INSTITUTO SUPERIOR JOSEFINA CONTTE

Ingles en contextos
diversos: Adultos
Trabajo de aplicacin

Profesora: Vallejos Jessica

Cedrolla Maria Jose

2015

Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

INTRODUCTION
Once, a wise man said learning never stops And he was right. However, this learning process
can be divided into different stages and likewise can be explained trough different theories. The
great eminences proposed several approaches and ways of understanding the process of acquiring
information. For instance, one of the theories, stated by Piaget, claimed that the acquisition is
universal, thus every person has the abilities for learning new things in his or her life. Although
this is completely true, when reflecting about the process of learning, it is necessary to realize and
understand that individuals undergo different stages (childhood, adolescence and adulthood) that
modify the way they learn; the environmental, emotional, psychological and physical shape
directly how people learn and experience life. Particularly, in this research paper, the stage to be
analysed will be adulthood and how the individuals of this stage learn and acquire new
information. As this stage of development has its very own characteristics, a branch of pedagogy
was suggested : ANDRAGOGY (and meaning man and gogog meaning leading. This theory,
popularized by Malcolm Knowles, describes the art and science of adult learning.
In order to comprehend the assumptions that underlie andragogy, a lesson delivered to adults will
be observed. This observation will provide the opportunities for identifying and analyzing specific
aspects of adult learners such as characteristics of adults, stages of anxiety, learning styles and
multiple intelligences, motivation and disruptive behavior. In addition to this, the students will
complete a questionnaire designed to gather information related to learning styles and anxiety.
All this data will be the foundation through which a lesson plan will be design. At its time, an
experimental practice will be carried out and for doing so, a humanistic approach will be taken
into account, as well as mix-ability classroom matters. It is essential to emphasize the importance
of the latter since, as it was mentioned before, it is the personal differences and characteristics of
an individual what enable or hinder the acquisition.
As regards the assessment and the feedback, the lesson delivered will be supervised by the head
teacher of the course (the one in which the practice will be carried out).

Cedrolla Maria Jose

Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

ADULT LEARNERS: OBSERVATION

Cedrolla Maria Jose

Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

CONTEXT

The Class
The class observed is set in the Comercio School, which is an annexed teaching center of the
Instituto Superior Josefina Contte. The year of instruction is the 2nd and there are 24 students
attending the lesson currently. The schedule of it is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 20:00 to 22:00.
The age range of the students is from 22 to 45 years old.
The Classroom
Classrooms in this schools are characterized for being big, spacious and well-lighted. The desks are
located in three rows of two desks each. The positive aspect of this is that there are enough space
for the teacher to monitor and for the students to perform stirring activities and tasks. On the
other hand, the negative aspect is the fact that being the classroom so spacious, listening activities
are really difficult to carry out. When working with this types of activities the acoustics must be
taken into account.
The material
The book used is "Speak out Elementary 2". It is presumed that this material develops the content
following the criteria topic -form / function. In this way, students acquire the structures and
vocabulary using the language. The data and images presented are current and are suitable for
adults. The activities are the appropriate level and all units are presented and developed so that
prior knowledge of each class are consolidated. The macro skills appear balanced. All students
have the material. Some of them have photocopies, other in color versions.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

2 CHARACTERISCTICS AND PRINCIPLES

At the beginning of this research paper, a very important theory related to the learning process of
the adults was mentioned: ANDRAGOGY. The core assumptions of this theory see the adults as
individuals that who perform different roles associated with adults (workers, spouse, parent,
soldier, citizen) and individuals who perceive them to be responsible for their own lives.1
Based on this knowledge, the characteristics of the adult learners will be described and analyzed
taking into consideration the aspects observed in the class.

SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Adults tend to be self-directed in their lives, although responsibilities

with jobs, families, and other organizations can remove a degree of their
freedom to act. Adulthood brings an increasing sense of the need to take
responsibility for our lives and adults strongly resent it when others
take away their right to choose.

In spite of being simple, the first evidence of the sense of responsibility I could notice in the
observed class was the students arriving early to the lesson. This is uncommon to see in teenagers
or children, who do it mainly because they are obliged by someone else. Adults are responsible
for their learning and they know they have to arrive on time for the lessons.
The other evidence I could grasped was related to a decision the students took: They were
supposed to watch a film but because of lack of time they could not do it. The T told them that she
would ask a classroom in the Institute for watching the film. One of the Students suggested he
could ask in her annexed university Centre. In this occasion, a particular Student is taking over and
finding a solution to the problem. They want to be in charge of their learning, an being responsible
for it is a way of doing it. Moreover, the T included the student in the planning of educational
matters.

Knowles, Malcolm. Andragogy: Theory of Adult Learning

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

MULTIPLE ROLES

For most adults, the student is minor and secondary role. Adults
fulfill multiple roles and these multiple roles inevitably create
conflicting and competing demands on the adult learner multiple roles
because most adults have far less time and energy to study, or learn.
Adult learners must learn to carve out some margin in their lives to
allow learning to occur.

An evidence of this adult characteristic was immediately found when we were waiting for all the
SS to arrive. Some of the students, the ones who arrived early, were doing homework. Thanks to
this, we could infer that they had not done their homework because of lack of time. They had
probably other responsibilities to take care about before English lessons. This deduction was
confirmed when one of the students told us that he had some difficulties in the learning process
because he did not have the necessary time to study or complete the homework because he had
to work and go to the university as well.

NEED OF CONTROL- SELF DIRECTION

Adult learners are self-directed and they do not want to depend on

others. Among other considerations, being an adult means being in charge
of their lives. They do not need an adult for orientation. This selfdirection is slightly connected with responsibility and the degree of
decision students have in their learning process.

The need of control is clearly identified by the students compulsion of writing everything down
and relying on written material, which could be observed in the lesson delivered. If they have the
information written down, they can revise it anytime they want to and this way they do not
depend entirely on the teacher. They do not wait for the teaching asking them to do it, they just
do it because they need to do it; they are responsible of their learning and they perform the
necessary actions in order to learn.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

PRIOR EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD

-The adults experience is a key resource in any learning effort. Adults

have a greater reservoir of life experiences simple because they have
lived longer and seen and done more. This is a critical distinction
between adults and traditional learners. Consciously or unconsciously,
adults tend to link any new learning to their prior learning, a body of
knowledge that is rooted in their life experiences. They evaluate the
validity of new ideas and concepts in light of how the idea or concept
fits their experience.
-Adults frequently compare and contrast the content in a self-paced
course with their experiences. These Comparisons result in learners
feeling:
Confused because the content is inconsistent with their prior
experiences.
confident because the content is consistent with their prior
experience
Lost because they have no prior experiences with the content.

The evidence that supports this theory was found at the beginning of the lesson, when the teacher
was presenting some images. These pictures showed a jungle, a mountain and a dessert. The T
asked which those places were. The students answer with the knowledge of the world they had:
Everest Mountain, Sahara desert and Amazon jungle. This knowledge is not strictly related to
English and they had never worked with information like this, so this was truly their prior
experience taking over. As regards how the prior knowledge influenced their answers, we inferred
that they were confident; the content was consistent with what they already knew.

INMEDIATE APPLICATION

Adults are particularly motivated to learn information that seems

immediately applicable to their situations and needs. They tend to be
frustrated with theory that needs to be stored away for future use or
learning for the sake of learning.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

Adults need to see the connection between what they are learning and what for they are using
that. We could identify this principle after noticing that the teacher provided the rule of the
structure they were using (will for predictions) along with other uses and moreover, a link with the
correspondent structure in Spanish.

RESULTS ORIENTED AND MOTIVATION

Students have specific results in mind for education. Therefore, they

would drop out if education does not lead to those results because their
participation is usually voluntary. A factor that is directly linked to
this is motivation: Adults are making personal choices to attend
schooling, even when such schooling is tied to professional development
or job skills. Whenever an individual is able to choose to learn, s/he is
much more motivated to learn.

In our observation stage, we had the opportunity to talk to one of the students who was attending
the lesson. Actually, to be honest, it was him who talked to us first (we did not want to interrupt
the flow ). He asked if we were delivering private tuition and if we could help him. Due to lack of
time and job difficulties, it was really difficult for him to study English. So, in spite of having a lot of
obstacles, he was decided to learn i.e. he was motivated. Moreover, he told us that he was
attending the course because it was a job requirement. He is supposed to sit for the FIRST exam
certificate and this has to be presented in his job appliance. He has a clear result that must be
achieved and therefore he is motivated to do it.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

3 HALLMARKS OF THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: MOTIVATION AND ANXIETY

ANXIETY IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSRROM

To begin with, we should define what anxiety is and then relate it to the language environment
and the learning process; Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, nervousness, and worry
associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system2.
According to Anna Turula, many times, students enter the classroom victimized by a number of
prejudices about foreign language acquisition, including common beliefs in the disadvantage of a
late start or the strong feeling that to succeed one needs a special predisposition for learning
languages. This uneasiness is probably reinforced by barriers created by the mature nervous
system of the adult learner. Students ego boundaries, fossilized intellectually and emotionally in
the process of first language acquisition, become thicker with age, which may cause some adult
learners to perceive their performance in the foreign language classroom as unnatural or
ridiculous. These factors lead to feelings of tension and apprehension specifically associated with
second language contexts, including speaking, listening and learning.
In addition to this, sources of language anxiety can be found In the learning environment.
Macintyre and Gardner (1994 distinguished between trait anxiety, individuals predisposition for
feelings of tension and uneasiness, and situational anxiety which appears only under certain
circumstances. In a language classroom, these circumstances include classroom dynamics:
everything that happens in and between the participants. Following this, there three aspects of
anxiety that are related to the aforementioned: acceptance anxiety ( whether the learner will be
accepted or not) orientation anxiety (whether the student will understand what is going on), and
performance anxiety (whether the student learn or not what she/he planned to learn).
Considering this, when anxiety arises, the acquisition and learning process are hinder. In order to
understand the phenomena deeply, we must analyze the classrooms circumstances in which the
students may feel insecure and anxious. In other words, we must pay attention the classroom
dynamics and how these affects language anxiety. Some trigger circumstances of anxiety will be
describe and consequently analyzed next:
Being judge in the classroom: Teacher may not realize it, but they often judgmental
toward their students in the classroom. They may show approval or disapproval verbally
as well as by their body language. For instance, when correcting errors (explicitly or
implicitly) or when the teacher corrects his or her answers before the students have a
chance to do so.

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Elaine K. Horwitz, Michael B. Horwitz and Joann Cope.
The Modern Language Journal

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In the observed class, there were moments in which the students could have felt judge. The
body language of the teacher sometimes expressed disapproval, mainly when they were
giving answers. However, we should acknowledge that there some learners who like being
given this types of hints instead of being directly corrected.
Feeling isolated in the classroom: Students may feel isolated if they are made to feel
anonymous. Teachers should use students names when eliciting and asking questions.
Feeling isolated may also mean feeling disregarded. Teachers tend to have their favorite
students and observed that the teacher favoritism is manifested in classroom mainly by
inconsistent error correction and unfair distribution of turns. Students may feel also
isolated if they do not received assistance from the teacher.
We could observe that the teacher did not call the students by their names and may be this
could cause the students to feel isolated. Although teacher used their knowledge of the
world , this was not linked to their personal experience. The fact of being always at the
front of the classroom and never going to the back of it could also make the students feel
isolated. Collateral effects of this are students at the back not paying attention or doing
something else.
Feeling loss of control: This refers to the failure of managing the classrooms discourse.
This can be produced by turn stealing instead of turn taking, unclear or unsatisfactory
teachers explanations, or a domineering, controlling teacher, which makes the students
feel they have no influence over what they are doing.
At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher was commenting a problem she had related to
schedule issues and that had consequences for the students. One of them offered a
temporal solution for it but the teacher left this as a second option. The teachers decision
towards the students suggestion could cause the learner to feel loss of control as what he
proposed was not prioritized.
Getting what one deserves: Students may feel unworthy if they receive substandard
teaching. Thus they are likely to believe they are substandard learners.
This aspect was not present in the lesson we observed.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

On the contrary, there are other classroom circumstances that may lower the students anxiety
level:
Humanistic philosophy of language teaching: This philosophy fosters the sharing of
knowledge, feelings, interest and preferences of the learners. Group rapport once
developed, can easily be sustained by humanistic exercises. Sharing in the language
classroom means that students help each other develop effective learning strategies that
enable them to increase their repertoire of cognitive skills.
In the lesson we observed, there was one group of four students who shared the
information they could recall from the teachers explanation. One student from the group
did not understand well the explanation so they help her and even taught the techniques
they used to understand the input to be acquired. At a wider scope, the students shared
personal opinions and experiences when the teacher asked personal questions related to
dangerous experiences and dangerous places (Sahara Desert, Everest Mountain etc.).
Clear sense of direction: Adult learners need to know that particular activities and
exercises help them achieve their overall learning aims and why they need to do them. A
need analysis would provide the students goals and aims.
When the teacher was explaining the uses of the modal verb will she finished the
explanation stating the practical situations in which students would use this input. The
teachers even used their L1 to reinforce the idea and explained the similarities between the
two languages.
Sense of fun: A sense of fun is indispensable to create a relaxed learning environment and
sustain motivation.
The atmosphere of the lesson was definitely not funny at all. Students did not have
opportunities to relax and enjoy the activities beyond the lesson itself. However, there
are other factor that could have caused this; it was late in the evening, it was dinner time,
they were tired etc.
In order to empirically identify these classroom dynamics we delivered to the students a
questionnaire. The aim of this tool was to gather information about the opportunities in which
students anxiety would arise.
The findings suggest that the three types of anxiety arises in different classroom dynamics
Acceptance anxiety: This anxiety makes the student wonder if he or she will be accepted
by the rest of the class. Even for adults, peer approval is very important. Moreover, they
do not like committing mistakes since this would suggest they are not good at English or

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something similar to these reasoning. This type of anxiety can be identified in
circumstance 7.

7) Me da vergenza ofrecerme para

hablar en clases (corregir tareas, leer
textos, responder preguntas, etc).
8%

8%

Totalmente de acuerdo

13%
21%

De acuerdo
Ni uno, ni lo otro
En desacuerdo
Totalmente en
desacuerdo

50%

Orientation anxiety: This type of anxiety arises in those situations in which the students is
not sure about what is going on and he or she wonders if they will understand it. This type
of anxiety can be identified in circumstance 12.

12) Cuando la profesora est halando

en ingls:
8%

17%

Me molesta no poder
entender todo lo que dice

21%

17%

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37%

Me frustra no poder
entender todo lo que
dice.

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Performance anxiety: Before, while and after the learning process, students hold different
expectations and goals they what to achieve. The performance anxiety is in reality the
concretion, or not of the tasks established. This type of anxiety can be identified in
circumstance 9.

9) Me preocupa mucho no aprobar

los exmenes en mi clase de ingls.
0%

8%
Totalmente de acuerdo

8%
38%

De acuerdo
Ni uno, ni lo otro
En desacuerdo

46%

Totalmente en
desacuerdo

MOTIVATION
One of the key hallmarks of a language classroom has already been described. Now, the remaining
essential hallmark will be described: motivation.
Motivation can be seen as the internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in
people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to
attain a goal. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors
such as the intensity of desire or need, incentive or reward value of the goal, and expectations of
the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain
way.
Considering this, being motivated is the gate to the learning and acquisition of a language. With

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children and teenagers, the teachers and mentors need to design activities that will not only
engage students but also motivate them to learn what they present. Conversely, adults , most of
the times, are motivated by themselves. That is to say, they do not need someone else to motivate
them because they choose to learn and to do whatever they want to. Nonetheless, it is good to
make a distinction among the different types of motivations so as to identify which of them
underlie the different classroom dynamics.
Types of motivation:
Intrinsic motivation: The focus is on internal desires and rewards, what the learner
considers to be important for him or her. E.g.
-Social motivation (socializing)
-See as an important part of new identity
-Remedying some deficiency
Extrinsic motivation: There exist external rewards and punishments, demanded by the
learners situation. These learners may seek more immediate gratification and may be
more affected by the influence of others. E.g.:
-Promotion, change, career, etc.
Instrumental: there is a specific, practical reason for learning.
Integrative: interested and willing to share some attitudes and attributes of the members
of other linguistic communities.
Other reasons: they have nothing to do with language. E.g. getting out of the house,
relaxation, etc.
In addition to this, there are factors that serve as source for motivation:

Social relationships: making new friends.

External expectations: comply with instructions of someone else (authority).
Social welfare: improve ability to serve mankind.
Personal advancement: achieve higher status.
Escape/stimulation
Cognitive interest: learn for the sake of learning.

In our observation, we were lucky enough to be told by a student his reasons for attending classes.
He needs to pass an exam that is required in job. In this case, a clear case of extrinsic motivation
since there is an outer requirement, punishment or a reward. At the same time, this motivation is
instrumental since there is a specific reason for learning.

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4 STAGES OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

EXPERIENTAL LEARNING CYCLE

David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984 from which he developed his learning style
inventory. Kolb's experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four stage cycle of learning
and four separate learning styles. Much of Kolbs theory is concerned with the learners internal
cognitive processes. Kolb states that learning involves the acquisition of abstract concepts that can
be applied flexibly in a range of situations. In Kolbs theory, the impetus for the development of
new concepts is provided by new experiences. Learning is the process whereby knowledge is
created through the transformation of experience (Kolb, 1984, p. 38)
Kolb's experiential learning style theory is typically represented by a four stage learning cycle in
which the learner 'touches all the bases':

1. Concrete Experience : A new experience of situation is encountered, or a reinterpretation

of existing experience.
2. Reflective Observation: The learner reflects on the new experience. The most important
element here is the going from experiencing to understanding.
3. Abstract Conceptualization: Reflection gives rise to a new idea, or a modification of an
existing abstract concept.
4. Active Experimentation: The learner applies them to the world around them to see what
results.

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Effective learning is seen when a person progresses through a cycle of four stages: of (1) having a
concrete experience followed by (2) observation of and reflection on that experience which leads
to (3) the formation of abstract concepts (analysis) and generalizations (conclusions) which are
then (4) used to test hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences.
Kolb (1974) views learning as an integrated process with each stage being mutually supportive of
and feeding into the next. It is possible to enter the cycle at any stage and follow it through its
logical sequence. However, effective learning only occurs when a learner is able to execute all four
stages of the model. Therefore, no one stage of the cycle is an effective as a learning procedure on
its own.
In the lesson we observed, we could directly identify this stages as the teacher carried out the
lesson:

Concrete experience: First, T showed images in the book and asked the students to guess
what those places were. Students answered with their knowledge of the world.
Reflective observation: T showed a list of dangerous situations and asked the students to
think about the most dangerous ones.
Abstract conceptualization: Then, the T asked the students to underline sentences in the
text that expressed the future. Then, T wrote on the board the sentences they found. T
then encouraged the students to infer the rule for the structure.
Active experience: After all these, T asked the students to write sentences on their own
using what they had learned.

THE CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE LADDER

Noel Burch, an employee with Gordon Training International, developed the Conscious
Competence Ladder in the 1970s. The model highlights two factors that affect our thinking as we
learn a new skill: consciousness (awareness) and skill level (competence).
According to the model, learners move through the following levels as they build competence in a
new skill:

Unconsciously unskilled or incompetence Students don't know that they don't have that
skill, or that they need to learn it. At this level, learners are blissfully ignorant: they have a
complete lack of knowledge and skills in a specific area, and they are unaware of this.
Their confidence therefore far exceeds their abilities.
Consciously unskilled or incompetence They know that they don't have this skill. By this
stage, learners have discovered that they need to learn new skills. Learners realize that
others are much more competent than they are, and that the others can easily do things

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that they struggle with.

Consciously skilled or competence Students know that they have that skill. At this level,
students know that they have acquired the skills and knowledge they need. Learners put
what they have learned into practice regularly, and gain even more confidence as they
use the new skills. They still need to concentrate when performing those activities, but,
as they get more practice and experience, those activities become increasingly automatic.
Unconsciously skilled or competence Students dont know that they have this skill (it
just seems easy). At this level, they use the new skills effortlessly, and they perform tasks
without conscious effort. Students are completely confident of success. Once they master
one set of skills, it is important for them to learn more if they want to continue to grow.

In the lesson we observed, students were at the first stage until the teacher explained the other
uses of the structure will- wont. Before this, they had underlined the sentences in which the
structure was present. They did not know that they did not have that other use for will/wont.
When the teacher started explaining the other uses they fell into the second stage: they realized
they did not know the other use for the structure. After the Ts explanation, they started practicing
the structure and this way they could approach the third stage tough not entirely. They could not
reach the fourth stage in that lesson since they lack practice and internalization.

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PROCESS OF TRANSITION CURVE
John Fishers process of transition curve suggests that students typically pass through eight stages
of change when learning or trying to acquire a new skill:
1. ANXIETY: Something new happens. Awareness that events lie outside one's range of
understanding or control. Individuals are unsure how to adequately construe acting in the
new work and social situations.
2. HAPINESS: Awareness that ones viewpoint is recognized and shared by others. Feeling of
relief that something is going to change and not continue as before. Satisfaction of
knowing that some of your thoughts about the old system were correct and that
something is going to be done about. Danger: we may believe we will get more from the
change than is actually the case. We need to ensure unrealistic expectations are managed
and redefined in the organizations terms.
3. FEAR: Awareness of an imminent incidental change in one's core behavioral system and
this will have an impact on both their self-perception and on how others externally see
them. The others seem more experienced. You may worry about what effect success or
failure will have on you. According to Frances (1999), Fear and Threat are the two key
emotions that will cause us to resist change.
4. THREAT: The pressure of the learning is stepped up. Existing skills are not good enough:
the old rules no longer apply but you may be confused about what the new ones are.
Realization that change will have a fundamental impact on who we are, how we see
ourselves and what is key in our personality to us as individuals. Anger often accompanies
this phase and it is often easier to project this on to someone else.
5. GUILT: Understanding of what is it that you do not know. Self-belief may be at stake: you
have defined yourself as competent and now you may be discovering that this has been an
illusion. Recognition of the inappropriateness of their previous actions and the
implications for them as people can cause guilt as they realize the impact of their
behavior.
6. DEPRESSION: This phase is characterized by a general lack of motivation and confusion. It
all seems overwhelming, the task seems endless and progress slow. You have reached a
plateau. Individuals are uncertain as to what the future holds and how they can fit into the
future 'world'. Their representations are inappropriate and the resultant undermining of
their sense of self leaves them adrift with no sense of identity and no clear vision of how
to operate.
7. GRADUAL ACCEPTANCE: We are at the start of managing our control over the change.
This links in with an increasing level of Self-confidence, we feel good that we are doing the
right things in the right way. We begin to make real progress and get encouragement from
the modest success.
8. MOVING FORWARD: In this stage we are starting to exert more control. We know who we
are again and are starting to feel comfortable that we are acting in line with our

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convictions, beliefs, etc. and making the right choices. In this phase we are, again,
experimenting within our environment more actively and effectively. Practice brings more
confidence and with it, more success.

The whole curve could not be observed though we identify situations in which fear, threat and
anxiety may have arisen. For instance, T asked a particular student to answer a question. He had
to use his own knowledge and this could have caused him anxiety. Therefore, the student felt fear
for not being sure if what he was about to say was right or wrong. So he asked his classmate just
to be sure. Then, he answered the question. Consequently, the thread could have appeared right
after he did this and when he was waiting for the Ts correction or approval to his response.
Moreover, he may have being unconsciously asking for peer approval too.

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5 LEARNING STYLES

Alan Mumford and Peter Honey interpreted the learning styles suggested by David Kolb and
created a simplified model of learning styles. These learning styles match the different stages of
the learning cycle aforementioned.
Style
Activist

Reflectors

Theorists

Pragmatists

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Like
Doing and experiencing. Enjoy
games, practical activities,
anything thats new, energetic
and involving will take risks
and volunteer to take the lead
even when they dont
understand the implications of
doing so. Natural optimists.
Time to think, observe, take it
all in first; love to watch
others; need some solitude
and above all, time. Like to
ponder before speaking. Need
to read and consider before
giving a judgment.
To know where something fits
in to overall ideas and
concepts; analysis and logic;
being stretched; abstract
concepts; structure and clarity.
Enjoy system and seeing the
connections of one idea to
the; ask how an assertion is
supported by research then
ask questions about the
quality of the research.
Practical problem solving;
experimentation; chance to
vary and to modify other
people's ideas: immediacy:
relevance to the real world;
enjoy bending rules and seeing
what happens; learning that
answers the question how
can I apply this?

Dislike
Sitting around for too long;
working alone; theorizing;
having to listen to others
droning on; having to wait a
long time to see results.

Being hurtled from one

activity to the another, having
no time to think; crammed
timetable, lack of privacy, no
time to prepare.

Frivolity, mindless fun; wasting

time: not being able to
question and be skeptical, lack
of timetable and proper
structure.

Anything airy-fairy and

theoretical: learning that
makes too many references to
the past or the future and
avoids drawing attention to
NOW.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

In order to identify these types of learner styles in the lesson we observed, a questionnaire in
Spanish was used (see appendix). The questionnaire consisted on twenty four statements, each to
them underlying a different type of learner (activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist). In order to
complete it, they had to mark each statement with a tick or a cross. This questionnaire was
finished earlier than the anxiety one, may be because they were more aware of their preferences
when learning. After they all completed the questionnaire we gathered the information and we
got the results:

Type of learner
12%
Activists

33%
17%

Reflectors
Theorists
Pragmatics

13%

Balanced

25%

A great percentage of students ( 33%) showed a balanced preference in learning

styles. This balance included groups of two varied types of LS. For instance: AP-RTRP. There were two cases in which the balance presented a combination of three
LS and a unique case in which the student presented the four LS.
The rest of the students present preferences on one LS; 25% P, 13% T, 17% R and
12% A.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

6 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to
keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during
a class. When classroom-management strategies are executed effectively, teachers minimize the
behaviors that impede learning for both individual students and groups of students, while
maximizing the behaviors that facilitate or enhance learning. Generally speaking, effective
teachers tend to display strong classroom-management skills, while the hallmark of the
inexperienced or less effective teacher is a disorderly classroom filled with students who are not
working or paying attention.
Following these ideas, we can state that the hallmark of a good classroom management is
behavior. However, we should differentiate whether the offending behavior is disruptive or nondisruptive. Disruptive behavior distracts the classs attention from the teaching while nondisruptive behavior does not. Also, we should establish whether it is a first offense or a recurring
one. Non-disruptive behaviors include sleeping (without snoring), reading, or slipping into the back
of the room late. Disruptive behaviors include talking or otherwise making noise, or coming in late
and promenading ostentatiously up the aisle.
In the lesson we observed, we could appreciate both types of behavior. The disruptive once
materialized in form of speaking loudly while the teacher was explaining something. T had to call
the groups attention in order to continue delivering the lesson. Non-disruptive behavior was held
by students at the back of the classroom who were using their mobile phones and chatting in a
very low tone of voice. Some students remain in silence while waiting for the others to finish the
activities. Although some author consider arriving late to classes and entering once the lesson has
started as disruptive behavior, in the lesson we observed, the ones who arrived late neither
interrupted the lesson nor bother the rest of the students.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

ADULT LEARNERS: PRACTICE

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

In this section of the research paper, the lesson plan that was delivered will be described and
analised. For designing the lesson we followed a PPP methodologoy: This way of delivering a class
is characterized as a common-sense approach to teaching as it consists of three stages that most
people who have learnt how to do anything will be familiar with. , including CLT activities in the
humanistic approach. We also include CLT activities that enabled students to interact with each
other. This all was embedded in the humanistc approach which takes the learner, with his/her
emotions, feelings and personal experiences, as the center of the teaching-learning process.

1 LESSON DELIVERED

A) OBJECTIVES: By the end of the class, students will be able to give advice (using the verb
should)
B) CONTENTS
Previous knowledge: Past simple / Past Continous / Past Perfect
Input: modal verb "should". Vocabulary: health symptoms (headache, sore throat, etc)
Function: Giving advice on health problems.
Procedural Contents:

Discussing about health problems

Talking about a visit to the doctor
Matching pictures with symptoms
Reading a text
Matching problems with advice
Giving advice to different problems.

Attitudinal Contents :

To behave in a good manner

To show interests in activities.
To pay attention to the teacher.
To cooperate with each other and with the teacher.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

C) STEPS IN THE LESSO PLAN
WARM-UP: T started drawing the medicine symbol and encouraged the SS to guess which the
topic of the lesson would be. This engaged them in the activity and they were able to give
different answers. Although at first they did not guess, they kept trying to guess. They were eager
to participate. The SS could guess the topic only when the drawing was almost complete: in that
moment they all could recognize the symbol of medicine and health. When we asked them what
was the topic they all answered.
Before even presenting ourselves, we appreciated that they were expectant and curious
about what we were doing there (we started the lesson in the second module of the class).
So, when we did this drawing activity they immediately felt relaxed and carefree; they
really enjoyed it. Moreover, they could see how our attitude when teaching was: not
threatening and easygoing.
After this, we asked them what the doctor does when you go to the see him/er. Some Ss
answered what we planned: he asks you questions, he inspects you. We used this to
recalled previous knowldlege of parts of the body. T pointed to her head, shoulders, back
etc and the SS name them. Recalling previous knowledge is not only useful for learning
matters but also it helped the SS to feel confident as they all knew what the T asked. T
atmosphere was then set as a relaxed an friendly one. Moreover, Their affective filter was
lowered too.
PRESENTATION: T asked if there was a doctor there. After this, T asked the Ss if theu knew what
the symptons are one of them answered. Then, she started introducing the different symtoms by
saying that the Doctor may ask you wheter you have recently had some of them or not. In this
way the T introduced all the new vocabulary that would be used later on in the following activities.
Thourgh this activity, the T used SS previous experience and knowledge of the world and
inductively introduced the new information. They were engaged by the story-anecdote
the T was unfolding. Plus, the T made really funny gestures what made them smile and
realize everything was just fine. In other words, T managed the anxiety of the SS not to
arise.
PRACTICE I: T asked the SS to match the symtoms with the images in on pg 108. First, they
checked with their classmates and then with the whole class. This practice was relatively easy and
they were in control.
The students could do this easily and with a sense of achievement. Anxiety seemed not to
appear.
PRACTICE II: T asked some questions related to health matters and SS answered them. After this, T
asked them to look at the image of the text on pg 109. The T made some questions related to it to
activate their schemata and in this way facilitate the reading stage. The T then asked them to read

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

the text and when they finished they answered some more questions about it. After this, T asked
what advice they agreed the most and wrote the piece of advice on the board. T then drew SS
attention to the structure should in the sentence and made them think what they used that for.
Once the SS answered, T made them state the use of that structure. At the end of this activity,
the T suggested that they could go to the structure chart that depicted all the forms and uses of
the structure that was at the end of the book.
This activity is particularly important since the main structure is presented. Consequently,
ss were lead to the text and they read the text not knowing the structure to be learned.
Thus, all the previous stages warm-up, presentation, practice I- were deliverd in order
introduce this structure. They all constitute a big pre-reading activity that activate their
schemata and enable them to reach this stage. Considering this, they were able to identify
the use of the structre and state the its rule. We believe that this meet the adults principle
of knowing the how and why and when and their practical uses. When they finished
doing this they learned how and when to use should/shouldnt. Morover, having the
opportunity of using the chart available at the end of the book, fostered the sense of being
self-directed and responsible for their learning as they could consult it whenever they need
it.

PRACTICE III-PRODUCTION: Altough we planned an independan stage for the production, ah that
moment we thought it was better to continue with the stream that was taking place. Therefore, in
this stage, the T asked SS to look at the different problems in exercise 6A and match them with the
different pieces of advice that were below. Then, T encouraged the SS to think about other
common problems and give their own advice.
In this activit, on the one hand the SS could applied what they learned and include their
own ideas, values and biliefs in a way since the pieces of advice were a personal
perdoction based on their prior knowledge and experienced. On the other hand, they saw
the direct link of what they had just learned to their real life situations and needs.

2 LEARNING CYCLE AND LADDER OF COMPETENCE IN THE LESSON DELIVERED

The lesson delivered matched the learning cycle as follows:

CONCRETE EXPERIENCE: This stage took place since the awrming up till they deciced
which piece of advice they agreed with the most.
RELFECTIVE OBSERVATION: After choosing the piece of advice, they had the opportunity
to reflect on the structure when the T asked them what they used should/shouldnt for.
ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALIZATION: When the T asked them to state the use of the

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

structure they actually conceptualize the rule using what they had just reflected and
learned.
ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION: At the end of the lesson, SS applied what they learned using
personal experiences or ideas.

As resgards the ladder of competence, SS were at the first stage Unconscious incompetenceuntil the T drew their attention to the structure. Then, the fell into the second stageConscious incompetence- as they realized they were not aware of that structure. After this,
they started practicing the structure and in this way they could approach the third stageConscious competence- though not entirely. They could not reach the fourth stageUnconscious competence- in that lesson since they lack practice and internalization.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

CONCLUSION
By carrying out this research paper we could identify the adult learners characteristics in a real
scenario. Through the investigation and the data we collected and used as framework we easily
recognized the adults traits that shaped the learning of these individuals both in the first and
second stage of the work. While it is true that everyone has the capability of learn, the different
stages each person undergoes throughout his or her life determine the achievement by which this
is fulfilled.
Adult learners are different from children and adolescents and therefore there are many factors
to bare in mind when planning a lesson and delivering it. However, we were not aware of these
matters and we thought that teaching adults was not different from teaching children and
adolescents. Only after studying and analyzing the theory given could we understand the
complexity and specificity of the adult teaching art. Consequently, when observing, planning and
delivering a lesson to them, the aforementioned elements materialized and obliged us to
acknowledge their existence.
As a conclusion, we should know that each age group has its own characteristics that must be
respected and taken into account during the whole process of teaching-learning. Only when doing
this can we as teachers ensure the success in the journey of acquiring something new.

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Knowles, Malcolm. Andragogy: Theory of Adult Learning

Rogers, Jenny. Adults learning. Open university Press, 2007
McLeod, S. A. (2013). Kolb - Learning Styles. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
Turula Anna, Language anxiety and Classroom dynamics: A study of adult learners.
Summers Laura from Dr. Gary Kunhe, Adaptation of The 10 characteristics of adult
learners Pennsylvania, State University.
Gordon Training International, The Conscious Competence Ladder. Retrieved from
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_96.htm
Felde Richard M. r and Brent Rebecca, ALL IN A DAYS WORK. Retrieved from
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Dayswork.html
The Glossary of Education Reform, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Retrieved from
http://edglossary.org/classroom-management/
Elaine K. Horwitz, Michael B. Horwitz and Joann Cope Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, The
Modern Language Journal

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

APPENDIX

ANXIETY QUESTIONAIRE

1) Cuando hablo en ingls me siento

INSEGURO
NERVIOSO
ANSIOSO
2) Me da pnico/miedo tener que hablar en ingls sin tener tiempo para prepararme
Totalmente de acuerdo

De acuerdo

Ni uno, ni lo otro

SEGURO

RELAJADO

En desacuerdo

Totalmente en
desacuerdo

3) Cometer errores mientras hablo en ingls:

Me preocupa demasiado

Me pone incmodo

No me preocupa, todos cometemos errores

4) Me molesta demasiado que me corrijan errores.

Totalmente de acuerdo

De acuerdo

Ni uno, ni lo otro

En desacuerdo

Totalmente en
desacuerdo

5) Si me equivoco demasiado cuando hablo en ingls:

No quiero participar
Si puedo, evito volver a
Sigo participando con
Sigo participando, pero con menos ganas
ms en clase
participar
las mismas ganas
6) Si tengo que dar una presentacin oral en ingls prefiero:
Hacerlo solo frente a la
Hablar parado desde mi Hablar sentado desde
Pasar al frente en grupo
Pasar al frente solo
profesora
banco
mi banco
7) Me da vergenza ofrecerme para hablar en clases (corregir tareas, leer textos, responder preguntas, etc.)
Totalmente en
Totalmente de acuerdo
De acuerdo
Ni uno, ni lo otro
En desacuerdo
desacuerdo
8) Me preocupa mucho no ir al ritmo de algunos compaeros.
Totalmente en
Totalmente de acuerdo
De acuerdo
Ni uno, ni lo otro
En desacuerdo
desacuerdo
9) Me preocupa mucho no aprobar los exmenes en mi clase de ingls.
Totalmente en
Totalmente de acuerdo
De acuerdo
Ni uno, ni lo otro
En desacuerdo
desacuerdo
10) De las siguientes situaciones, me siento ms tranquilo cuando:
Tengo que decir un
Tengo que responder
Tengo que hablar
Tengo que leer un texto Tengo que leer un texto
dilogo que tengo
preguntas sobre un
libremente sobre un
ya escrito
hecho por mi
escrito
texto
tema
11) Cuando hablo en ingls lo que ms me preocupa es:
Equivocarme
Ponerme nervioso
Que no se entienda lo que quiero decir
12) Cuando la profesora est hablando en ingls
Me molesta no poder
entender todo lo que
dice

Me frustra no poder
entender todo lo que
dice

Quiero entender el
Me pone contento
mensaje general aunque entender todas y cada
no entienda cada una
una de las palabras que
de las palabras
dice

Me da lo mismo
entender o no, despus
averiguo que fue lo que
dijo

13) Cuando me pongo nervioso en clases

Me olvido lo que tengo
que decir, y no quiero
seguir hablando

Me olvido lo que tengo

que decir, pero intento
hablar

Cedrolla Maria Jose

Digo lo que tengo que

decir pero con muchas
pausas

Digo lo que tengo que

decir con confianza a
pesar de los nervios

No me pongo nervioso

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Ingles en contextos diversos: Adultos 2015

LEARNING STYLES QUESTIONAIRE

Learning styles questionnaire

1. Tengo Fuertes convicciones sobre lo que est bien y lo que est mal.
2. A menudo acto sin tener en cuenta las consecuencias de mis acciones.
3. Tiendo a solucionar problemas con medidas detalladas, paso a paso.
4. Prefiero tener tiempo para prepararme minuciosamente antes de actuar.
5. Pienso que lo que ms importa es si algo funciona en la prctica, ms all de la teora.
6. Busco activamente nuevas experiencias.
7. Me gusta la auto-disciplina, tener todo metdicamente organizado, mantener una rutina,
cumplir una agenda, etc.
8. Me llevo mejor con personas lgicas y analticas que con personas espontneas o
irracionales.
9. Acepto y sigo los procedimientos que son realistas, prcticos y eficientes para realizar una
actividad.
10. En discusiones y debates, siempre quiero ir directo al grano, sin especular ni dar vueltas.
11. Prefiero tener una relacin distante o formal con la gente con la que trabajo.
12. Presto atencin a los detalles y analizo todas las fuentes de informacin disponible antes
de sacar alguna conclusin.
13. Escucho y analizo los puntos de vista de otras personas antes de presentar mi propio
punto de vista.
14. Prefiero actuar espontneamente, siendo siempre flexible, es vez de prepararme y
planificar anticipadamente.
15. Las personas calladas, introvertidas y/o pensativas me incomodan.
16. A menudo me irritan las personas que se impacientan y quieren apurar las cosas.
17. Considero que es ms importante disfrutar del presente que pensar acerca del pasado o
del futuro.
18. Tiendo a ser un perfeccionista.
19. Me pone impaciente que la gente mencione las cosas irrelevantes o divague cuando se
discute algo en particular.
20. En debates y discusiones, prefiero adoptar un perfil bajo, escuchar a los dems y no ser
el que habla.
21. Considero que el fin justifica los medios y hago lo que sea necesario para completar el
trabajo.
22. Me aburro fcilmente al tener que realizar trabajos detallados y metdicos.
23. Estoy siempre interesado en saber lo que los dems piensan.
24. La gente a menudo me considera insensible, con una reputacin de decir siempre lo que
pienso.

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