About Me
- Teacher Alex
- Portugal
- I am from Coimbra, Portugal, and am currently teaching in a school in Soure, about 30 km away from Coimbra. I have been a teacher of English for over 20 years and have already taught different levels and age groups. After all this time I can say I love working with adult groups because there are no coursebooks and I can create my own resources. I am an avid reader, a blogger and very curious about free tools and their implementation in the classroom.
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Teaching English to Senior Classes
“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live.” Mortimor Adler
Though I've been involved in adult teaching for some time, in 2011/2012 I've had my first experience teaching English to senior citizens, a group of retired people who simply refuse to sit back.
It's exactly this attitude that I admire, that allowed them to learn so well and so much, and that got me wondering about the claims that adults / senior citizens are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning a foreign language. How true is this??? What is it like to learn a language as an adult?
It's often argued that adults are bad at language learning and that kids absorb it like a sponge - who hasn't heard this yet? However, from my own experience, the most important factor is MOTIVATION (or the lack of it and now I'm comparing to my teens' classes!).
While most had already studied English, they were truly rusty to say the least, but in every single class the group I had showed so much interest and such a level of participation and involvement that I believe some brain myths have to be debunked: they may have time now to commit themselves to learning English, but in no way should lack of it be confused with ability - otherwise, teens may have all the time in the world, but too many aren't successful. Is it only because of the teachers??? Every year, there are more and more unmotivated students and I find it harder to motivate those unmotivated or to connect with disengaged students. Is it only me?
Coming back to my senior students, here is another example of their willingness to learn English with reading (always!) info: one of the senior students in my class (who happens to be a former colleague), read no fewer than 8 graded readers and obviously got book prizes - thanks to the generosity of both Macmillan, Pearson and Oxford!
Thanks to the publishers / editors, but, above all, thanks to this senior class and their lesson of Lifelong Learning!
Though I've been involved in adult teaching for some time, in 2011/2012 I've had my first experience teaching English to senior citizens, a group of retired people who simply refuse to sit back.
It's exactly this attitude that I admire, that allowed them to learn so well and so much, and that got me wondering about the claims that adults / senior citizens are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning a foreign language. How true is this??? What is it like to learn a language as an adult?
It's often argued that adults are bad at language learning and that kids absorb it like a sponge - who hasn't heard this yet? However, from my own experience, the most important factor is MOTIVATION (or the lack of it and now I'm comparing to my teens' classes!).
While most had already studied English, they were truly rusty to say the least, but in every single class the group I had showed so much interest and such a level of participation and involvement that I believe some brain myths have to be debunked: they may have time now to commit themselves to learning English, but in no way should lack of it be confused with ability - otherwise, teens may have all the time in the world, but too many aren't successful. Is it only because of the teachers??? Every year, there are more and more unmotivated students and I find it harder to motivate those unmotivated or to connect with disengaged students. Is it only me?
Coming back to my senior students, here is another example of their willingness to learn English with reading (always!) info: one of the senior students in my class (who happens to be a former colleague), read no fewer than 8 graded readers and obviously got book prizes - thanks to the generosity of both Macmillan, Pearson and Oxford!
Thanks to the publishers / editors, but, above all, thanks to this senior class and their lesson of Lifelong Learning!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
3 years!!!
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| Source: clipart |
I started this blog as part of a teacher training course I was attending at the time and ever since that day that I've intended to keep it - not only as a record of teaching materials I find interesting but also stuff I would like to share with others. What I hadn't intended though was to spend so much time with it and feel so much pleasure.
Has it been worthwhile? For me, definitely! I'm quite happy with the outcome and grateful with all the positive feedback I've had all this time. I've come to the conclusion that blogging isn't only about numbers: it's much more about learning and sharing :)
Thanks for YOUR support. Alex
Monday, September 7, 2009
8 th September - International Literacy Day (UNESCO)
Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school.Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keeping literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.
UNESCO’s literacy programmes aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.
Why is literacy important?
Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy.
Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. There are good reasons why literacy is at the core of Education for All (EFA).
A good quality basic education equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning; literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development .
Now, just compare how these students go to school in Japan and in India and imagine their learning environments, schools, school material,...
How easy it is for some, and how hard it can be for many, many others! Some have it all and others lack everything... still such deep contrasts / gaps between the haves and the have nots in the 21st century.
What about yourself? How do you go to school? Is it comparable to any of these means? How important is it to attend school (kids + youngsters + adults) ???
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