Writing concerning the matter of educating English to seniors will definitely allow me to reminisce about among the greatest moments in my profession as an English language trainer.
Encounters with Senior College students
I don’t want to dwell on the problem of how outdated a senior citizen is as I do not suppose there’s an ordinary definition which may be utilized worldwide. Certainly, authorized definitions of senior citizenship can differ throughout jurisdictions. With that in thoughts, I’d identical to to recall the moments I had within the classroom with fantastic individuals who have been a lot older, wiser and extra skilled than me. I haven’t taught that many college students over the age of fifty both privately or in language colleges. Due to this fact, to offer this publish an honest quantity of substance, I shall make reference to the scholars I’ve taught over the age of fifty.
In my first two educating posts – in Dębica (Poland) and Bijeljina (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – I didn’t have the chance to show individuals who have been over 50. Nevertheless, my subsequent two educating posts – within the Polish cities of Płock and Łódź – opened my eyes to the wonders of educating English to seniors.
Jarosław in Płock
So I taught in Płock for the 2010-11 educational yr. I’ve fairly vivid recollections of educating an exquisite chap known as Jarosław Zaroń who then ran the Płock department of the Mazovian In-Service Instructor Coaching Centre (Mazowieckie Samorządowe Centrum Doskonalenia Nauczycieli).
The distinction between Jarosław and among the youthful adults I had taught lay in the truth that Jarosław by no means didn’t greet me with a agency handshake and a severe look of respect in his eyes. I couldn’t assist however admire him as a result of he was extraordinarily keen to enhance his English, regardless that he all the time appeared to have quite a bit on his thoughts with regard to his work. We received on ever so nicely and he even provided me the possibility to show among the workers members at his trainer coaching centre in Płock. After all, it was a chance I couldn’t refuse.
Seniors in Łódź
I’ve written a bit about my time dwelling and dealing in Łódź over on Discovering Poland. It was in Łódź that I transitioned to educating grownup college students after educating principally youngsters within the earlier three language colleges I labored in.
Przemek
Three college students actually stand out in my reminiscence. The primary is a man named Przemek who labored as a Distribution Centre Director for L’Oréal. Przemek, who was in his early fifties once I taught him, was all the time respectful and was an actual trier. I actually tore what little hair I had on my hair out as a result of I couldn’t resolve Przemek’s incapacity to know fundamental directions and questions. His talking was definitely of upper-intermediate high quality. To be truthful to Przemek, he tried to take all his shortcomings in his stride. His sense of humour additionally stopped him from turning into despondent over his weaknesses.
I clearly recall the category once I tried to show Przemek all about schwa and linked speech. My goal was to start to place a bit extra emphasis on listening in our courses. That solely lasted for one session as, initially of the next session, Przemek admitted that he didn’t suppose my new strategies would assist him in any method. I used to be truly livid as a result of I most likely felt undermined. In fact, I used to be merely helpless and there was nothing not one trainer of English on the earth might do to assist Przemek comply with even the shortest stretches of fluent native speaker speech.
Regardless of this single episode of fractiousness on my half and the overall helplessness I felt, I admired Przemek for being a trier. He all the time ready admirably for courses and discovered all the brand new phrases and phrases from the earlier class. All in all, Przemek was only a good man.
Włodek and Halina
I additionally want to say Włodek and Halina, an aged couple I taught in Łódź. They lived proper on the western outskirts of town and it took me some 35-40 minutes to get to the place they lived by tram. I didn’t thoughts as a result of they have been such heat and hospitable folks. Włodek normally gave me a raise residence in order that saved me an hour, bearing in mind the stroll to the closest tram cease and ready for a tram.
I used to be fairly strict with Włodek and Halina, by no means refusing the chance to check them on beforehand discovered materials and vocabulary. Nevertheless, I believe they revered my method. They have been very eager to soak up information concerning the English language.
Other than being such heat and pleasant folks, Włodek and Halina have been additionally very modest. Judging by their home, it was apparent they have been okay for a couple of bob. Nevertheless, they by no means boasted about their possessions and way of life. Humility is likely one of the traits I love most in folks, and Włodek and Halina oozed it in abundance.
Waldemar Wojtal – The Piano Man in Gdańsk
In October 2024, I used to be contacted by fairly a well known Polish pianist, Waldemar Wojtal, who needed to have face-to-face courses with me in Gdańsk.
Much like Włodek and Halina, Waldemar is the epitome of humility. Naturally, I used to be intrigued to listen to all about his background, awards, performances given all over the world {and professional} work. Nevertheless, Waldemar was reluctant to open up about his achievements and I revered him for that.
Remarkably, Waldemar is 73 years outdated. His dedication to be taught English stems from the boundaries in communication he faces when instructing predominantly Chinese language college students.
I discovered Waldemar’s information of the English grammar system and depth of vocabulary to be extraordinarily spectacular. He simply wanted somebody to assist him come out of his shell.
General, I very a lot loved educating pricey outdated Waldek. It’s such a disgrace I needed to name off our courses because it emerged in December that I might be transferring to the Polish metropolis of Łódź.
Why do seniors make wonderful language college students?
Expertise has taught me that educating English to seniors is extraordinarily rewarding. Now I’ll give some causes as to why I maintain such an opinion:
Cheerful manner and constructive perspective
Some senior learners could be a bag of nerves at the perfect of occasions. Nevertheless, the senior learners I’ve taught all the time had a cheerful demeanor and constructive perspective towards studying English and life generally. My older college students all the time handled me with the utmost respect.
Wealthy life expertise
Instructing senior college students could make for an academic eye-opening expertise as seniors have a wealth of life expertise which they’re normally solely too glad to expose.
Many of the senior college students I’ve taught have been evidently rich people who’d travelled extensively. I all the time loved listening to their journey tales.
Intrinsic motivation
In my expertise, senior learners are typically extra motivated to grasp English than kids and younger adults. What’s extra, their motivation tends to be of an intrinsic nature. In different phrases, they be taught English because it’s an inherently pleasurable and satisfying pastime for them. Make no mistake – they’re nonetheless desperately eager to soak up information like a sponge and put the work in to enhance their talking expertise.
Suggestions for educating senior language learners
Through the years, I’ve found that educating English to seniors requires a fairly completely different ability set to that of educating youngsters and younger adults. With that in thoughts, listed here are some suggestions for instructing senior learners of English:
1. Give attention to constructing senior learners’ confidence ranges and lowering their stress ranges
Senior language learners are typically extra anxious and self-critical than youthful learners. This could be because of earlier unsuccessful makes an attempt to be taught a overseas language or their incapacity to overcome the intermediate plateau. Due to this fact, it’s important for the trainer to take steps to scale back senior learners’ anxiousness and stress ranges with the tip purpose of constructing their confidence. Listed here are some methods academics can go about doing that:
- Discover out what senior learners’ motivations are for studying English and be keen to adapt methodology accordingly
- Permit senior learners to precise themselves and speak about their life experiences. By actively taking an curiosity in college students’ lives, staying targeted throughout their monologues and making eye contact, the trainer will rapidly achieve the belief of senior learners
- The trainer shouldn’t go overboard with error correction, no less than within the first month of educating senior learners. Senior learners might grow to be extraordinarily despondent if the trainer always interrupts to appropriate errors. However, there’s no hurt in making some notes on areas by which senior learners can enhance their speech after which having a brief evaluate after class
- Give senior learners extra time to finish actions
2. Train persistence
As I’ve already talked about, senior English language learners are very wanting to be taught and are intrinsically motivated. However, seniors do have their limitations. With most of my youthful adults, I put an excessive amount of emphasis on the repetition and memorisation of vocabulary and lexical chunks. Nevertheless, it’s powerful going on the subject of revision with seniors as a result of they have an inclination to have a diminished working reminiscence capability. Furthermore, they could want extra time to course of difficult idiomatic phrases and complicated grammar buildings.
In mild of seniors’ limitations on the subject of processing new ideas and vocabulary recall, academics ought to respect their particular person tempo of studying and alter accordingly to it.
3. Study to flow
I’ve all the time been a really organised trainer. In my early years of educating, my lesson plans have been maybe too detailed and there was by no means a lot room to cope with learners’ linguistic issues on an advert hoc foundation. Nevertheless, a lot has modified since that point.
Actually, educating English to seniors has taught me {that a} inflexible method to lesson planning is pointless. Studying must be pleasurable for seniors. If a person learner simply needs to speak a few journey they’d or their grandchild’s progress at college for 45 minutes, the trainer ought to simply flow.
4. Be a high listener
Associated to the earlier tip about going with the movement, and certainly tip 1 about constructing seniors’ confidence ranges, academics must be keen to take your listening expertise to the following degree when educating English to aged learners.
Lots of the seniors I’ve taught over time generally produced prolonged stretches of speech because of their outgoing nature and willingness to share their life experiences with me.
Listening expertise prolong far past listening to and having fun with learners’ tales, and certainly taking psychological and bodily notes on the standard of their language manufacturing. For instance, the trainer also needs to do the next:
- Preserve eye contact with the speaker
- Chorus from interrupting, even when the senior learner is speaking slowly
- Empathise with the speaker – mirror the feelings the speaker has
- Present seniors with verbal and nonverbal suggestions. Seniors can typically really feel insecure about whether or not the trainer has understood what they’re saying. Due to this fact, the trainer can use verbal suggestions by saying issues like “I perceive what you went by” or “I see”. Nonverbal clues embody nodding the pinnacle.
5. Supplies matter
I are likely to work with TED Talks and on-line information articles with my younger grownup learners. Nevertheless, most of my senior college students haven’t been in a position to deal with such supplies. Though I imagine the benefits of utilizing genuine supplies with college students closely outweigh the disadvantages, I thankfully have a viable various choice up my sleeve on the subject of educating English to seniors. That could be a coursebook sequence known as Improvements.
The authors of Improvements, Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley, wrote their books with admirable goals. For instance:
- The grammatical syllabus has no place in English language educating. There isn’t any must be taught tenses in a linear trend. If grammar is taught, it ought to have a real communicative function.
- The authors paid heed to the idea of vocabulary recycling all through every Improvements coursebook. In different phrases, key phrases and collocations reappear at common intervals all through a coursebook
- The matters of the texts are somewhat ‘mild’ and so they usually encourage seniors to return out of their shell and share their very own opinions and life experiences. As an example, in Improvements Elementary, matters of studying texts vary from “Issues I’d love to do” to “Dwelling overseas”.
The identical authors additionally wrote the Outcomes coursebook sequence which I’ve additionally used with senior learners.
Last Ideas
Instructing English to seniors has offered me with among the most rewarding and memorable moments of my profession. Frankly, senior college students don’t contact me all that usually. Nevertheless, I’m all the time excited once I get a letter from them.
To spherical issues off, I’ll go away you with Hiro’s Story in a chapter titled ‘Age and good language learners’ by Carol Griffiths (2008) within the e book Classes from Good Language Learners. Griffiths additionally edited the e book. Primarily, Hiro was a 64-year-old Japanese man who travelled to New Zealand to spend a month learning English. When requested his causes for studying English, Hiro responded that it was only a interest. Based on Griffiths (2008: 44):
He felt that this was motivation for studying English, since being relaxed and unworried concerning the consequence would assist him to be taught extra successfully.
As Hiro splendidly put it: “I’ve labored arduous all my life. Now I’m going to have some enjoyable!” Griffiths (2000: 44) writes that Hiro didn’t attend the college lengthy sufficient to measure his price of progress. Nevertheless, primarily based on his work over the month, it’s seemingly that he would have been promoted to the following class after the month-to-month check had he been current for that (Griffiths, 2000: 44).
I really imagine that senior language learners can obtain an affordable state of fluency if they’ve a mindset much like Hiro’s.
Reference
Griffiths, C. (2008) ‘Age and good language learners’, in Griffiths, C (ed.) Classes from Good language Learners, Cambridge: Cambridge College Press, pp. 35-48