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In this unit we learned about teachers and language learners. Teachers that motivate their students and encourage them as they learn as well as being caring and attentive are the examples we want to imitate. In the classroom we can play many roles during a lesson, knowing which one is needed will depend on the learners and the lesson as well as variables that will occur during class time. Managing in class will have the teacher in full control of all aspects of the activity they are doing while the role of prompter will have the teacher guiding a student to an answer by asking a probing question. Some other examples of roles that occur in the classroom are that of tutor, assessor, participant and facilitator. On the opposite side, there are language learners and they can come to class with their own motivation, experience and behavior. Depending on age, there can be differences in each of these areas. An adult will have more of a concrete motivation for learning English such as a career move or opportunity while a young learner in the teen years may not be interested in coming but must be there for school or travel plans. Experience and behavior also can be different depending on age. An adult will have much more life experience and at times more English experience through advertisement or contact with English speakers. A very young learner will have almost no second language experience and may not even have total command of their own language. Along with age also comes the ability to control our behavior, and as expected the behaviors you can see in class will vary. The beginning of learning comes with a correct assessment of each learner and in this there are basic levels that are known to help us place each student. A beginner is someone with no experience to a little experience with English and an elementary student will be able to speak basic sentences. An intermediate student can speak on a range of topics but will still lack fluency and make errors. An upper intermediate student can speak on a wider range of topics with less error but may still lack fluency and with an advanced student there will be a command of the language and an ability to discuss many topics as well as move on to more subtle aspects of the language. To get here, we will see that a good learner will match a good teacher with a desire to learn, ability to ask questions and try new things as well as accept correction.
