Tkt Unit 14

TKT Unit 14: Learner Needs by Porntip Bodeepongse

What needs do learner have? • Personal needs

– Age – Gender – Cultural background – Interests – Educational background – Motivation

Learner needs (cont.) • Learning needs

– Learning styles – Past language experience – Learning gap – Learning goals & expectations – Learner autonomy – Availability of time

Learner needs (cont.) • (Future) professional needs

– Language requirement for employment – Language requirement for training – Language requirement for education

Key concepts • Different learners have different needs. • Sometimes different learners need to be taught in different ways and learn different things in an English classroom. • So how can teacher meet learner needs?

Example of courses • A 4-week intensive course on exam strategies for taking a university entrance exam • A series of one-to-one lessons over 8 weeks on business presentation skills • A 6-week summer course in the UK, involving lots of sports, trips and chatting with teenagers from other countries

To meet learner needs… • The courses vary in:

– length – frequency – class size – language skill focused on – type of English – teaching methods and activities

To meet Ss’ personal needs • • • • • • • •

Suitable materials and topics Pace or speed of lessons Suitable activities Suitable approach to teaching Treatment of individual learners Suitable skills Suitable interaction patterns Types of feedback

To meet Ss’ learning needs

Suitable materials and topics Suitable activities Suitable interaction patterns Suitable approach to teaching Suitable language and skills Appropriate level of language and skills • Learning strategies • Workload • • • • • •