Student-Centred Classes with Adult Learners

Helping adult students become independent in class is not an easy task. They don't usually like being independent. They like to see the teacher at the front. They like taking notes of what teachers say. They like to be told what the next step is. They also like receiving feedback and instruction all the time. Finally, creating and inventing something in class is not in their comfort zone. All these facts are things that EFL teachers deal with on a daily basis when teaching adults. At least I do, and that is precisely why I decided to conduct an experiment with Google Tools for Education to help them be in charge of the class and in charge of their own learning in class.

I decided to create an 'itinerary' of steps which they would follow and which would allow them to work collaboratively and without having to refer to me all the time. The object of this blog post was my third attempt. I believe the first two ones were not so successful for two mistakes I committed:

• The activities described in the itinerary steps were not as quick for students to do as they should have been. Adults take their time to do things. Unlike kids and teenagers, they don't like making mistakes and they are perfectionists while learning a new language. Therefore, we need to make sure that the steps can be done quickly. Because of this mistake, I could not finish what I had planned for that lesson.
• The activities described in the itinerary steps were not always connected to a central theme or topic. Adults are not as spontaneous as kids and teenagers. They are the ones that need scaffolding the most, or else they feel completely lost. For that reason, if there is no connection between one step and the next, they will take twice as long to assimilate what they are supposed to do.

In my third attempt, however, I made sure to pay attention to these challenges. I did it in a Flex Expert 1 class about vacation spots, as you can see on the book page below. This was the theme of the class and, thus, I thought I would take them on a journey. This is how I did it:

1. I booked the Experience Space and took my students there. When the first students arrived, I asked them to let the others know in their Whatsapp group, since saving time with adult groups is essential.
2. At the Experience Space, I had my students sit in groups and use the ipads I had set up on their tables to access the link bit.ly/fxgroupjourney. This was my class itinerary.
3. The groups went on following the steps, at times together, at times individually. I think something important was the fact that I signalled in the doc the interaction pattern of each activity/step. That made it clear for the students how they were supposed to work.
4. As you can see it yourself by clicking on the link above, the steps were short and made the students stand up, move and sit down at different moments. I believe this made the class dynamic and made them feel more connected to its theme: vacation spots.
5. It was funny to see that students would sometimes finish one activity (step) and become inactive. They would finish it and start looking at their phones, waiting for somebody to give them some other instruction. They did this even though I had already told them that they should finish one activity and move on to the next. This has shown me that these students are used to being told what to do. They are also used to a format that does not allow each of them to move at their own pace and harness their own potential.
6. The whole experience reached its climax in the final step: a really hands-on, maker activity in which students had to create their perfect vacation spot, just like the ones they had seen on the slides (step 2). For that one, I selected photos from lots of magazines the Resource Centre staff had and made them available in categories (food, activities, Airbnb spots and places). Each group had to create a poster by combining different photos and creating their own description of their invented place.

Being completely honest, what was easy to do about this whole experience?

• The steps I described in the itinerary and the online resources I created were actually everything you can see on the book page. So, I didn't create anything. I copied it.

Still being honest, was there anything difficult to do?

• Preparing for this class obviously took some time and demanded some manual work.

What is my conclusion? Was it worth it?

I felt extremely rewarded for having conducted this lesson. I won't lie to you, though. Doing something different has always made me tired, but also happy. It always gives me insights that help me understand my students better and help me become a better teacher.

I also think that the core of this class is actually really simple, which means that the same effect can be achieved in different ways. It is not necessary to use tablets and Google Docs. That was just my way to do it. Teachers can get the concept of student-centred classes and be creative. They can stick 'itineraries' on the walls. They can create stations in numerical order. They can do whatever they think will work best for their students.

Two reactions from students made me smile. One student, before the class had even started, stepped into the Experience Space, looked around and asked: 'Are we in a bar?'. Another one, at the very end of the class, holding the magazine photos and working on her group's poster, looked at me and said: 'I really liked this class'.