Acquiring TEFL Diploma

Learning modesIt is obvious that young learners and adults should be taught differently and approached differently; the ways they think and behave are quite different from each other, therefore the structure of the class and how the teacher deals with the students should change accordingly to establish rapport and maximize the effectiveness of the class. The main difference between the young learners and adult learners would be the attention span; from my experience of tutoring children during college years, I had noticed that young learners, especially when they are little, have shorter attention span than average adults do. This is a key factor when it comes to structuring the class and the length of the lesson. It is crucial that the class needs to be creative and fun for the young learners to keep their attention. Having interactive portion as part of the learning module greatly helps the students to participate and being focused. I?ve tried a short exercise activity with a group of 4 year olds, and because they were using their bodies as tools of learning English, their participation and attentiveness were remarkable. On the other hand, the expectations of the adult learners of the class could be drastically different from the young learners. A lot of them want a structured lesson where they can feel like they are ?studying? and ?learning? something important. Although personalities could play a significant role, most of the adult learners tend to hesitate to speak up compared to the young learners. For that reason it is important for the teacher to create a comfortable and safe atmosphere for the adult learners to speak up and participate. Creating a fun and exciting class is not as crucial for the adult learners, but continuous encouragement and positive feedback often induces the students to pay more attention and participate more. The needs of the learners are another thing that needs to be considered. Adult learners realize the need of English for school, work, etc. and often would like to increase their overall language skills and sometimes want to focus on certain areas of their needs. On the other hand, a lot of young learners (especially in korea where I?m currently in) often are signed up for the class because of their parents. Some young learners are in class without realizing why they have to be there and it is sometimes difficult for them to figure out what their needs are. The role of the teacher comes in to play and changes depending on the students. The role the teacher should play for the young learners are versatile; he/she should be a tutor, a leader, a companion, a guide, an enforcer, and so on. I have noticed this as tutoring the children. They need someone to guide them through the steps of the lesson and prompt them. The influence of the teacher is great for the young learners, so the responsibility of the teacher increases as well. The role of the teacher for the adult learners is slightly different from the young learners. There is no doubt that the teacher needs to be a tutor, a leader, a companion, a guide, etc., but the class with adult learners could be structured to modify the students to lead the class as time goes by. Adult learners are capable of guiding each other, and the role of the teacher for the class could change from the leader to facilitator. This was learned from the experience of being a workshop leader for the students of organic chemistry at the university I attended, and it had become a great learning experience of how to deal with adult learners. Learning a foreign language could be a daunting experience for anybody and the teacher is the guide and a friend of the journey through the learning process. Both young learners and adult learners are capable of becoming fluent in English and with a well tailored class and a great teacher, they can certainly achieve that.