Learner characteristics and needs

2.  1 My learning style is auditory and I think
most of my teaching is auditory, too.
 2 I spent two lessons explaining learning
strategies to my students when they started.
They just weren't interested, so I haven't tried
it again.
 3 Some of my students are really good at
learning things by heart, but I think that's
old-fashioned.

3. Learner
characteristics
Motivation
Learning
style
Learning
strategies
Past
language
learning
experience

4.  visual the learner learns best through watching and looking
 auditory the learner learns best through listening and hearing
 kinaesthetic the learner learns best through being physical, while
moving or touching things
 group the learner learns best through working with others
 individual the learner learns best through working alone
 reflective the learner learns best when given time to consider
choices
 impulsive the learner learns best when able to respond immediately
 analytic the learner learns best when given the opportunity to
analyse things
 autonomous the learner likes to decide what he/she learns and how to
 learn

5. Individual
differences
Reasons for
needing English
Beliefs about
what a teacher
can or should do
Previous learning
experience
Preferences for
classroom
methodology
Speeds of
working and
learning
Topics they find
interesting
Intelligences
Levels in various
language
systems and
skills

6.  C2 Mastery (= Nearly native-speaker
level)
 Cl Operational
 proficiency (= Advanced)
 B2 Vantage (= Upper Intermediate/Post-
Intermediate)
 B1 Threshold (= Intermediate)
 A2 Waystage (~ Pre-Intermediate)
 A1 Breakthrough (= Beginner/Elementary)

7. Ways to find out
about learners’
needs
Where learners are
starting from: their
present language
level, current
problems, etc.
What learners would like
to learn (which may be
different from what they
need)
How they
want to study
it (people
have very
different
preferences
about how to
learn things)

8. SpeakingShow the intended
coursebook for the course
and discuss it together with
the class
Interview learners
individually or in
pairs
Ask learners to describe/draw/make
a model of their workplace or a
diagram of their company structure,
etc.
Plan activities to focus
learners on specific issues,
leading to discussion
Ask each learner to bring in
samples of material they work with
(or expect to work with in the
future): leaflets, letters, tasks,
professional magazines, etc.

9. Ask small questions (e.g. ‘Which activity today was
most difficult for you?’) as well as big ones (e.g.
‘How useful is the course for you?’). They are
easier to answer.
Whether you go for oral or written feedback, vary
it. Don’t turn it into a ritual.
Ask simple, factual questions as well as evaluative questions,
e.g. ‘How many words today were new for you?’ as well as
‘Which activity did you enjoy most?’
Some common feedback opportunities: feedback at the start
of a lesson, at the end of a lesson, at the end of a week, at
the start of a new coursebook unit, at the end of a unit,
before the class does an activity, after an activity, as the core
topic of an activity, written at home.