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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
Learning modesA teacher must adapt to the course he or she teaches, depending on the students who are taking the course. A teacher must adapt majorly when teaching young learners, as opposed to teaching adults.
Teaching young learners can be very rewarding, as the students tend to learn quicker than adults and can get very excited about small things. It can also be very challenging, as younger students have a much shorter attention span and the teacher has a great responsibility to switch activities frequently and to get the students motivated. Motivating young learners can be much more strenuous because most young learners do not choose to study the foreign language and feel that they could be doing something more enjoyable with their free time.
Adults and young learners are defined based on age. Learners 18 years of age and older are typically classified as adults. Most adult learners have made the decision on their own to attend classes and are therefore more motivated to actually put forth the effort to learn the language. While this is true, there are also adult learners who allow external issues to affect their learning and their motivation. These issues can include things they have to complete at work, or at home with family and finances. Adult learners who are compelled to attend language courses by their employers can also be less motivated and usually tired since the courses generally take place in the evenings after they’ve been working all day. Adult learners who have previously taken english courses may have a fixed judgment of how a class should be taught and may be biased towards the teacher's teaching methods.
Learners younger than 18 years of age are classified under three different categories. The first category is the early teenage learner, which is from age 13 up to adult. Learners in this age group, also identified as post puberty learners, are said to be the most difficult, partly due to the absence of motivation to learn another language and the fact that they are unaware of how taking the course will benefit them. This age group is also difficult to teach because the students often times lack the confidence needed to experiment with a new language. They are often afraid to speak because they are self-conscious and afraid of making mistakes.
The second category consists of pre-puberty learners, which include students from primary school or who are between the ages of 8 and 12. These students still lack the attention span of adults, but are more open-minded and responsive to a foreign language. They take interest in the new sounds, words, and grammar of the new language.
The very young learners are preschoolers, who are 7 years of age and younger. This age group has the shortest attention span out of all the age groups. Since learners this young have usually not yet mastered their native language, they are more likely to adopt the grammar, sentence structure and word order as a new language in general and not necessarily compare it to their native language, as most adult learners tend to do.
Whether teaching young learners or adults, the most important factor is to figure out a way to get the learners motivated. Games and activities that revolve around the students’ interests are usually suitable for any course, no matter what age group the students fall under.
