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Although some people might have the privilege to decide who they want to teach out of children, adolescents, and adults, there are some people that do not have that choice when job searching. This means that some people might be able to pick whether the want to teach children, adolescents, or adults. Regardless of the situation, teachers should keep the major differences amongst young and adult learners in mind so they can be prepared for whatever classroom they encounter. The first key difference between young and adult learners to keep in mind is learning experience. For adult learners, they have a long history of learning experience due to going through a number of years of schooling whereas young learners do not have as much because they have not went through as many years of schooling as an adult. Since adults have had more years of schooling, they have undeniably gone through both good and bad learning experiences so there is a strong possibility adult learners could have a fixed view of how teaching should be carried out in a classroom. When compared to young learners who have fewer years of schooling and not as many learning experiences as adult learners, young learners are unlikely to have fixed views about how teaching should be carried out. The second key difference between young and adult learners to keep in mind is motivation. Typically adult learners were the one who made the decision to attend an English language class, unless it was a requirement for work, and are the person who has to pay for the class. Due to these factors, it is safe to say that adult learners are quite motivated by not only their desire to learn, but also so they do not waste the money the spent on the class. As for young learners, they rarely made the decision to attend classes because it could be that in their school English courses are part of the curriculum or that their parents are paying them go to English classes. This sometimes can lead to young learners somewhat lacking in motivation. The third key difference between young and adult learners to keep in mind is nervousness. Adult learners in general are more nervous about new learning experiences they could have in an English language class for various reasons, like if they have not been in a classroom for a long time or if they are used to a specific style of teaching. Young learners overall are less nervous than adult learners, but both adult and young learners face nervousness in an English lesson due to anxiety and stress over losing face. It is important for teachers to keep all of these factors in mind because it might not be up to them what the age group of their students is. Knowing this information will also prepare teachers to think of ways to combat these factors in order to make their classroom a safe and fun place for all students to learn and participate regardless of the age group.
