I Have This Project/paper Due This Friday.. Could Use Some Help.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Are any of you teachers? Doesn't matter what level. If so what would you consider learner needs?

I'm kinda struggling with this concept because during the module we went through we didn't really go through learner needs. I obviously can't ask the teacher because she's not here, she travels from city to city and I have no way of contacting her.

Not sure if it's special needs? I know there are special needs kids, you know what I mean? Not insulting, just that some kids needs more attention than others.

I was brain storming but it's kinda hard to brain storm by myself. HAH! Any suggestions?

inb4 getoffthehuddleandgetthatshitdoneson!

[Dpantherman]

So what's the question??

[Ivan The Awesome]

What would you conside learner needs?

[Dpantherman]

OH ok, I did read the OP. I'm not quite sure how to answer that outside of what someone needs in order to succeed in learning. Need more context.

[Floppin]

I feel like this isn't a complete prompt question.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Mmmkay, well basically this is for English. I teach English, have been doing it for several months. English as a Language and everything in between.

I've been teaching adults and children. So what I've come up with so far within the "learner needs" topic, they need participation, motivation, communication, guidance. This ties back to the learner styles. Which is the way they learn best? Are they visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic? I've found that majority of my students are very visual, but every once and a while I get one that's just not learning like everyone else. Which means they are a different type of learner. Mixing up the learning styles in the classroom should help. But time constraints are a problem at times. I have 45-50 minutes to cram as much as I can into their brains. Which I don't like, or want to do. Freaking school politics..

I'm basically acting as guide through all these lessons. I could dive into this deeper associating that their needs could be limited to what tools the teacher has. Trust me I've seen myself very limited at times when it comes to supplies and things of that nature.

[cptx]

I needs for the learning of to English

[Dpantherman]

Mmmkay, well basically this is for English. I teach English, have been doing it for several months. English as a Language and everything in between.

I've been teaching adults and children. So what I've come up with so far within the "learner needs" topic, they need participation, motivation, communication, guidance. This ties back to the learner styles. Which is the way they learn best? Are they visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic? I've found that majority of my students are very visual, but every once and a while I get one that's just not learning like everyone else. Which means they are a different type of learner. Mixing up the learning styles in the classroom should help. But time constraints are a problem at times. I have 45-50 minutes to cram as much as I can into their brains. Which I don't like, or want to do. Freaking school politics..

I'm basically acting as guide through all these lessons. I could dive into this deeper associating that their needs could be limited to what tools the teacher has. Trust me I've seen myself very limited at times when it comes to supplies and things of that nature.

much better

[Jangler]

[Wither]

Still not sure exactly what you are asking. Are you just looking for lists of what we consider to be characteristics associated with peoples ability to learn?

If so, I would consider learner needs to include: learning style, one-on-one communication, duration of class, participation, past experience in classes, last time they have been in a classroom, age, etc.

I'm no teacher but it sounds like common sense to me. Like you already touched on some people are visual, some are not. Some people need more one-on-one communication with instructors and some do better with formal lectures. You might lose some students (due to age, personality, etc.) after fifteen minutes and you might be able to keep others going for an hour and a half. Some people are better left alone, but you might need to spur some of them into participating and offering answers.

Also, someone who has performed poorly in classroom settings up until your class will naturally be deheartened and have many obstacles to overcome to learn the material. This of course ties into age, learning style and their need for more one-on-one communication.

If you are also teaching adults you will find that age is going to affect their ability to learn in many ways. Not only do we generally lose some of our mental faculties as we get older, school was different 5, 10, and 20 years ago. Adult students are likely to have less confidence about their ability to learn at a fast rate, but they will likely be more motivated in class and dedicated to the material.

While there are many more aspects to learning, another major issue is going to be the material at hand. People like certain material better. I'm sure you had a preference between English, Math, and Science (well, I didn't, but most people say they do).

If this wasn't what you wanted, disregard. :P

[Ivan The Awesome]

Still not sure exactly what you are asking. Are you just looking for lists of what we consider to be characteristics associated with peoples ability to learn?

If so, I would consider learner needs to include: learning style, one-on-one communication, duration of class, participation, past experience in classes, last time they have been in a classroom, age, etc.

I'm no teacher but it sounds like common sense to me. Like you already touched on some people are visual, some are not. Some people need more one-on-one communication with instructors and some do better with formal lectures. You might lose some students (due to age, personality, etc.) after fifteen minutes and you might be able to keep others going for an hour and a half. Some people are better left alone, but you might need to spur some of them into participating and offering answers.

Also, someone who has performed poorly in classroom settings up until your class will naturally be deheartened and have many obstacles to overcome to learn the material. This of course ties into age, learning style and their need for more one-on-one communication.

If you are also teaching adults you will find that age is going to affect their ability to learn in many ways. Not only do we generally lose some of our mental faculties as we get older, school was different 5, 10, and 20 years ago. Adult students are likely to have less confidence about their ability to learn at a fast rate, but they will likely be more motivated in class and dedicated to the material.

While there are many more aspects to learning, another major issue is going to be the material at hand. People like certain material better. I'm sure you had a preference between English, Math, and Science (well, I didn't, but most people say they do).

If this wasn't what you wanted, disregard. :P

Great post! Yes, I'm looking for a list basically. I can branch off the words by myself afterwards.

Basically what the question is for the paper, at least this particular part of the project/paper.

Session 1. The basics of Language learning.

1. Describe the following Items:

*students profile (done)

*Learning Styles (done)

*Student's Learning needs (Stuck on this)

*Language Skills (done)

* Why is it important to know the meaning of these Items? (not here yet)

This is just session one, I have 4 more sessions that dive deeper into teacher English as a language.

Technically I'm teaching English as a Foreign Language since I'm not in America, but it's extra hard to teach the language and simultaneously teach grammar, sentence structure, phonetics, etc etc etc. It's challenging for sure. Time is my biggest enemy, at times I feel I don't have enough time to teach what I would like. Since I have to follow a certain curriculum handed down by the state I live in and by the school itself. I honestly believe we aren't teaching correctly. Not emphasizing on other teaching styles. A lot of these students are Visual, majority. I'd have to say in my class rooms about 65% of them are, but the others are spread out between, Auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile.

Due to the sizes of these class rooms, one on one sessions are not possible. I'm talking about a room full of 34 students. The adults is much smaller but not by much, maybe 25-29 students.

Age is definitely a factor in their learning. Adults grasp concepts quicker and question more than children, but children absorb and understand quicker. It's a clusterfug at times but good god I'm proud of them for trying to learn another language and putting the effort.

I take it very personally when a student isn't learning, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I've been told I'm very demanding, which I am. I won't deny it. But it's only because I know they can do a lot of things regardless of the situation. I'm still very green, I've been teaching for under a year. Some of the teachers that are taking the same course as I am, I wonder how they teach english, or any subject for that matter. It's a joke. They don't put effort, it's just another job for them. Not tooting my own horn but damn, I'm glad I know what I'm talking about. Or I believe it enough that others do too. Hah!

When I was growing up, I never thought I'd be a teacher. It's really a thankless Job.

[Wither]

It's really a thankless Job.

Most professions are, but at least yours is more admirable than that of a stripper or something like that. :P

I'll try to think of some other stuff. In the meantime, you should also consider personal and political stances towards English. I've never been to other countries, but I'm guessing it is possible that people would not be as motivated in learning English if they do not have a good opinion of it or the people who speak it. For example, many people in the United States do not want to learn Spanish (or any other language) but are forced to due to their situation (college and professional requirements).

[Ivan The Awesome]

Most professions are, but at least yours is more admirable than that of a stripper or something like that. :P

I'll try to think of some other stuff. In the meantime, you should also consider personal and political stances towards English. I've never been to other countries, but I'm guessing it is possible that people would not be as motivated in learning English if they do not have a good opinion of it or the people who speak it. For example, many people in the United States do not want to learn Spanish (or any other language) but are forced to due to their situation (college and professional requirements).

lol, some days I wish I was a hot chick stripping for cash, would be simple as hell..Remove clothes to a song and grind against metal, wood or people. Not hard at all. Teaching, It's hard man. Especially when you get parents coming up to you. Asking why I'm filling their kids minds with bull poo. When all I did was teach them what America is like, how it's a great country with great people and we shouldn't view them in any negative manner. I also find it funny that it's mostly parents that lived in America and were deported. Hey man, it's your fault that you went in there illegally and then got caught. Don't hate a country for enforcing it's laws. It's a touchy subject around here but hey, I try to avoid it as much as possible. It's not my job to tell their sons or daughters why this happened or whatever. I'm just teaching them a language and hopefully will change their lives enough so that they don't have to do what their parents did. That's some psychological poo right there, I know.

Then there's adults that question every single thing you're trying to teach them. I've learned that older folks don't like being taught by young people. It's ridiculous and tiresome. Especially when you've already told them why and they still question it. lol!

There are a lot of people that don't want to learn this language. Yet they want better jobs. Better jobs require you to have an education and to know English at least 75% fluency, I tell them every day. If you want to succeed in this world, you need to know the primary language of it. English, regardless of any of their feelings, is the #1 language internationally. It's also regocnized that way in the business world. I always try to tell them that just because we live so close to America does it mean that it is the only place that speaks the language. England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Ireland, etc etc. There are more countries that speak this language, don't just shut yourself into a little box that we need to learn this language because of our neighbor. That type of thinking will get you no where fast.

[thatlookseasy]

Just tell those kids to speak american or go back to mexico! [/lesson]