Principles of adult education
Even at an older age, people are still able to learn new things. The brain has the ability to constantly establish and strengthen new neural connections.
Experience plays a crucial role in learning.
5 principles of adult education and how they can be taken into account in class.
Social exchange
In addition to their work and family, many adults are looking for an activity that they choose freely. They want to do something just for themselves, have fun, meet new people with similar interests. They like to share their experiences and insights with others and share them.
Consideration in class:
• Partner and group work
• Discussions, forums, chats
Self-determination
Adults value self-determination when learning. They want to decide for themselves which course they take, what they learn and how they do it. The participants are involved in the planning of the lesson.
Consideration in class:
• Participation of the learner in the selection of topics, methods and media
• self-discovering new vocabulary or grammatical structures
• Learner make decisions
• Teacher gives as few instructions as possible
• Learn at your own rhythm
Experience
Adults have a wealth of experience. Newly acquired knowledge is networked with existing knowledge.
Consideration in class:
• holistic learning
• Activation of prior knowledge
• Building on the existing multilingualism in the learning group
• Comparison with other grammatical structures
Relevance
The content imparted in adult education is learned particularly well if it is relevant to the respective life situation of the participants and if the learned can be applied there.
The lessons are based on the wishes, interests and needs of the participants.
Consideration in class:
• Participant-oriented textbook with relevant topics
• Action orientation in authentic communication situations
• real scenarios, role playing
Motivation
Adults need a reason why they should learn something and want to know the benefits of it.
Consideration in class:
• To arouse interest
• playful, creative way of dealing with language
• Create a pleasant learning atmosphere
