Adult ESL students, in my experience anyway, have multiple obstacles to beat in order to successfully learn a second language. (In this case, English.) They have schedules to deal with, deadlines, bosses, and coworkers to name a few. But the biggest, and often ugliest one, the fear of failure. (AKA: looking like a moron in front of their peers.)
Great teachers remove fear.
Fear is usually a big factor in groups. Most adults hate making mistakes, and hate making mistakes in front of others even more. But language skill development is all about trying, making mistakes, learning from them, and trying again. ( And if a student is not making mistakes, it’s likely because he/she is not trying to speak out enough.) What to do?
- Let your students know that mistakes are ok, and a course requirement. (No mistake making means they’re likely not trying hard enough.) Remind them of this truth often.
- Be careful about how you correct their mistakes. Ask yourself: would you like to be corrected how you correct others? And ask your students: “How would you prefer I correct you?” Some prefer to be nicely stopped in the moment they make the mistake. Others prefer that you wait until after they are finished talking – but do check with your students and try to adjust to their preference as much as you can.
- Keep your group in line: never let the other members of the group make fun of a person’s mistake. Be firm on this point always. (Sorta blends into the next section.)
Build trusting and safe classroom environment. This takes time, but you can accomplish this day by day as you interact with your students.
- Encourage participation from everyone. In groups, you’ll usually find one or two silent types. Don’t let them hide. Nicely call on them every so often to invite them to participate.
- In close relation to point one: Call on, but never force or put on the spot, or shame. If the student is too shy, or simply too terrified to try, step back a little and give them space. They may just need some time.
- Always be patient, even if they have just made the same mistake for the 10th time in a row. When you demonstrate an open, accepting attitude, and one of “I’m really happy that you’re trying, even if you just blundered. Try again!” your students will start to open up.
- Always be Engaging: Do your best to know your students. What do they love about their work? What themes are really interesting to them? Hobbies? Bring that into your class as content. Having your students work with material that they love is a great way to break down fear. If they’re passionate about what your working with, their willingness to step through fear will be greater, and almost instantaneous if you really connect with them on something.
- Be friendly. Teachers can make or break the learning environment. Think about your own schooling experiences. Who were your favorite teachers, and who were your most hated ones? What made them this way? In my case, the teachers I hated the most were the ones who were impatient, and unwilling to get closer to me along my learning journey. They broadcasted their stuff, threw tests my way, but never took the time to really connect with me to see if I was getting it. (Though my grades told them I wasn’t.) So I make it my personal mission to really try and connect with the students I work with. There are times when you need to be firm, and let them know you expect their best efforts – not always trying to be their buddy, but being friendly is one of the best ways that I know to help your students leave behind their fear.
What do you do to help your adult students break through fear?
