Teaching ESL in China to Adults

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Teaching ESL in China to Adults

Written by Robert Vance on July 14, 2008 – 9:30 am

After teaching English to children for years, teaching adults in China was a welcome change of pace. No more snotty nosed kids whispering to each other about me in a language that I could not understand. No more having to send kids to sit in the corner or having to waste half the class getting the kids to stay in their seats. I would now be having mature discussions with real grownups about real life. I was thrilled.

After a month of teaching adults ESL in China, I made an interesting discovery. When it comes to attention spans, many adults (and not just in China either) are just like children. They can have a hard time with focusing on a concept for more than a few minutes. Of course, my adult students at least pretend to be interested in what I am saying but by looking at their eyes, I can quickly tell if I have lost them. In other words, just because you are teaching adults does not mean that you should not still use fun activities and colorful lessons to teach. Adults enjoy being entertained as well. You just have to know how to bring a lesson up to their level. Here are some tips to help you:

Get your adult ESL students involved. Do not treat your adult students as if they are university students.In other words, do not always lecture them. Give them activities to do; keep them engaged.
Ask them to Work Together. Ask your adult ESL students to work together on projects. You can give yourself a break by giving them team activities. Adult students like to work with each other.
Do not be afraid to challenge your adult ESL students. Your students are coming to the training center because they truly have the desire to learn English. They want to be challenged. They want to learn as much as they can.
Play games with your adult ESL students. I have found that even many of the kids games that I know works well with adults. They enjoy learning about Western games. If you are looking for games that are more age appropriate, try making up your own trivia games using simple science, history, and entertainment questions. You can also make up games where students have to vote for each other; mock presidential elections, employment, etc. You can click here to check out some of our ESL Conversation Lessons.
Be a friend to your students. With children, you cannot be too much of a friend or you will lose their respect as a teacher. With adults,however, it is easier to personally connect with your students and guide them as a friend. Allow them to express their thoughts and feelings in class and make ESL class more of a discussion if at all possible. Not only will they enjoy your class for what they learn, but they will all appreciate being able to come and talk.
Give your ESL adult students as many materials as possible. Most of my ESL adult students eagerly snatch up any extra information that I can give them in English. They seem to have an insatiable thirst for learning new vocabulary words. I always try to include an extra handout because I know they will take it home and study it.
Be Patient. Children are like sponges when it comes to languages. Adults? Well, they can make up for being older through their determination but it can be more difficult for them to pick up basic English sounds. It is also often more difficult for adults to memorize new vocabulary.You can help them by being patient and encouraging them as much as possible.