Lesson Planning For Adult Learners

Lesson Planning for Adult ESOL Learners Orange Campus Community Collaborative Training January 2007

Why lesson plan?  Provides

a clear goal and a focus for the

meeting.  Guides the tutor and the learner – minimizing “surprises” can make a learner more comfortable.  Allows the tutor and the learner to assess progress (strengths and weaknesses).  Legitimizes the role of the tutor: you come prepared to help your learner.

Offers opportunity for guided practice of independent skill goals.

Begins with a review and ends with a summary. Relates to the learner’s interests and builds on the learner’s strengths.

Articulates learning goals.

Starts with the familiar.

Builds on existing knowledge and skills.

Effective Lesson Planning

Organizes the information, materials and goals.

Integrates listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Varies the content.

Adapted from resources prepared for the UNC America Reads! program and developed by Priscilla Wood.

Adult Learners: 

Are different from children in experience and lifestyle:  

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Have valuable life experiences:  

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Use materials appropriate for adults. Target themes, language and vocabulary for an adult audience. Let the learning environment tap into their creativity. Create lessons that respect and capitalize on their experiences.

Desire to be successful:  

Use success as a motivator. Use materials that prepare adults for success (ie: job applications, GED test samples, writing resumes).

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Are busy people:   

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Can have specific learning goals or may need suggestions and help with goal setting.  

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Lessons and materials should be meaningful. Be efficient. Be direct and expect your learner to do the same.

Help set short and long term goals. Use short term goal accomplishment to help adults stay motivated.

Can learn differently because of age and experiences: 

Take into account issues of health (i.e: eyesight) that can influence how quickly a learner succeeds. Adapted from resources prepared for the UNC America Reads! program and developed by Priscilla Wood.

Goal Setting (Assessment) Goal setting can be an informal assessment mechanism to use with your learner. The ability of a student to identify and articulate goals in English can indicate what level of literacy the learner has already achieved.  Goal setting can be achieved through dialogue or by asking the learner to complete a simple form. 

Information on this and the next three slides is adapted from Teaching Adults: An ESL Resource Book published by ProLiteracy America.

Needs and Skills Assessment 

NEEDS Assessment focuses on the learner background, interests, goals, immediate needs – to help you determine what skills the learner needs (and what materials to use). Sample Needs Assessment Inventory: Name Homeland How long in the United States Family Jobs - in the United States and experience and work history in homeland Education Personal Interests Goals Reasons for learning English

SKILLS Assessment focuses on the level of literacy.

Skills Assessment Inventory

Skills assessment should occur 3 times: when a learner begins a program, during the program to check progress, and as the learner leaves the program.

Comprehension

Understands you.

Understands simple directions.

Reading

Asks/ gestures for information to be repeated.

Speaking

Speech is intelligible and fluent.

Pronunciation & intonation mimic American English.

Reads/ understands simple signs.

Reads his or her name.

Writing

Speech is grammatically accurate.

Holds a pen or pencil properly.

Writes his or her name with the Roman alphabet.

Fills in blank forms.

Creating a Lesson: Understanding the Process Step 1: Ask WHO? - Use information from the learner profile created during the needs assessment to develop individual learning objectives for the lesson (or the thematic unit).

Step 2: Ask WHAT? - Identify the vocabulary and skills needed to meet the learning objectives.

Step 3: Ask HOW? - Select materials and activities that will best demonstrate vocabulary and skills.

A Sample Class Students Rosa – 23, Guatemalan, 2 years in the US, cleans rooms at a hotel, wants to teach kindergarten, married, no children. Rosa speaks enough English to be understood by coworkers and can read schedules and work materials. She likes to play soccer.

Lee Song - 45, Chinese, 5 months in the US, has an engineering degree, works as a assemblyman, married, 2 children (12 and 8). He studied English in China and can read & write English but has difficulty with pronunciation and cannot be understood.

Marta - 66, Mexican, 10 years in the US, lives with her son and grandchildren (8,6, 2), wants to be able to help with their homework. Marta works part-time at a florist’s shop. She is understood in English but cannot read or write well.

Pablo – 30, Brazil, two months in the US, no job, wants to help his family in Sao Paulo and prepare for them to join him in the US, he speaks little English and has difficult writing in Spanish and Portuguese. Pablo enjoys listening to samba music.

Materials in the Library “Summer League Needs Coaches: Youth Soccer and Baseball” – a local news article Collaborations workbook – Literacy Level (level 1 in the series)

Classified ads – “Help Wanted”

Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Suess

“China Banks Open to Foreign Competition” – an AP news article

Sample questions from a TOEFL exam

“Space Shuttle to Dock with Space Station” – an AP news article

How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up by T. Romain & E. Verdick – a homework helper for kids and parents The Story of Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash

Music in Brazil by Jonathan Murphy

information and testing schedule from the NC Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors Chicken Soup for the Soul, to Grandma with Love by J. Canfield & M. Hansen

Who Rosa Short Term Goal: improve level of literacy Long Term Goal: enroll in teacher education program

Lee Song Short Term Goal: improve pronunciation Long Term Goal: become a licensed engineer in NC

What

How

“Summer League Needs Coaches;” Sample TOEFL questions; The Story of Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan Macy

Read article, compare soccer vocab, get more info, apply for job. Sample questions assess her literacy level. Will help focus time and support college goal. The Story -thematic unit - to reading, speaking and writing skills. Analysis, talk about role of teachers, arrange classroom visits.

“China Banks Open to Foreign Competition” or “Space Shuttle to Dock with Space Station” Oh the Places You’ll Go Information from the NC Board of Examiners

Read article – exercise to work on free conversation and speaking with a topic that is familiar. Oh the Places uses many rhymes and tongue twisters. Lee Song can practice sounds that are difficult with the goal of reading the story to his children. Information will help Lee prepare for the licensing exam – topics, sample questions, etc. – which will improve his job potential.

Who Marta Short Term Goal: better communication with grandchildren

What Oh the Places You’ll Go How to Do Homework Chicken Soup for the Soul

Oh the Places - a simple reading activity to help boost skills. Goal: read to the kids. Homework can be used to help Marta think of activities to use with her grandchildren. Trying them develop speaking skills. Chicken Soup can be used to develop LEA writing activities where Marta shares stories about her life and grandkids.

Collaborations Classified Ads Music in Brazil

Use the workbook to guide vocab and basic expressions. Use the unit on jobs. Use classified ads to practice job vocab and to select jobs Pablo is qualified for. Work on the application process. Music in Brazil – chapter on samba or CD of samba music can develop an LEA activity for writing and reading. It is a topic Pablo enjoys and may feel more comfortable expressing himself about.

Long Term Goal: better reading and writing skills

Pablo Short Term Goal: employment Long Term Goal: English language literacy

The preceding exercise was adapted from the Verizon Literacy Network online courses, Working with English Language Learners and Working with Adult Learners.

How

Step 4: Write the Lesson  

Remember that good lesson plans have a variety of activities. Keep in mind: 

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Total Physical Response (TPR) is an activity that does not require a low level student to speak. He or she simply watches, listens, and mimics. Graphic organizers, media, and music can help illustrate vocabulary and concepts. Seeing something can be as important as learning to recognize the word. Activities can build on each other and on previously mastered skills. This is strengths based lesson planning. Adult instruction should build on the four basic areas: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and phonemic awareness/word analysis.

Information on this slide is adapted from Teaching Adults: An ESL Resource Book published by ProLiteracy America.

Practice!  Group

1: Olin

 Group

2: Amaliya

 Group

3: Sachiko

 Group

4: Benito

Sample: Learner Profile and Lesson Plan Marisela • • • • • • • • • • • •

Age: 34 Homeland: Tlaxcala, Mexico How long in the United States: 10 years Family: 2 sons, ages 11 & 14; family in Mexico Job in the United States: Housekeeping for local hospital (6 years) Work experience in homeland: housekeeper, factory work, house wife Education: completed secundaria para trabajadores (education for working students) and finished her formal education Personal Interests: music of Carlos Santana, fan of Universidad Nacional Pumas (fútbol), loves to cook (especially Goal (short term): to be able to speak with her sons’ teachers and to be able to speak more English at work Goal (long term): to enter a nursing education program and become a nurse at the hospital Reasons for learning English: to better communicate with family and community; for job advancement English skills: verbal communication more advanced than reading and writing. Has developed the English vocabulary to work and to survive in society.