Using Authentic Material for Adult Learners free essay sample

Adult education Adult education, also known as continuing education, is a broad term for the practice of teaching and educating adults and holds a significant role in the lifelong learning process. Most of the advancements in adult education appeared in the nineteenth century, during the period of industrialization, mainly because of the acceleration of scientifical and technological progress that led workers to continue updating their skills and knowledge in order to fulfill their full potential. Adult education as an academic field emerged in the 1960s and since then it has experienced tremendous development in both practice and research. Plato was one of the innovators of adult education in the sense that he would teach anybody, including women. As a result he provided a model of the instruction of adults. 2. Learning English Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) is a significant sector of adult education. Language acquisition by adults is language learning, a deliberate, diligent, intellectual process that rarely, if ever, results in the total fluency acquired so naturally by any small child, regardless of intellectual ability or personal motivation. Language acquisition by children and language learning by adults are strikingly different phenomena. The techniques and tools concerning adults are also highly differentiated than those utilized for children, reflecting the divergent abilities, motivation and needs of these students. Chapter 1: The characteristics of the adult Greek learner 1. Who is the adult second language learner? It has been observed that over the last decades an increased interest has been demonstrated from the part of adults either to learn English as a second language or to develop their pre-existing English knowledge. The reasons of this phenomenon do not usually include personal interest but rather stem from the practical need of the adults to function more successfully in a world where English has grown to be considered the lingua franca. Adult learners basically study foreign languages (FL) for use in a particular professional, scientific or academic field. The extended demands of the marketplace as far as the expertise of the employers in concerned has led the working people to believe that in order to survive and thrive in the new socioeconomic environment they must enhance their competence. Thus, on the grounds of pursuing job opportunities and careers, Greek employers were obliged to achieve a proficient level of the English language both for communicative and learning purposes, since the majority of the newly discovered global knowledge is accessible primarily through the Internet and in the English language. Moreover, there are cases of people who faced the necessity of learning jargon, the specialized language regarding their work field, in order to become acquainted with the novel developments. In addition, a large number of adult Greek learners concerns those who needed to learn English for studying purposes, considering the fact that knowing English was a critical issue in starting post- graduate studies, especially abroad. However, contrary to the above learning groups that knowing English constituted a practical necessity, there is also a significant number of Greek adults who decided to learn English purely for personal and social reasons, since people not knowing the language have grown to be considered uneducated in the Greek society. . What do adult learners bring to class? It has been observed that the adult class is highly characterized by heterogeneity, taking into consideration the fact that adult learners have an already formed personality. At the same time, adults have specific intentions and expectations, carry background linguistic and educational knowledge and have formerly developed their own learning styles. Background knowledge and language Adult student s bear background knowledge and experience of their own in the lassroom, acquired either from work or home. This pre- existing knowledge of the world can be exploited in favour of the learning process. Specifically, it can function as a foundation on which the teacher can build the new knowledge. Moreover, adults already master one language, in this case the Greek one and that language is a fundamental element of their cultural and social identity. The adult student knows the sound and structure systems of his first language, a fact that can either facilitate or obstruct the learning process. Learning styles Alike to all students, adults follow different learning styles. While some learn more effectively by watching and listening, others need to take down notes and analyze rules. Thus, the instructor is obliged to respect the individuality of each student and adjust his teaching method in a way that makes use of and agrees with all the various learning styles. The teacher is also advised to urge the adult student to expose himself to the entire range of the divergent learning styles. Expectations It has become noticeable that adult learners tend to bring with them attitudes and knowledge developed in prior schooling, thus forming particular expectations from the current learning method and the teacher. There are learners who were uneducated or lack literacy skills and need encouragement and other, who are strongly confident because they have already studied a second language and were successful in it. Additionally, it is quiet likely that students with previous learning experiences have formed a personal opinion on how the class and material should be organized and taught. In cases where the methodology of the teacher does not comply with the teaching features to which they were formerly exposed, the students tend to question the efficiency and competence of the teacher. Consequently, for harmony and discipline to be maintained in class, it is necessary that the teacher negotiates the method and material to be used with his students. At the same time, the targets and theoretical background of each lesson should be thoroughly discussed, so that both participating sides work for a common goal. Chapter 2: Theoretic background of adult teaching and use of authentic materials 1. Principles of adult education The majority of TEFL specialists have concluded that adult teaching programs need to be designed according to specific educational principles and characterized by certain features: * Adults can learn when provided the opportunity * Adults need to know the reasons and benefits of the learning process * Adults want to learn * Adults have accumulated knowledge and experience Adult learners must be involved in the entire learning process * Materials must be adult oriented * Adults need to be considered as responsible and capable of self- direction * Adults do not want to be treated as children but as equals to the teacher * Instructors must be committed and concerned 2. English for Special Purposes (ESP) English for Special Purposes (ESP) is defined, according to Johnson and Johnson, as â€Å"language programs designed for groups or individuals who are learning with an ident ifiable purpose and clearly specified needs†. ESP is a learner-centred approach that is designed to meet specific needs of, basically, adult learners, who study foreign languages (FL) for use in a particular professional, scientific or academic field. ESP is considered one of the most significant areas in the language teaching field and is designed to develop students’ needs in order to enable them to communicate in the English language. Respectively, the materials that are included are basically chosen based on the learners’ area of professional expertise. In other words, it constitutes an attempt to help adult learners accomplish their occupational and academic needs and goals. Incontrovertibly, in such specialized courses learners have a range of needs and purposes, which play in important role in the teacher’s choice and preparation of materials. Thus, the very nature of adult education dictates that the material to be used should carry features that can expand the adult learners’ professional and academic knowledge so that they can meet the real world’s expectations. Consequently, it is safe to state that the most appropriate material for adult teaching is the authentic one. 3. Defining the term ‘authentic material’ In this point, it is important to narrow down the meaning of the term â€Å"authentic materials† in using examples of language produced by native speakers for some real purpose, rather than using language produced and designed specifically for in-classroom use. The issue of using authentic materials in language classrooms has been influential mainly over the last two decades. However, Chomsky (1965) and Hymes (1972) had earlier emphasized the importance of teaching authentic texts in culturally authentic contexts instead of texts designed for pedagogical purposes, by claiming that communicative competence does not only include the knowledge of the language but also the need of contextualized communication. Rogers and Medley (1998) move further and consider the terms of authenticity and authentic as describing oral and written language samples that are the reflection of language forms used naturally and appropriately based on the cultural and situational contexts. Chapter 3: Practical issues concerning authentic materials 1. Advantages of authentic material It has been acknowledged that the introduction of authentic material in the teaching process has a significant number of advantages. The most obvious is that students are exposed to real discourse, a fact that involves two very important aspects. Firstly, different language styles are accessible, thus students are given the opportunity to extend their vocabulary and secondly, language changes are reflected in the material, so that both students and teachers can keep abreast of the sociolinguistic evolvement of the English language. Apart from the above, students gain an intrinsic educational level, considering the fact that are kept informed of what is happening in the world and they come in contact with the British culture. In addition, the variety of the material, both in form and context, helps the students to develop skills as listening, reading, scanning, understanding, in an interesting and effective way. An additional very important aspect is that authentic material is natural and has substantial quality. Textbook- based material often contains artificial and unvaried language, which is structurally, grammatically and linguistically perfect. However, this feature that does not correspond to the characteristics that permeate the actual use of the language, which is not always flawless and immaculate, especially in its colloquial and everyday form. 2. Reasons for using authentic material It is only natural that some of these reasons coincide with the advantages of using authentic materials. To begin with, employing them ensures that the knowledge we transmit to our students is as modern and updated as possible. Moreover, the use of authentic material serves a practical necessity for those adults who plan on working or studying in the UK and need to get closer to the British culture and everyday life. Students come closer to the English culture by having contact with real aspects of their life. Additionally, it is undeniable that authentic material keeps the students’ interest alive, since it is more stimulating, memorable and at the same time exciting because it is different from what is known to the adult Greek learner. It is also worth mentioning that learners are exposed to â€Å"real† language in context, a fact that contributes in developing a broader language base. However, it has been stressed that the most critical and important reason for integrating authenticity in the syllabus is the learner’s motivation. If the student’s interaction with authentic material is established with interest and ease, they can participate actively in the learning process, resulting to the enhancement of their motivation levels. Furthermore, by coping with authentic materials successfully, students are given a sense of achievement and are encouraged to face the factual world and make comfort and fluent use of the language in real-life situations. ELT specialists have also claimed that adults often prefer a problem-solving orientation in learning, in the sense that learning may be more efficient and productive if they are presented with a problem in real context. What is more, it has been observed that adults are highly motivated to learn when they have the opportunity to gain new knowledge and expand their horizons, specially regarding their professional lives. 3. Instructions for selecting authentic material Selecting material is an activity that has grown to be considered challenging for every teacher and at concurrently of vital importance to the success of the teaching- learning process, hence should be meticulous and not at all random. The collection of authentic materials entails specific criteria that are imperative to be met, namely the learner’s age, level, interests, needs, goals and expectations and at the same time should be governed by three basic principles, suitability, exploitability and readability. To begin with, as far as suitability is concerned, the chosen material should be adjusted to the adult learner’s motivation and interests. It has been already specified that these are highly crucial aspects of efficient learning. Secondly, the material to be taught needs to be characterized by exploitability, in the sense that it can be used for teaching purposes. More specifically, it must be relevant to the goals of the learning process and be linked to the other aspects of the teaching. This can be accomplished through the use of themes, for example travelling, entertainment, social life, work, politics, ecology, literature etc. Last but not least, the material has to be selected in terms of its language and content, which have to be appropriate and chosen with consideration to the students’ level. However, there are cases that the density of cultural and situational references may be intimidating, even for the adult learner. Thus, it is evident that the nature of authentic materials is demanding and requires skillful and qualified teachers who will be able to provide precise information about certain trends and aspects of the British life. 4. Sources of authentic material The source of the material can be anything written in the target language and is used unedited in the classroom. Common examples are newspaper and magazine articles, songs, films, radio and TV broadcasts, leaflets, flyers, posters, maps, signs, recipes, web pages, blogs, advertisements and literature. Conclusion Authentic materials have been many times discussed as beneficial in teaching English for different skills. However, for settings other than general English, these materials may also work as a motivating feature and as a link between students’ general knowledge of language and their professional language needs. Authentic materials, being a part of the real world, can serve as excellent resources for introducing language in its real form to ESP learners whose final goal in taking ESP courses is to communicate properly in real-world contexts. Some of these materials which ESP learners encounter in their professional settings include articles as a part of their specific field literature, product labels, advertisements, brochures, newspapers, reports, literacy excerpts, audio recordings, and videotapes and best of all internet which unlike other sources is updated continuously. To sum up, using authentic materials is an easy, convenient and effective way of improving not only the students’ general skills, but also their confidence in a real situation.