Learning, Teaching and Leadership

I’ve been teaching since 1994. I’ve taught mostly post-secondary students and adult classes. Over the past few years, I’ve been trying to incorporate Stephen Lieb’s Principles on Adult Learning into my teaching practice.

In my adult education classes for Spanish, I now focus on three things: keeping it relevant, useful and actionable.

Here’s what I’ve been doing:

In every class, there are phrases they will actually use, but may not show up in the formal curriculum.

For example, Spanish phrases for expressions such as:

Speak slower, please.

I don’t remember.

How do you say…?

I’m lost.

De-emphasizing outdated aspects of the curriculum

While I absolutely honour and respect the curriculum I use, when I put myself in the place of a learner, I just don’t see the relevance of learning classroom vocabulary for items such as chalk (la tiza) and student desks (el pupitre). Who uses chalk any more, anyway? There’s not a piece to be found in the school where I’m teaching right now.

I spend very little time on this type of vocabulary. My idea is that if they can’t realistically use the vocabulary in normal conversations about life, work, family and other grown up topics, I don’t spend a lot of time on it.

Use examples of key words that they will realistically see when they travel.

Instead of la tiza, I’ll give them an example of la salida (exit), which is a word they are likely to see all over the place, over and over again when they travel.

Engage them in the learning

I encourage them to draw on their own experiences travelling to come up with words they feel they need to know and are relevant and useful for them. This helps to make the class more learner-centered and gives them a chance to have some input.

Challenge them to be resourceful

In my beginner class this semester, I divided them into pairs. I gave each pair a different situation that they could potentially encounter while travelleing. One pair were told that they were lost in a major Latin American city. Another pair had their wallets and passports stolen. Another two got a stomach bug and needed to go to the pharmacy for some medicine. You get the idea.

I said, “You have twenty minutes. Use whatever resources you have… Your textbooks. Your glossaries. Your dictionaries. Whatever you have. Come up with 5 new key vocabulary words, one key question and a new phrase that you would realistically use in this situation.”

One person pulled out his iPhone and immediately downloaded an app. Others saw what he did and followed suit. They learned that Google translate and apps, while helpful, are imperfect tools. They worked together. They asked me questions. I didn’t help. This was their time to be resourceful.

After 20 minutes, I drew lines down the white board to divide the board into columns. I told them that it was their turn to teach each other. Each pair were given a marker and asked to write their new key words, phrases and question(s) on the board. Because each pair had a different situation, they had all found different vocabulary and phrases.

Then we went through each pair’s column. They explained their new words, phrases and questions, and when they would use them.

Of course, because they were beginners, every pair had made grammatical mistakes. I corrected the most obvious mistakes for them and changed a word or two here and there. But in every case, they were able to convey the main ideas and ask for help.

As each pair presented their findings, the others madly wrote down the new vocabulary. These were useful, relevant words and phrases that they might actually use.

In a single class we had generated more vocabulary, gone through more grammar and talked about more culture than we could possibly have done by learning lists of vocabulary that might not come up in a conversation or travels for most people.

The best part? When they came back to class the following week, they remembered much of what they’d discovered.

As a I teacher, my takeaways from this were:

1. The language we teach adult learners must have some relevance for them.
2. Challenging adult learners to be resourceful, self-directed learners produces real results.
3. Teach less (don’t throw information at them), guide more (let them discover and keep them on track).
4. Focusing on communication and collaboration keeps them engaged.
5. Let them help each other by putting them in the teaching role from time to time.

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Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.