I've been working on it during break.
During classtime, I helped her with her homework, and she was able to communicate with me on what she was confused on, told me about her family and some stories. She is truly incredible. She is now at the same level as her 1st grade peers. I have heard that children are like sponges, but this was fascinating to see first handed.
Learning a second language can be difficult and discouraging at times which is why it is important for the ESL teacher to make his/her students feel like they can succeed not matter the difficulty of the content material being learned. Adult ESL learners are very different than children ESL learners because like Hills and Sutton say in their article, “Adult learners are also psychologically vulnerable, perhaps in a way that children are not, precisely because they are adults and have already formed a strong sense of who they are. They have a great deal invested in their identities as proficient speakers of their first language.” (Hilles and Sutton, pg. 387) As we talked about in class, when adults begin to learn a new language the content material can be very simple, almost “baby-like” because like learning anything new you have to learn the basics before moving to something more challenging.
ReplyDeleteFor adult ESL learners to feel like they are achieving, ESL teachers need to make the class engaging. One way do this is, is have lessons based around conversation. Conversation allows the students to not only practice the words they have learned but also push one another to learn new words. A second way is to base lesson plans around why the students are there. This can result in the students not feeling like they are wasting their time and actually accomplishing the goals they set for themselves. Adults need to feel like they are accomplishing something and progressing to their goal(s). The ESL teacher needs to push his/her students when appropriate so the adult students do not feel child-like, and feel a purpose for being there because unlike children adults do not have to be there, every adult in the class is there for his/her own personal reasons. I think it is important for the adults to feel challenged, one way to do that is by ending the class not just with homework from what was learned that day but also some sort of challenging task that the adults can tackle.
As like in any class it is always important to give positive feedback and encouragement. Hearing “good job”, “I’m proud of you”, and “awesome work today” can always boost a student’s morale. These words are not only positive feedback but also an indicator that the teacher is paying attention to his/her students and their work. Students like to be noticed for their hard work and I think it is important for the teacher to take notice because these simple words can really boost a student’s self-esteem not matter if they are a child or an adult.
I think talking to them like adults and maintaining eye contact would be my first step and trying to get some knowledge of the language their are familiar with would be my second.
ReplyDeleteI also think trying to engage in discussion of their culture and where they come from is important. If I take an interest in their culture I hope they will know I respect them and where they come from. I think sharing your difficulty with language learning might also be a form of encouragement. I have tried learning both Spanish and Swedish and am simply not very good. Learning another language is hard and sharing that you have had the same experience might help.
Providing a respectful atmosphere and encouraging them to try I think would also be good. Making mistakes is okay! And expected! And I think voicing that might help as well.
This question was hard for me because I want to teach elementary, so trying to think about teaching adults is difficult.
I think that respecting the student is very important. If the student feels disrespected on account of their English speaking ability, they will become discouraged, and they might stop making comments in class altogether for fear of sounding silly. They need to know it's okay to make mistakes and that the teacher expects it from them. It is all part of the learning process. Students who arn't afraid to make an error now and then learn the quickest.
ReplyDeleteI also think that using assignments that teach interesting points about American culture and history is also beneficial. This way, students continue to learn English but their lessons also provide them with a deeper understanding of the country and people whos language they're learning. I think this helps to make the language itself more interesting, and it alows the students to know that while their language improves, so does their knowledge in other areas as well. I think this helps to foster a positive feeling of success.
I think it's important for the teacher to show genuine interest in their students. As the students pick-up on the teacher's effort to get-to-know and support them, they will feel more comfortable and motivated to learn the course content. The students need to feel that their teacher cares for them, and is taking their job seriously.
ReplyDeleteOne way in which a teacher could get-to-know their students is to ask them important questions about themselves and what their goals are to get out of the course. In the article, Hilles and Sutton address the problem when teachers assume that survival English is the only source of English that ESL students need to know. The problem is that most of adult ESL students have already learned most of what they need to about survival English and have been using it for quit some. I think that if the teacher were to ask their students what they would like to learn from the course they will be better informed about what to teach.
One way in which I would design my class so that the students feel that they are on a successful path is to first put a list of objectives on the board each day to show the students that I had a plan, a plan that was well-thought out. When the students see the agenda for the day, they know that their time in the class will be well-spent. I would also focus the class around the goals that the students want to learn from the course, that didn't have to do with only survival English.
Lauren Medley: I would first set a class environment just like you do with younger students. I would have a discussion on the first day of class of what attitude is expected and how we are all in this together. I would promote an environment where it is OK to mess up. I would have my students write their personal goals and why they are here. Then I would post them in the classroom so the students can look at them everyday for inspiration. I would write my personal goals for hte class and post them as well. I would let the students know that I understand that learning a second language is difficult, but that shouldn't be used as an excuse. I feel it is important to set high standards for all students.
ReplyDeleteI would want to show the students their progress and how far they have come very often. This way these adult students can see that they have made improvements.
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ReplyDeleteI am not a potential adult ESL teacher for the future per say, but I have taught adults English before. I think at a teacher, I can make sure not to single any one student out. When students (young or old) are singled out, I believe it makes them think that they are the only ones struggling with that particular thing. When everyone feels like others are in the same boat as them, there usually isn't the feeling of shame about failing.
ReplyDeletePositive feedback/morale boosting would look like a side-talk if they were looking particularly unhappy about their own performance. I would ask them what they think they need for me to help them with. Since many adults are self-motivated, it shouldn't be too difficult to get them back on their feet again and working on their English. Also, some students may feel comfortable bringing to the class the issues they feel are important. One of the ESL adult students I taught felt as though he needed particular help with writing. I had him bring me samples of his writing-even though he felt like he was struggling with it a lot, we were able to work through it without him feeling shameful for little mistakes.
I want a positive classroom where no one jokes about other students' mistakes. Even light-hearted comments can be taken negatively. Sometimes, it just can't be helped. With adults, it's not as easy for them to forget a comment like that. They may internalize it and think that they really are bad at what they're learning. In a positive classroom, everyone's comments should be aimed to build up their fellow classmates. Hopefully, they won't be confused about the class. If they are confused about anything, I hope the the classroom atmosphere that is cultivated within the class makes it open and easy for a person to ask any question about anything.
-Mallorie Hsieh
I have been able to sit in adult ESL classes and child ESL classes and they are very different. I think an important need in the adult ESL classroom is a teacher-student relationship. This relationship is very different from a teacher-child student relationship. I think it is important for the teacher to show interest in the adult’s homeland and heritage. (Of course if the students are refugees this may not be as easy, because of tensions in their homeland.) The teacher should show interest in the student as an individual person, his/her family, work, what he/she likes, etc. It is also important for teachers, in children ESL classes, to have relationships with their students. The relationship is often (if I could say) ‘superficial’. There needs to be a ‘deeper’ relationship between the teacher and adult. This will help the adult feel more comfortable to speak L2.
ReplyDeleteTo help relax the adult students to speak it might be helpful for the teacher to learn some of the student’s native words/phrases. For instance when introducing vocabulary have the adults tell the teacher the translation. (This could be tricky if a teacher has a classroom with a large number of languages represented.) Then the teacher can try and pronounce the word. When an adult sees the teacher struggling in a foreign language it may/will give the adult confidence to speak in English.
It is important for the adult students to understand what they will be learning in each class/lesson. Adults like to see progress. If they are unclear of the purpose of a lesson, they will become discontent which leads to a confusing atmosphere. Thus, a detailed syllabus and class lessons are important in an adult ESL class.
I agree with Krystal that the age-factor changes the student-teacher relationship. With children it is also more of a triangle relationship between student-parent-teacher. In some ways that makes working with children more complex.
ReplyDelete