Second edition

Learner needs
How the teacher can address iearners‘ needs
Personal needs	Choosing (a) suitable: * materials and topics » approach to teaching (e.g. activity-based or topic-based learning) <» pace (speed) of lessons « activities e treatment of individual learners ® skills and language « interaction patterns (e.g. whole class, group, pair or individual work) e types of feedback (comments on learning)

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Learning needs	Choosing (a) suitable:
	* materials and topics
	* approach to teaching and assessment
	« activities
	« interaction patterns
	* language and skills
	* level of language and skills
	* learning strategies
	3 workload

© Meeting learners' professional needs is especially relevant to older learners who may be going to study at an English-medium university, get a new job or start new job duties. All these areas have their own uses of language. There are many books and websites available that have materials and activities for these kinds of needs, and that will help teachers understand what the language and skills characteristics of these areas are. • Teachers cannot meet all their learners' needs all the time. Making use of variety within or across lessons can help though: for example, using different kinds of activities, different interaction patterns, different teaching approaches. See Units for motivation in teaching and learning, Unit 13 for /earner characteristics,'.Unit for approaches to language teaching, and Unit 21 for lesson planning. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES (See page 241 for answers) 1 Look at these descriptions of two learners. Make notes on their possible learning needs in the English classroom. What would be the best kind of course for them? Pilar Ш		Kulap ВИР ||p||j|p|
Age 5, female, .		Age 25, female,
Spanish father -		Thai, lives in Thailand Щ
and mother, lives щ..и.-:;.*.: yiM = -'y		Works as a shop assistant in Ip ^Y-«A^:
in Italy h'k"		a tourist shop - speaks basic ^
Shy 0		English with tourists from
Loves reading and ‘ " ’^i' ^>‘		many different countries
drawing		Needs to improve her English for her new job
Will start learning English at primary		working in a call centre for a bank
school next year		Very sociable Started learning English at age 7 in primary school Has excellent grammar, weak speaking skills, good reading and writing skills Knows very little banking English Wants to learn quickly and to a high level
		Can only go to lessons after work

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Unit 14 Learner needs

2 Here are some teacher choices. Which of the learner needs on pages 79-80 do they aim to meet? Some choices may aim at more¹ llian one need.
A Choosing to play the class an extract from a comedy show В Asking the learners what they are learning English for and what they want to do with it
C Deciding to do more grammar work and fewer communicative activities with a class this term
D Letting one learner work with his friend for pair work
E Deciding that three learners should do an easier task while the others do a more difficult one
F Choosing to focus on the language of negotiation with a class of business people G Giving learners tips on how to do multiple-choice questions in preparation for an exam
H Focusing on the specific common grammar errors of the class f Asking learners to decide what topics they would like to focus on this term J Deciding only to focus on correcting a learner's pronunciation





Think about these comments from teachers. Which do you agree with and why?

0. 
   There are 40 students in my class, but I can still find ways of meeting some of their needs.
   
1. 
   Sometimes my students just want to chat in English rather than study for their exam.
   
2. 
   I don't think my students have any particular needs - they just have to learn English.
   

f Choose one of your learners, and over the next week or two try to identify his or her learner needs. You could interview the learner to help you do this. Write a description of the learner's needs in your Teacher Portfolio,

2. 
   Look at some books on English for special groups, e.g. English for doctors,
   

English for tourism, academic English. How are they different from the books you use at school?

2. 
   How could you adapt some of the tasks in your coursebook units to meet your learners' needs?
   
3. 
   Do you know the meaning of these terms: intensive course, contribute, cooperation, learner-centred, energy levels, Involvement, learner contract, raise awareness? Use the TKTGlossary to cheek your understanding of them.
   

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Module i

For questions 1-g, choose the best option (A, В or C) to complete each statement about learners’ needs.

1. 
   Bernardo keeps quiet most of the time because he hates making mistakes. He needs
   

A accuracy practice.
В paraphrasing techniques.
C confidence building.

2. 
   Chen’s grammar and vocabulary are good but he speaks very hesitantly. He needs
   

A pronunciation practice.
В fluency activities.
C sentence transformation exercises.

3. 
   Ahmed rarely uses paragraphs or punctuation in his writing. He needs
   

A grammar exercises.
В controlled practice activities.
G guided writing activities.

4. 
   Fatima’s English is really good but she still makes some elementary mistakes in writing. She needs
   

A proofreading techniques.
В peer correction.
G grammar rules.

5. 
   Noor always does what the teacher tells him but is unwilling to take decisions about his own learning. He needs
   

A training in autonomy.
В training in learning strategies.
C training in fluency skills.


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	Structural Approach	Task-based Learning (TBl)
View of language	Language is a system of structures used to communicate meaning.	Language is a tool for communicating meaning through use of functions, vocabulary, structures, discourse.
View of language learning	Language is learnt through controlled practice of simpler structures, then more complicated ones. Mistakes should be avoided.	Language is learnt by using it.
Classroom practice	Oral skills are learnt before written skills.	Classroom activities are based around a series of problem-solving tasks. To solve the problems, [earners need to communicate.
	Structures are practised in controlled conditions.	Grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation may or may not be focused on in class after the task is completed.

You can see that these two approaches differ in their view of language and language learning and in their classroom practices. Approaches involve our beliefs about leaching, language and language learning and how we translate these beliefs into classroom practices.

Module i

ТА
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As you can imagine, there are many different approaches to teaching. These reflect '■^:рШр1е^THffeieiitViewS'ml'wl^iangttogeisШаНе1ф oh how lahgtfages are learnt and what classroom practices effectively bring about learning. Certain approaches have had a great influence on. English language teaching practices and materials. Let's look at some of them and their most typical characteristics: