In this unit I learned that a learner has certain characteristics which are: motivation, learning style, learning strategies and maturity. These characteristics have a great value since they influence on learning a langugage.
First of all, we need to bear in mind the fact that learning styles are all the students preferences while attempting to learn. In here students feel comfortable with their learning field and whether active or passive interaction process. Just to keep in mind I would like to mention that a visual learner pick the language up through their sight. An auditory learner, on the other hand, learns by listening. On the contrary of them, kinaesthetic learners get the language by moving around and tauching things, so that they are more practical.
I consider teachers have to be so conscious about the way in which their students learn. I suggest having a discussion on this, at the beginning of the course, carry out a learning style test to uncover doubts and be sure on how they accurately pick the language up best. After taking this test, the teacher gets to know his/her students. Therefore, he/she will know if they are impulsive, analytic or autonomous.
From the coursebook, I also learned that there are many learning strategies that help students get identified and work on well. Some of the strategies suggested from the book are that teachers learners can be asked to repeat words or expressions so they can keep them in mind, personalize them and put them into use. Giving positive feedback is another way to make students aware of their mistakes and building confidence. In addition, I think confidence may be built up after gaining maturity since it includes a high and mental level of understanding and capability to convey messages.
The plain truth of
the matter is that learners characteristics are divided into children, teenagers and adults features. For example, if I had three different classes, I would make children move while practicing any task, present a variety of activities since they lose concentration easily and try to develop their cognitive skills. Meanwhile, when teaching teenagers, I would attempt to make they move around, but no so often because as they are growing up, they can become mischievous, and disrespect their own classmates and even the teacher. Moreover, when working with adults, it all differs, they need more time to cover exercises, they can learn in more abstract way and cam make more mistakes thatn children do. So, I would pay more attention to form and transmit more conscious motivation to reach communicative activities perfectly done. I consider it can be achieved through a mingle activity that consists on moving around the class to convey any class activity.
To sum up, I suggest to watch this videos and check these extra links that I am sure will be useful for getting main concepts and dealing with all-age-students.
Identify your learners characteristics.
Websites you can visit:
1. Graham, G. (2008). Adult Learning Gordon Graham, England. Retrived from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k7G6KH7czg
2. Lucid, C. (2014). 3 Factors Affecting Learning Characteristics.
Retrived from: http://www.slideshare.net/cupidlucid/3-factors-affecting-l2-learning-presentation
Retrived from: http://www.slideshare.net/cupidlucid/3-factors-affecting-l2-learning-presentation
3. Sands, P. (2014). Characteristics of Slow Learners. Retrived from: http://es.scribd.com/doc/25376434/Characteristics-of-Slow-Learners
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