Focus on the learner - Questionnaire

I. Personal Data

1) Name: _____________________________________________________

2) Age: __________

3) Country of origin: _________ First language:

_____________________

4) Marital status: Married _______ Single ________

5) Number of children: ______

6) Employment Status: Employed _____

Unemployed ____

Looking for job ___

7) Does your job require you to speak in English? Yes/ No

8) What is your highest level of education completed? (please

circle):

high school some college Bachelor's degree Master's

degree PhD

Post Doctorate

II. Linguistic History and proficiency

9) Have you learnt any other languages before other than

English?

10) At what age did you first begin to learn English? _________

11) How long have you been living in the UK? ______

12) Have you lived in any other English-speaking countries

before? If yes, for how long? _______

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13) Why do you want to learn English? (Please answer in at
least 3 - 5 sentences)

14) On a scale from 1-8 (1 = not helpful, 8 = very helpful )

please explain which learning strategy helps you learn best.

______ Write notes (linguistic)

______ Use logic and reason to solve problems

(logical/Mathematical)

______ Use drawings, maps, or pictures (Visual/ Spatial)

______ Hands-on activities with lots of physical movement

(Kinesthetic)

______ Talk about it with the teacher and/or friends

(interpersonal)

______ Work alone (Intrapersonal)

______ Sing a song (Musical)

15) When you do not understand something in class. What do

you usually do? (please tick)

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 ___ Raise your hand to ask questions

___ Quietly try to figure out things on your own

___ Review own notes and materials

___ Observe other students

___ Ask another student for help

___ Wait for another student to ask

___ Other: _______________________________________

16) For the following areas below, please describe your

strengths and weaknesses in your English skills:

Reading

Strengths Weaknesses

Writing

Strengths Weaknesses

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Speaking

Strengths Weaknesses

Listening

Strengths Weaknesses

Grammar

Strengths Weaknesses

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Vocabulary

Strengths Weaknesses

Pronunciation

Strengths Weaknesses

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 Learning Background. Where and for how long have they studied English? Have they learned any other
languages? Have they lived or studied abroad? Give examples.
Motivation. Why are the students learning English? Which reasons given are examples of intrinsic
motivation, and which are extrinsic? Are all the students equally motivated to learn? How is this reflected in the
classroom? Give examples.
Learning styles. What do you perceive to be the dominant learning styles within the
group, Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic? Is there much variation amongst the individual members of the class?
Give examples.
Learning preferences. What types of classroom activities do the students like? What do they dislike? Give
examples.
Specific problems and suggested solutions (language related AND pronunciation
related): identify specific problems which are common to several of the students. You must include a piece of
published material for at least one of the problems below. You may also include your own ideas or materials.
Skills: individual strengths and weaknesses. For the following skills areas (reading, writing, speaking and
listening) identify two students who are strong and two students who are weak (in total, write about four
different students).
Conclusion: How successful do you think these students will be as language learners? Do you think any will
be more or less successful? What advice would you give to other trainees who are going to teach this class?

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