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Section 3. Lifelong Learning
Vasilene Olga,
lecturer of the academic department of Humanities and Arts, European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania
E-mail: [email protected] Gorbachevskaya Irina, lecturer of the academic department of Humanities and Arts, European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania E-mail: [email protected]
TEACHING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO OLDER STUDENTS
Abstract. Knowledge of the English language has become a compulsory skill, not an advantage, for many working people. As a result, a lot of middle-aged and older people have to take language courses because of this external requirement. With the increased demand for language courses for older people, teachers need to analyse existing coursebooks, methodologies and approaches in terms of the peculiarities of older learners. In order to develop various syllabuses to satisfy the needs of this group of learners such questions as who we teach, how they learn and how to teach them should be answered.
Keywords: older adult education, senior students, teaching English, learning English, lifelong learning, elderly learning.
Problem statement
When do people become too old to learn foreign languages? Nowadays more and more adults are facing the situation when they have to return to a classroom to learn a foreign language. It stems from the number of reasons. First of all, the increase in life expectancy, economic and demographic situations contribute to the raise of the retirement age. As a result, people have to acquire new skills to compete with younger specialists on the labour market. For example, in Lithuania the majority of job descriptions involve the knowledge of the English language. So, for a lot of job seeking older adults it is a serious issue. Secondly, rapid technology development requires the knowledge of the English language to keep up with the latest programs, applications, plat-
forms, etc. Furthermore, the idea of lifelong learning is actively promoted and people understand the value of learning throughout life not only for their professional life, but to develop and retain social connections. What is more, recent publications suggest that being multilingual in combination with other lifestyle factors helps delay dementia [1]. Finally, the improved quality oflife allows people to pursue new knowledge to make their life more active, interesting and enjoyable. For these reasons older people want to enhance their knowledge and skills. At the same time, it might be a real challenge as people may feel they are too old to study, very often they are afraid of being in a group with younger people who are quick learners, and all too often a high position they occupy adds to their fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Teaching the English language to middle-aged and older students is not the same as teaching young people. Teachers often make the mistake of using techniques and approaches they use with younger people while working with older adults. Younger adults learn faster and able to process big chunks of information in a shorter period of time, they are comfortable and confident about using technology, they easily switch to different activities [2; 3]. Younger people tend to be competitive and dominate, whereas senior students find it more comfortable to cooperate and collaborate, usually they need more time and support to master a language, however, they can stay concentrated on one thing for a longer period. Owing to life experience and knowledge base, very often it is easier for older people to apply analytical and critical thinking skills [4; 5]. Unfortunately, more often than not, the methodology of teaching senior learners is not studied at universities and colleges, and educators underestimate the differences which can lead to disappointment and frustration both for learners and educators. Even if teachers invest a lot of time and efforts in creating engaging and thought out activities, they could not work well, older students might be reluctant to do activities and give little response. Teaching older adults one should take into consideration such factors as students' social and cultural background, preferred learning styles, whether they have intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, whether they have a distaste for individualism and a preference for collectivism, if they see a teacher as a figure of authority or a facilitator, etc. Most of the difficulties can be overcome if teachers are willing to observe their students, ready to adjust teaching approaches and change their teaching style. Those who have sufficient experience of teaching older adult learners admit that senior learners create a classroom atmosphere where respect to the teacher and group mates, politeness, consideration and high motivation prevail.
The aim of this article is to give a brief overview of issues teachers need to address while teaching the English language to older adults.
Health barriers
A little change makes a big difference. The room where the classes are conducted should have enough space between rows and a desk for every student. Usually adults prefer traditional desks where they can put their books, notebooks to take notes, and other learning materials. The room should be well-ventilated and lit, window blinds should reduce the sun's glare. Sometimes older students feel embarrassed to say that they have hearing or vision problem. It is a teacher's concern to speak clearly and loud enough, to support their speech with visuals, to design worksheets so that it is convenient to use them, e.g. the layout, font, pictures, colours, etc.
Memory
It has been proved that the ability to remember things worsens when people become older [6]. The recent studies [7, p. 93] show that if we want to use a word or apply a rule on our own, we need over 50 repetitions and about 100 repetitions to use it confidently. Older adults may learn the words and rules by heart at home but it is more productive if the teacher creates multiple opportunities to see the words or rules, to read, to write and use them in speech. Regular vocabulary and grammar games can boost knowledge consolidation and keep memory strong. Spaced rehearsals help not only remember things, but also stimulate active use of learnt material. Pace of activities in class should be appropriate for middle-aged and older students. If students cannot keep pace with the teacher, it creates unnecessary tension and stress. Senior students need more time to digest material. Additionally, the teacher may ask students about the ways they learn new words and rules. Combining efforts, the group will come up with different strategies which can transform rote learning, which is the most common strategy among older adults, to reverting activities. The teacher should also give a few examples to show the variety of available strategies and help older learners to find out what works for them. Putting students regularly into a situation when they need to apply learnt rules and words will definitely increase information retention.
Technology
How can a Digital Native teach a Digital Immigrant? For many it is a daunting task to teach a group of digital immigrants. There is a prejudice among digital native teachers that older people are techno-phobes, consequently, they tend to limit the use of technology with audio and video supplementing the coursebook. A better option could be to understand that some people need more time to adjust to technology in language learning. There is a lot a teacher can do - to introduce a tool and show its potential for language learning, to demonstrate how it works and use it in class several times before introducing a new one. A good idea is to start with such credible resources as BBC and CNN news, TED talks. The next step might be to create simple online interactive exercises, games, etc. and teach senior students to use them. There are plenty of digital platforms [8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14] which provide learners and teachers with meaningful and easy to use tools to get the most of language games and interactive exercises. These tools are becoming smarter and more powerful, requiring less training for the users.
A lot of adult students find it difficult to learn a language because they have to juggle family, work and lessons. Frequently they cannot stay focused, become unmotivated and miss lessons. Incorporating technology into the teaching-learning process will help maintain high concentration throughout the lesson and keep motivation high. Online exercises and games are a good way to practice grammar rules, revise vocabulary, encourage active speaking and whole group participation. What is more, using technology in class brings variety and makes switch from routine exercises to more engaging activities. While younger learners favour the use of technology, older students should see its tangible benefits over traditional paper-based activities. Technology serves the purpose only when it stimulates and encourages learning. At first older learners may have serious reservations, but once they are comfortable with Web 2.0 tools, students will appreciate their potential for
a foreign language learning. But if after a while students are still resistant to new technologies and feel confused, there is no need to insist on using them. Carla Meskill and Natasha Anthony state "The critical player in the language learning alchemy remains talented educators; educators who plan orchestrate and guide language learning through productive instructional conversations. Regardless of the medium, the tools and the algorithms, language development depends on humanware; that is, you, the teacher" [15, p. 189].
Choosing a coursebook
Choosing the right coursebook is of vital importance. Nowadays there is ample choice of coursebooks to cater for different groups of learners. However, when it comes to middle-aged and older learners, the choice is rather scarce. It is especially difficult to find a coursebook for A1-A2 levels. Even if they are aimed at adults, the content might be juvenile and trite. It is clear that at these levels such topics as "Family and Other People", "Living Conditions", "Educational Background", "Jobs", "Shopping" are covered [16, p. 24, 26], but the texts and activities are also bland and boring, more suitable to young learners. One solution may be to teach without a coursebook, but we do not recommend it because older learners like structure and organisation. If they do not have a book to be guided, they are lost and cannot learn successfully. The alternative is to carry out a needs analyses and find out what the students' learning goals are, and then to choose a book which will meet the requirements to the greatest possible extent. Adult learners attend the English language lessons to satisfy their needs - to be able to discuss particular topics in English, to communicate on the phone, to write emails, to participate in business meeting, to read professional literature, etc. Working with the coursebook, they neither want to feel they are treated like school children or students, nor they are ready to learn a language for the sake of it, they want to work with the book which suits their needs. In our practice of teaching middle-
aged and older learners we rely on "Keynote" series [17], which is integrated skills syllabus developed to satisfy the needs of working adults and combines different approaches with an emphasis on reading. Each unit contains a TED talk [18] that inspires, motivates and provides basis for learning authentic and up-to-date English. What we especially like is that the authentic listening or reading materials are not graded and students deal with "real" English, but the tasks are adapted to the level. Thus, older learners feel they can master the language and make progress. The coursebook also develops presentation skills, which most older learners consider challenging, but important for career development. Since in real life situations people communicate in English with people from different countries, students are exposed to different accents and variants of the language. To assist older learners to acquire language skills, teaching materials must be relevant to their
diverse life experiences and knowledge, otherwise, they will feel inadequate.
Conclusion
According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat "The global population aged 60 years or over numbered 962 million in 2017, more than twice as large as in 1980 when there were 382 million older persons worldwide. The number of older persons is expected to double again by 2050, when it is projected to reach nearly 2.1 billion" [19, p. 4; 20]. Thus, older people education will be actively promoted and foreign language teachers will face the necessity to adapt the approaches and cater for the needs of this group of learners. Willingness to acquire the appropriate knowledge in older adult education and awareness of the older people's learning peculiarities will help to make the teaching process highly rewarding and improve the effectiveness of learning.
References:
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2. BBC news. "Why the young learn more easily." BBC news, 23 November. URL: <http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/health/6172048.stm>
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8. URL: https://learningapps.org
9. URL: https://quizlet.com/en-gb
10. URL: https://kahoot.com
11. URL: https://www.mentimeter.com
12. URL: https://wordwall.net
13. URL: https://www.educaplay.com
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17. URL: http://bre.eltkeynote.com
18. URL: https://www.ted.com/#/
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