Module 1. Adult Learning

THINKING ABOUT THEORY
Module 1: Adult learning
There are many concepts and definitions of learning. People may not know all of them, but what is a fact is that everyone has experienced this effect of learning and has had different opportunities to build their own perspective. Our students may not have instruction about the way they learn and I would say, they do not have to at the beginning of a learning process; when they start a course they may not be interested in discovering a variety of learning ways they could have to learn, or theory classes about how the brain works, etc. The teachers are the ones who must know this information to guide them and help them make right decisions about their language learning process.
Ways of learning
Statistics (a study done at University of Toronto) suggests most of our learning as adults happens informally, that means out of a formal setting, like institutions or universities which offer highly-structure programs, but I think formal setting is really helpful to learn, I agree with the idea that people learn most of the time when they decide what to learn, how to learn it and carry this out by themselves. They are very effective due to it deals with the individuals’ interest, background (prior knowledge and experience), high motivation and autonomy. Informal settings never provide the sequence required to go step by step to learning; as teachers, we know scaffolding is relevant to make individuals understand. In short I would say the “where” is not important, (classrooms or home); the “how” is what really counts.
Based on that information, as teachers, we should avoid the assumption that learning takes place in our classrooms/classes (formal setting) exclusively; we should open our minds to face technology and the endless ways to learn out of it.
For teachers it is mandatory to be able to design appropriate lessons in which learners’ learning styles are taken into account, taking advantages of their strengths. That is why every lesson should contain different stages to guarantee learning. Currently language lessons are planned based on these students’ learning styles and needs, each lesson contains tasks for independent, apprenticeship and collaborative learning.
Lessons should consider:
-Students require time to build, create, and produce something independently.
-Students require someone with more experience to leader the learning process.
-Students require the opportunity to work with peers to help each other and to communicate, interact and socialize.


Principles of Adults Learning
Based on Stephen Lieb’s article. “Adults as learners”
After Reading the article I think these six characteristics describe and summarize very well the aspects we should take into account when we teach adults.
-Adults are autonomous and self-directed: When I plan and develop my classes I always try to have lessons that engage students to show their own interests, likes, leadership and autonomy by giving them time to create and work independently. In addition, when planning lessons for adults they should contain time to develop creative thinking skills, teachers should enable learners to generate and develop ideas, imagine and hypothesise, apply imagination, look for innovate solutions, etc.
- Adults have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education: Every lesson should contain opportunities to share experiences; adult learners need to connect their prior knowledge to what they are learning in class. They love to retell important events in their lives, to describe what they do, to talk about their family, they need to relate the theory they learn with their experience, etc, therefore, lessons should develop crireria for judging different ways of thinking and abilities to give reasons for opinions/actions, infer from experience, fact, and observations, argue and explain a point of view, explain cause and effect, use precise language to explain what they think.
- Adults are goal-oriented: Adult students need to know what the objectives are in order to structure their minds. They appreciate when the teacher explains the goals of every stage in the class, or explains the purpose of the tasks; based on my personal experience I have discovered adult learners do not like “surprises”, activities that appear suddenly without any foundation may make them feel uncomfortable.
- Adults are relevancy-oriented: Teachers should explain the reasons of the lesson, the way the lesson will be developed, the objectives of the tasks, etc, adults need to understand the whole thing, they need to see their learning can be applied in their daily life, in their jobs, etc. Teachers should emphasize functional language.
- Adults are practical: They need to go to the point, without a lot of introductions and steps in the procedures. Teachers should show how the learners could use the language in different settings and situations.
- As do all learners, adults need to be shown respect: They really appreciate when their opinions, suggestions, comments, etc are heard and considered important.
Finally I would add to this list: Adult learners want to have fun while they are learning, games are not only a matter of children, adults need to laugh, enjoy the tasks of the lesson, there are many activities we can apply with them to review vocabulary like passwords, puzzles, definition games, alphabet race, word associations, tail to head-letters, etc.
“Motivating the Adult Learner”
According to Stephen Lieb adult learners can be motivated through making and keeping a nice atmosphere in class in which they can interact, meet people, make friends, etc. Also they feel satisfied when they accomplish the objectives stated by formal authority because they are aware of the relevance of the program they are taking. Based on the social nature of human beings, adult learners enjoy participating in community work, helping or serving society. In addition, adult learners seek for improvement. They want to get professional advancement.
Keeping in mind many adults are always busy and stressed, learning a language is often a way to break in the routine of home or work, it brings them excitement because it is challenging, full of opportunities to interact and exchange experience.