I will be doing the CELTA course as presently we have ESL students enrolling in TAFE for whom an ESL qualified teacher has to be brought in to assist with the student. Once I complete CELTA I will be able to handle all students without help from ESL teachers
Adult learners often bring
* Reasons for learning
* Specific goals
* Successful and unsuccessful past learning experiences
* Rich life experiences
* Attitudes to learning, the culture and the language
* Ideas about the role of the teacher and learner
* Certain aptitudes
* Developed literacy and thinking skills
* Personal characteristics
* Values and beliefs
* An ability to reflect on their learning
* Learning styles
* Varying levels of confidence and self-esteem
* Different levels of motivation
* Status or ‘face’
1. You usually find out about:
* Their job or studies
* Their language learning experience up till now
* How long
* How often
* What language learning activities they are used to doing * The level of books they used or the level of the class they studied in, if any * How much they enjoyed learning English
* The reasons they are learning English
* Any specific goals
* Particular language or skills that they need (See Unit 3 on Skill) * The length of time they are going to stay in the school/college * What they expect of their course
* What makes them comfortable when learning
* Their interests and hobbies.
2. You can find out about learners by:
* Looking at any interview notes made during placement tests, if they were interviewed * Having personal interviews in the first few days
* Giving the learners a questionnaire
* Asking the learners to interview each other and then write up the information on a poster * Asking the learners to write about themselves in a letter of introduction to you or a brief autobiography * Talking to their previous teachers if they are just moving into your class * Looking at any records kept on them in the school/collage (if you go to a school/collage where no records are kept, start keeping records like the profiles above and suggest that the school/collage does so, if you can.) You can use the points in the previous tasks to write the questions for your interview or questionnaire, or to give the learners a framework for what to write about. Tasks 4
The challenge comes when learners are unsure of their goals, have been told by parents or employers that they have to do the course because the next course or their job demands it, and they have no interest in the language or the culture. What seems to be critical in motivation is the strength of the motivation. Task 5
This will vary from class to class. Learning filling in feedback forms or questionnaires often say they like teachers who: * Are friendly and kind
* Have a good sense of humour
* Explain clearly
* Have patience
* Have patience
* Know their subject.
Section 2 Language Analysis Awareness
Often native speakers find the idea of the grammar of their own language overwhelming. This might be because they were never taught it at school or, if they were, they were taught it badly. People who have studied a second language may have more awareness of grammar, but they might only know the terminology in their own language. Those who have studied linguistics at university might feel more comfortable with grammar. Task 7
2. Incorrect-I went to the movies last night.
3. Incorrect-He often comes late.
5. Incorrect-Can I have a black coffee, please?
6. Incorrect-People with 12 items or fewer can queue here. (Although the incorrect version is commonly used-for example in supermarkets-and fewer people are using...