Teaching English to Adults: True or

False?
1

Read the following facts and decide if you think they are true or
false. The answers are below the questions.
It is safe to use any subject matter when you are teaching
adults.

Adults can concentrate for longer than younger students can.

Adults don't learn as fast as children do.

Adults are more motivated to learn than children.

You shouldn't play games with adults as they like to be serious.

What did you think?

Let's look at the answers:

This is false.
You need to be sensitive to the background of your students.
For example, if you are teaching refugees from a war zone,
the subject of family may be very sensitive as they may
have left loved ones behind.
Also, unless you know your group well, it is unwise to use
subject matter relating to topics such as religion or
politics.
2

This is sometimes true, but not always.

It is certainly important, even when teaching adults, to
vary the tasks during your class.
Even adults are not usually able to concentrate fully for
more than 30 minutes on one task without losing
concentration.

This is sometimes true, although everybody learns at a

different speed, so it is important to be aware that some
students may learn faster than others.

Adults usually have more of a reason to learn English, so

this can be true.
But children, even if they are learning English because
they "have to," can also be very motivated if they are
enjoying their lessons.

This is false.
Everyone has a preferred style of learning and some
people do prefer to learn by doing exercises, reading a
book, and serious conversation.
But it is always a good idea to inject a little fun into the lessons
to make them less monotonous, and educational games are a
good way to do this.

TheAdultLearningTheoryAndragogy
MalcolmShepherdKnowles(19131997)wasan
Americaneducatorwellknownfortheuseoftheterm
Andragogyassynonymoustotheadulteducation.
AccordingMalcolmKnowles,andragogyistheartand
scienceofadultlearning,thusandragogyreferstoany
formofadultlearning.(Kearsley,2010).
Thetermandragogycanbesupposedlyequivalentto
thetermpedagogy.AndragogyinGreekmeansthe
manleadingincomparisontopedagogy,whichin
Greekmeanschildleading.However,itshouldbe
noticedthatthetermpedagogyisusedsincethe
AncientGreektimeswhileAlexanderKapp,aGerman
educator,originallyusedthetermandragogyin1833.

Knowles5AssumptionsOfAdultLearners

In1980,Knowlesmade4assumptionsaboutthe
characteristicsofadultlearners(andragogy)thatare
differentfromtheassumptionsaboutchildlearners
(pedagogy).In1984,Knowlesaddedthe5th
assumption.
6 SelfconceptAsapersonmatureshis/herselfconcept
movesfromoneofbeingadependentpersonality
towardoneofbeingaselfdirectedhumanbeing
7 AdultLearnerExperienceAsapersonmatureshe/she
accumulatesagrowingreservoirofexperiencethat
becomesanincreasingresourceforlearning.
8 ReadinesstoLearnAsapersonmatureshis/her
readinesstolearnbecomesorientedincreasinglytothe
developmentaltasksofhis/hersocialroles.
9 OrientationtoLearningAsapersonmatureshis/her
timeperspectivechangesfromoneofpostponed
applicationofknowledgetoimmediacyofapplication,
andaccordinglyhis/herorientationtowardlearning
shiftsfromoneofsubjectcenterednesstooneof
problemcenteredness.
10 MotivationtoLearnAsapersonmaturesthemotivation
tolearnisinternal(Knowles1984:12).

Knowles4PrinciplesOfAndragogy

In1984,Knowlessuggested4principlesthatare
appliedtoadultlearning:
Adultsneedtobeinvolvedintheplanningand
evaluationoftheirinstruction.

7
8
9

1
2
3

Experience(includingmistakes)providesthebasisfor
thelearningactivities.
Adultsaremostinterestedinlearningsubjectsthat
haveimmediaterelevanceandimpacttotheirjobor
personallife.
Adultlearningisproblemcenteredratherthancontent
oriented.(Kearsley,2010)
ApplicationofAndragogyinPersonalComputer
Training
Knowles(1984)provideanexampleofapplying
andragogyprinciplestothedesignofpersonal
computertraining:
Thereisaneedtoexplainthereasonsspecificthings
arebeingtaught(e.g.,certaincommands,functions,
operations,etc.)
Instructionshouldbetaskorientedinsteadof
memorizationlearningactivitiesshouldbeinthe
contextofcommontaskstobeperformedbytheothers.
Instructionshouldtakeintoaccountthewiderangeof
differentbackgroundsoflearners;learningmaterials
andactivitiesshouldallowfordifferentlevels/typesof
previousexperiencewithcomputers.
Sinceadultsareselfdirected,instructionshouldallow
learnerstodiscoverthingsandknowledgefor
themselveswithoutdependingpeople,willbeprovided
guidanceandhelpwhenmistakesaremade.