Learning At Different Ages

LEARNING AT DIFFERENT AGES

In a learning, there are some levels of students such as the level of learning based on the students ages. People categorize learning at different ages into young learner, adolescent learner and adult or older learner. According to Loucotcova (2011), young learners are considered to be pupils between  six to ten or eleven years old. Adult and older learners are in the age of 19 to death. While Lewis (in Loucotcova, 2011) stated that teenagers are in the ages of twelve to ninteen. He categorized teenagers into three types; young teenagers are 12 – 14, middle teenagers are 14 – 17 and late teenagers are 17 – 19.

         Every levels presents different characteristics of the learning. Some people think young students learn language faster than other age groups bacause children can easier catch the new vocabulary than adult or older learner which has psycholigical barrier in learning language. An adult or older learner tends to be self-directed in learning than children. Whereas, adolescent students are an exciting group since they like a challenge and have a curiosity about new things. In this learning, we would like to discuss about lerning at different ages.

1. Young Learners

Young children learn different from adolescent, adult and older learner. Children need a lot of exposure in acquiring the language. It means young students like to study in some conditions where they can feel the new language and feel fun in learning it. Childern like to learn everythings around them rather than focuse on the topics they are being taught. Their understanding does not only come from the explanatiom, it also comes from what they see, hear, touch and interact with. In other hand, young learners are usually curious about the world and like to learn because they want to know about everything around them, they like to ask what is it? what for is it? why this and those happens? And there are many uestions they ask.

Moreover, children are happy to tell about themselves, their friends, family, people around them and their experience. When they are in learning activity, their attention span is limited so it needs an interseting and entertaining activites in order to avoid boredom in learning situations. Furthermore, young children are pleased to have the teachers’ approval and attention, they really need the guidance from the teacher so that it will make them feeling happy if the teacher gives respons to every statements or questions which are asked by the students.

Teaching young learner is not easy because the condition, situation and activity in the class should be fun and comfortable. So that understanding the characteristics of children is important for a teacher since it will help his or her to decide what kinds of learning and activites should be applied in teaching young learners. These are some tips of teaching young learners.

Tips for teaching young learners

• Change activities frequently

The activity in the class should involve some activities that relate to learning subject. The teacher must be creative, it means that the teacher can change activities in learning one topic. For example, in learning parts of body, the teacher applies three activities such as asking the students to set right between pictures and words, asking the students to arrange names of parts of body from top to down and asking the students to write down the function of each parts of body.

• Combine learning and play

The activity should be combined betwen learning and playing so the students can enjoy when they learn the subject. For example, in learning transportation topic, the teacher gives some cards which consist of some explantions about the use of transportation, then ask the students to set right the explanation toward the transportation picture.

• Use appropriate activities

The teacher can use appropriate activity in learning a topic. The teacher applies songs, puzzles, games, art and physical movement in teaching the topics. For example, the teacher can use songs in teaching alphabet or colour.

• Make the classroom an attractive, light and convenient learning environment.

The teacher should make an interesting class such as the setting, situation and condition look like cheerful and comfortable. For example, there are some pictures in the wall of class and it is colourfull so when the students come to class, they can gues what topic they will learn.

• Pay special attention to your own english pronunciation – children are good imitators.

Children like to imitate what an adult says so in learning English the teacher should give the correct pronunciation to the students. If the teacher do not give the correct pronunciation to students, it will give negative impact to the learning.

2. Adult and Old Learners

Adult learners learn different from children, they have less need to engage in learning activities like children because they can think in abstract ways and have the ability to explore their ideas about a topic being discussed.

Many adult learners have strong opinion about how learning should take place. They sometimes dislike teaching method which lead them to remind about the children learning. In other hand, adult or older students are able to learn self-directed since they have expectation about the learning process and may already have their own ways of learning. The adult learners tend to be disciplined than some teenagers and they can handle even increase their learning motivation. When they get bored towards the learning, they are able to build their motivation even if boredom comes they still join the learning process.

Unlike young children and teenagers, adults often have a clear understanding of the reasons and the purpose of learning. They realize the function of learning towards the life so that they have a clear purpose and plan for life.

The adult learners can be critical of teaching methods. Their previous learning experiences may have influence towards their learning so when there is a certain unfamiliar teaching method which makes them uncomfortable in learning, they will be a critical of it.

Being a teacher leads his or her into understanding well the charateristics of learning based on the ages. Teaching adults or older learners is not easy because the way adults think is different from younger and teenager. They tend to focus and serious in learning so sometimes the students will often be ready to join the learning activity, that is why the teacher should have well ability to teach the adult students. There are some tips that the teacher can  use in teaching adults or older learners.

Tips for teaching adult and older learners

• Find out what intersts different student individual in order to plan the most appropriate lesson.

As a teacher, making an appropriate lesson plan is important. Understanding the intersts of the students will help the teacher to create a good learning activity. Sometimes, in a class every students has different characteristics and interests so determining the appropriate lesson plan is not easy. The teacher can combine two or even more than two techniques in teaching adults. For example, in learning speaking, the teacher can applies two technique such as guesing miming and role play. Guessing miming is applied by asking one or two students to practice a profession without saying anything while another students try to guess what is the profession (students practice as a teacher, doctor, police etc). After that, the teacher can change the activity to role play where students are asked to play some profession (a student becomes a doctor and other be patient, one student becomes police while other becoming an accused, a student becomes a guide while other becoming a tourist)

• Be prepared to explain things but remember that many adults learn by doing things too.

The teacher should prepare about how to explain the topic such as explaining the grammar rules. Althought adult learners do not like to learn as children but they still need the activity that lead them to use the rules of language. When the teacher explain about the grammar rules, it emphasises on using it. For example, after expalining about the grammar rules such as tenses, the teacher can ask the students to make essay using them.

• Discuss the best ways of learning with your students so that everyone is happy with your lessons.

In order to achieve learning goals, sometimes the teacher needs to discuss with students about learning activities. Since the adults are critical thinking, they can give opinion about what kind of learning activitiy they need.

• Provide clear short term goals so that the students can achieve success at each stage.

The students should know the goals of learning the subject in order to have ilustration about what for and how important of learning a subject. For example, when the students learn about grammar rules, the teacher must explain the purposes, functions and benefits of learning them.

3. Adolescents Learners (teenager)

Based on the stage of development, adolescent learners begin to think in abstarct ways. In other words, they have an ability to explore their ideas or opinions in a ways that the children cannot do. Many teenagers are curious about the things that interest them that is why they like to try something new in their life. At learning process, adolescent students have a large spirit. It is sometimes good when they can lead the spirit into positive activity. but if they cannot bring it correctly, it will be more serious problem for them.

Teenager students are very conscious of their age and find it annoying when adults try to teach them as children. They do not have choice not to come in English lessons class, they are there because they have to be there. They may not see any good reason and the benefit to learn English. Most teenagers tend to listen to their friends who can give a good opinion than teachers or parents.

Tips for teaching Teenager

• Encourage teenagers to have opinions and to think critically and questioningly about what they are learning.

In a learning activity, a teacher should have a capability to invite or push the students to give opinion or idea about the material. Teenager students start to think in abstract ways so they can explore their knowledge about the topic being discussed. For example, learning reading, before teacher explain the material, he or she can invite the students to give citical thinking about the topic. The teacher can ask questions such as what is the narrative text? What is the characteristics of narrative text? etc.

• Use the students own knowledge and experience as much as possible.

In this situation, the teacher can lead the students to tell about their knowledge or experience. For example, in learning writing, the teacher can ask the students to write their experience about holiday, family, hobby etc.

• Treat the students like adults but remember they are still children.

As a teacher, patient is important. Although the teenager students can think in abstract ways, they are still childish so when the teacher educate them, he or she can give a treatment which shows as if they are adult students. For example, The students make essay about descriptive then do not force them to make essay consist of more than three paragraphs.

• Encourage the students to have reponsibility for their own learning.

The students will have responsibility for their learning if the teacher are able to push them to have motivation in learning. When it happens, the students will feel responsibility towards their lerning. In other hand, the teacher can give treatment which are able to make the students feel that responsibility is important. For example, if the students are lazy to do assigment, the teacher can add another assigment as a punishment so they will think twice not to do the homework.

• Be super-organised! Teenagers like to know what they are doing and why.

A teacher should have well preparation about the arrangment of learning activity in the class. Having organized learning activities can help students to learn the language well. When the teacher organizes the activity, he or she must know its purpose because sometimes students like to know and ask about for what we do this activity and why we should do this. For example, The teacher asks the students  to go out the class then find out the things they can describe it.

• Be consistent when there are discipline problems. Criticise the behaviour, not the students.

In teaching and learning process, sometimes students make mistakes. When it happens, the teacher should be consistent in giving feedback, it emphasises on trying to correct the mistakes without hurting the learners. When the students make mistakes the teacher may not directly blame or angry with them because it will give negative impact such as students are less interest or lazy in learning the subject.

e.g.    student : if I have much money, I am buy a helicopter

Teacher : if I have much money, I will buy a helicopter, I will buy a helicopter

Student : if  have much money, I will buy a helicopter

Teacher : if I have much money, I........

Student : I will buy a helicopter.

Refferences

• Harmer, Jeremy. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching third edition. UK. Cambrige university.
• Harmer, Jeremy. 2012. Essentianl Teacher Knowledge. Amazon. Person Longman.
• Loucotcova, Eva. 2011. Young Leaners and Teenagers – Analysis of their Atitude to English Language Learning. University of Brno. Dubna.