InMete 55+ curricullum elementary


English Language Curriculum
Elementary level
Published by the partners of the “Innovative methods for increasing
effectiveness of teaching English of 55+ learners” Project
Erasmus+ Project, Key Action 2 – Strategic Partnerships


Contributing authors: Teresa Anelli (Italy), Beatrix Bajnóczi (Hungary),
Agnieszka Baran (Poland), Gyöngyi Bódiné Gál (Hungary), Andrea Ciantar
(Italy), Loredana Golob (Italy), Manuela Gazzano (Italy), Kirsi Haavisto
(Hungary), Barbara Kaszkur-Niechwiej (Poland), Anna Payne (Poland),
Malwina Szeliga (Poland), adult learners taking part in the project.
Project logo designer: Andrea Sinka (Hungary)
Kraków (Poland), Rome (Italy), Szeged (Hungary), 2014-2016

English Language Curriculum - Elementary level
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.
3
Table of contents
Introduction – The InMETE 55+ Project ................................................. 5
The Project Partners ................................................................................. 7
General Tips for Teachers ......................................................................... 9
Our Curricula ............................................................................................ 13
Our Approach …………………………………………………………............ 15
Objectives …………………………………………………………….............. 19
Techniques and Activities ........................................................................ 21
Materials and Equipment ......................................................................... 25
Testing and evaluation ............................................................................. 27
Contents .................................................................................................... 29
Summary .................................................................................................... 33

5
Introduction – The InMETE 55+ Project
Teaching foreign languages, especially English, to seniors, is becoming one of the
most crucial elements of education in later-life in Europe. Existing analysis concerns
mainly the needs and current state, but there are not enough didactic materials which
would support teachers in their daily work with learners 55+. This concerns in
particular those materials that go beyond the traditional language course, and include
such elements that are emotionally engaging, motivating, and provide new incentives:
mental, physical and sensory - so essential in later-life pedagogy. To address this
deficiency a partnership was formed which consists of 3 organizations from Poland,
Hungary and Italy, possessing considerable experience in senior education,
especially in language teaching and represent a complementary approach, including
academic. This has enabled the partners to identify the most urgent needs and gaps
in language teaching (especially English) to older learners and to propose innovative
solutions to address them.
The Fullness-of-Life Academy Association from Krakow, the Courses Educational
and Cultural Association from Szeged and the Italian Federation for Continuing
Education from Rome gathered together to realize the Erasmus + Project “Innovative
methods for increasing effectiveness of teaching English of 55+ learners” (InMETE
55+). The project has a form of “Strategic Partnership”, done under the Key Action 2
from September 2014 to August 2016.
The project goal is to develop tangible propositions of innovative methods for
increasing effectiveness of teaching English to 55+ learners. Through well-structured
cooperation, researches, discussions, international meetings, three tangible
intellectual outputs of the project be prepared:

6
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.
a. resource pack of possible resources: materials, ideas and guidelines which
could be used during the English lessons to increase cognitive functions of elderly
learners, in particular, their attention, motivation, emotional involvement, memory
functioning, senses and body involvement, communication sensitivity and capability,
and also their well-being;
b. nine detailed lesson outlines together with teaching/learning materials for
teachers and students (each for two levels: elementary (A2-B1) and intermediate (B2)
including innovative elements taken from external sources like art, historical heritage
of our countries, memory rules and methods, music, poetry, body expression and
para-theatrical forms, etc.;
c. two curricula for a one-year (60 hrs) course for learners 55+, two levels -
elementary (A2-B1) and intermediate (B2).
These three products will be available free of charge for seniors’ educators from the
non-profit sector. At the end of the project, during dissemination events, all of them
will be promoted.
In this publication we present the third product – curriculum for courses for seniors,
where we present a detailed list of possible techniques, activities and materials that
can be used by the teacher as well as a detailed list of grammar, vocabulary, skills
and functional language issues to be chosen from and covered. We hope it will be
used by teachers as a base and inspiration for their classes.

7
The Project Partners
The partnership consists of 3 partners from Poland, Hungary and Italy, who possess
considerable experience in senior education, especially in language teaching and
represent a complementary approach, including academic.
Poland: Stowarzyszenie Akademia Pełni Życia
im. Joanny Boehnert
The Fullness-Of-Life Academy Association has been working since 2001 with seniors
from the Malopolska region of Poland - both from big cities and small towns. The goal
has been to improve the quality of older people's life by creating a wide range of
educational opportunities for them. Special emphasis is put on giving seniors access
to modern computer technology, language learning and the achievements of
contemporary science and culture.
The Association organises computer courses, language classes, lectures, seminars,
memory training, art workshops, and discussion and hobby groups. It also develops
teaching/study materials tailored to older people. It carries out innovative educational
projects for older people, both locally and internationally.
Web page: www.apz.org.pl

8
contained therein.
Hungary: Tan-Folyam Oktatási és Kulturális
Egyesület
The Courses Educational and Cultural Association was founded by adult learners. Its
main aims are to promote formal, non-formal and informal lifelong learning and to
achieve and maintain mental, physical and social well-being through active learning.
It organises and conducts various training workshops and projects related to lifelong
learning, for example in language and ICT. The majority of members of the
Association are older people and the development of teaching and learning
techniques and applications appropriate to the age group is a central interest.
Web page: www.tan-folyam.eu
Italy: Unione Italiana di Educazione Deglt Adulti
(UNIEDA)
The Italian Federation for Continuing Education is a national umbrella organisation of
65 Italian adult education organisations. It is a national focal point for the
development of an inter-generational pedagogy aimed at different generations and
cultures in the name of their common educational needs. As a research and
experimentation centre for adult education activities and methodologies, UNIEDA is
particularly active in the promotion and dissemination of autobiographical and
biographical narrative methodologies and explores their relationship with the memory
and learning of older people. It participates in the implementation and dissemination
of European Grundtvig projects at national and transnational level and, in 2010,
developed for use a model bill on Lifelong Learning, which was regarded as strategic
for the achievement of Lisbon objectives and aims.
Web page: www.unieda.it

9
General Tips for Teachers
At the beginning of a course the learners can fill in a questionnaire about the
most common problems in learning English. Typical problems which will
emerge are: speaking, oral comprehension, irregular verbs, present
perfect/past simple, present perfect simple/continuous, future, phrasal verbs,
idioms. The result of the questionnaire is important for teachers because they
can develop the course by taking into account their students’ necessities.
Teachers shouldn’t correct 100% of their students’ mistakes especially during
conversation activities and at low levels. Excessive correction could result in
the students’ refusal to speak. A good option is to write down the students’
mistakes without interrupting them and to correct them only at the end of the
activity.
Don’t forget to praise your students for their
progress. Some students in particular are very shy
and they need to be encouraged.
A good way to correct compositions and essays written by students is the
“collective correction”: the teacher selects (among the students’ texts) the
sentences with the worst (and most interesting!) mistakes and writes them on
the board without mentioning the author. In turn the students have to spot the
mistake and correct it.
Encourage students to use traditional dictionaries and not digital ones. The
“effort” of looking up a word helps students fix it in their memory more than
a simple click on their pc.

10
contained therein.
Adult-students are not just people who are learning a language; the teacher
should valorise their personal experiences and background. If they want to
share and compare their personal experiences, the teachers should encourage
them.
Make sure that the material is presented in a suitable way: for example well
printed, in fonts which are not too small.
Make sure the equipment works properly. For example if you play a song, the
quality of the sound must be perfect and the room must not be noisy.
If students do not understand a song or a listening exercise, they could be
discouraged even if it’s not totally their fault.
Don’t use materials (readings, listening, grammar exercises) too difficult for the
students’ level. It could result in a general lack of confidence in the class.
In general the teacher should motivate the students not to use their mother
tongue in class, or to do this to the smallest degree possible. Anyway, at
elementary levels, use the students’ language if necessary to make them feel
comfortable, especially during the very first lessons when they don’t know the
teacher and the other students, and their tension could compromise their
understanding.

11
In the case of oral activities where every student has to describe something (a
holiday, a story, a film) encourage the others to ask their classmate at least one
question on the presentation s/he has just given. It will oblige everybody to
listen carefully to the presentations.
Create an informal relaxed atmosphere. If possible, put the tables in
a circle so that everybody can look at each other. Enjoying ourselves is the
best way to learn.
Sometimes divide the students in teams and organize contests. They increase
motivation and let learners socialize.

13
Our Curricula
In our project we prepared propositions for two curricula for a one-year (60 hrs)
course for learners 55+, two levels – elementary (A2-B1) and intermediate (B2). Our
intention was to prepare a rich document that can be used by teachers as a base and
inspiration for their classes. Therefore one can find a detailed list of possible
techniques, activities and materials that can be used by the teacher as well as
a detailed list of grammar, vocabulary, skills and functional language issues to be
chosen from and covered. The content of curricula topics also gives them a European
value (recipes, tourism, cultural issues). Our experience shows clearly that each
senior class is different not only in language level but also in age, life experience,
motivation, capabilities and powers, which makes it necessary to tailor the teaching-
learning process precisely for the indicated class and students.
To use our curriculum in the most efficient way as a base for the teaching-lfearning
process we encourage teachers first of all to get to know the whole curriculum
document and reflect on it having in mind the class that they need the curriculum to
be used for, to diagnose strong points, weaknesses and possible educational
resources of the students. The teacher is not obliged to cover all the
topic/structures/grammar proposed but needs to decide what elements of curricula
are the most welcome and needed in his class and apply that in creating a new and
innovative teaching plan that is tailored to the needs of students. Teachers are free to
change the order of curriculum elements or to dedicate more or less time to elements
depending on the requests and needs of the class. Moreover they need to be ready
to implement any changes necessary according to the flexible, unpredictable needs,
dispositions and expectations of the class over the one-year course. Teachers must
also be ready to sit among their students and to pretend to be one of them if
necessary.

14
contained therein.
We insist on the fact that the teacher in adult education is more than a guide. They
are facilitators who have to encourage a joy of learning and motivation among the
students. They must encourage creativity while remaining full of enthusiasm, but at
the same time they need to be good listeners. 55+ learners often want to talk about
their problems, life experience and current situation and share all these pieces of
news with the rest of the class. It is a brilliant opportunity for a good teacher to fit
these elements into the lesson and use them as a part of educational process.
While working on our project, we focused on increasing attention, motivation,
emotional involvement, memory functioning, senses and body involvement,
communication sensitivity and capability, and well-being of senior students. We
employed external sources like art, historical heritage, memory rules and methods,
music, poetry, body expression and para-theatrical forms, and we tried to integrate
culture in the lessons.
We hope that these curricula will provide a helpful and useful tool for the teachers
working in adult education area, and also that they will become an integral part of
their teaching-learning process. We wish you all the best in your teaching career, stay
inventive, and never stop learning.

15
Our Approach
We feel it is important to understand that teaching students over fifty-five is a unique
teacher/student environment not purely focused on the teaching-learning process but
broadened into a friendlier experience intended to make students feel welcome,
comfortable and part of the social life of the school. Taking part in our courses should
promote students’ spiritual, social and cultural development, and should equip them
with the necessary tools to understand, communicate and interact with other people
with newfound confidence. Teachers are expected to be flexible and creative in
tailoring their approach towards the life experiences of our students as well as their
individual expectations and needs. Lessons should be designed to encourage
emotional well-being while students discover their hidden potential, new abilities and
expanded possibilities for the future.
Our experience has helped us to identify some efficient approaches that we
encourage you to practice such as demonstrative tasks, helping learners to forget
negative educational experiences, using scaffolding techniques, balancing variety in
activities, challenging learners with specific activities, helping learners recognize and
acknowledge their own progress.
Knowing Our Students
It is fundamentally important to recognise and understand that 55+ students bring
a lifetime of experiences with them when they join our courses. Our students come to
us with a huge diversity of life experience, education and employment history, and
instead of ignoring this in favour of a purely academic approach to teaching, we
rather seek to appreciate, validate and include this diversity by allowing and
encouraging students to be co-creators in their learning experience, making lessons
more engaging and inclusive for all concerned.

16
contained therein.
It is our experience that seniors make reliable students, are motivated and keen to
learn and absorb knowledge well. However, it should be very clearly realised that
they may come to us with different levels of confidence, sensitivity and aptitude, and
though possessing great enthusiasm and potential are nevertheless sometimes
slowed or hampered by low self-esteem and insecurities. They may find learning
stressful from prior experience or they may find it a pleasure to be back among
school friends and textbooks, and it is up to our teachers to recognise any differences
of approach needed in this regard, acting without prejudice, condescension, or
neglect.
Our 55+ students have specific needs. It is extremely important to face learning
situations that are immediately applicable to real-life contexts, and that is the reason
why they particularly enjoy tasks like buying tickets, booking hotel rooms, or asking
for directions. They are also very good at linking new and old knowledge, so their life
experience can be an increasingly rich resource for learning that teachers should
consider when designing course materials. Most adult learners like the idea of
attending a course and belonging to a community whose members have the same
goals and interests, so the process of learning must be made fun and a pleasurable
experience.
Motivation is hardly a problem in courses for 55+ learners because they can be
described as self-motivated learners with specific goals. They may want to make new
friends, find company, relieve boredom, have a break from the routine of their
everyday life, keep in contact with family members working abroad.
We think that using authentic materials that are adapted to suit the age, interest, and
language proficiency level of the learners is very valuable. For example, even
beginners enjoy watching short excerpts taken from films or TV shows and can focus
on some cultural conventions like greetings, asking for information, or buying tickets.

17
They may also be asked to concentrate on non-verbal behaviours too, for example,
gestures or how people relate to each other, and then discuss how these behaviours
are similar or different compared to their native culture. Many of the activities require
learners to look for cultural similarities and differences in comparison with their own
culture and serve as a basis for successful intercultural communication. Learners can
develop their cultural awareness, which helps them broaden their minds, that is,
increases tolerance as well as acceptance, and also strengthens their cultural
sensitivity.
Photo by APZ © 2016
Knowing Our Teachers
To be a good teacher of 55+ students, first of all you have to be aware of the specific
role that you are being asked to play. You will not just be called upon for your
academic skills but you may also be put in the position of being an important addition
to the lives of our students. Therefore, it is vital that teachers are not only passionate,
motivated and enthusiastic, but also sensitive and empathic, flexible and intuitive to
the individual needs of each student. The teachers should be awake to and aware of
the strengths and weaknesses of the students, their skills, potentials and possibilities,

18
contained therein.
with a view to navigating each lesson using the temperaments and experiences of
each student as possible additional material. They should be prepared to lead
students occasionally, allowing them to ‘co-author’ the lesson to some degree, to
encourage confidence and to create a relaxed environment for sharing.
Teachers should never forget the value of praise either. If a student can finish the
lesson with some sense of accomplishment or achievement, and have it vocalised
and legitimised by a teacher who has obviously listened and been attentive to the
class, the student gains much more than just a pat on the back.
Overall, teachers should be kind, caring and considerate, but also firm and
confidently able to balance out the rich variety of different temperaments and
personalities of our students, so that each may learn without frustration and feel they
have contributed equally during the lesson.
It is a challenge to be a good teacher of 55+ learners. To achieve it, the teacher
needs to know the characteristics, needs and styles of the learners; to be aware of
efficient methods to foster learning, to understand and create optimal conditions and
environment for learning; to develop materials tailored to the specific needs of
learners; to use positive reinforcement; to integrate new information with previous
experience; to make sure that the information is relevant; and be able to illustrate new
ideas, concepts, topics. In terms of the everyday experiences of the learners,
whenever possible, the teacher needs to relate the material to the lives of the
learners, appeal to the personal interests of the learners, and make the classes as
attractive as possible using illustrations, graphics, music, It is also imperative to relate
every lesson as much as possible to former lessons and the experiences of the
learners, excite the learners’ interest in the topic/material through statement of inquiry
or thought provoking questions, and allow learners enough time to digest information
and gain understanding.

19
Objectives
Our courses should
enable students to respond positively to challenges and opportunities,
give students opportunities to be creative and to recognise the importance of
employing their life experience into the teaching/learning process,
be a very satisfying experience and be seen as an important and valuable
achievement,
meet the needs and interests of learners,
provide a balance of intellectual application and fun,
encourage students’ newfound potentials and creativity,
build students’ confidence, inspire new interests and new experiences,
broaden students’ awareness of European and world culture, making future
travel more enjoyable and enabling them to communicate with family (esp.
grandchildren) and friends living abroad,
actively de-construct and eliminate age related prejudices and stereotyping of
seniors in favour of instilling a greater sense of personal value and self-worth.
Our teaching process should be designed to develop a joy of learning. It should
encourage students to put effort into intellectual work and should stimulate the best
positive progress. The course should not just be seen as a possibility of learning
a new foreign language (memorizing new vocabulary, grammar and the attainment of
new skills) but should also be an invitation to social interaction with the teacher and
fellow students while actively engaged in intellectual pursuit.

21
Techniques and Activities
Speaking
language repetition
guided and open dialogue
interviews
telephone /Skype conversations
simulation
problem solving activities
reporting
story-telling
descriptions
brainstorming
improvisation
taking down notes
discussion
drama/role playing
presentations
communication strategies
repetition
drilling
information exchanging

22
contained therein.
Listening
comprehension questions
gap filling exercises
true/false exercises
multiple choice exercises
grid filling
note-taking
re-ordering items/information
transcoding
dictation
Reading
comprehension questions
gap filling exercises
true/false exercises
multiple choice exercises
grid filling
note-taking
re-ordering items/information
transcoding
dictation
skimming/scanning activities
interpretation

23
Writing
guided and open dialogue
questions/answers
sentence completion
letters/emails
messages
essays
stories
paragraph/sentence re-ordering
guided compositions
free compositions
summary
report
commentary
interpretation
taking down notes
presentations
diary
Grammar and vocabulary
transformation
multiple choice
gap filling
sentence building
error correction
matching structures with functions

25
Materials and Equipment
CD/DVD players
CDs/DVDs
projector
texts
newspapers
magazines
novels/short stories
poems
dictionaries
flash cards
pictures
photos
posters
songs and lyrics
pieces of music
art pictures
films/videos
websites
internet articles
board games
presentations
other authentic materials (adverts, brochures etc.)
other arts and humanities reference sources

27
Testing and evaluation
It should come as a relief to both a prospective student and a teacher that academic
testing and evaluation, in the conventional sense, play a minor role in our curriculum.
There are no separate written tests or oral examinations and any evaluation of
students should be done in situ over the duration of a lesson and at the teacher’s
discretion. However, this is not to say that evaluation plays no part at all. Our
teachers should be sensitive to the momentum and flow of each individual lesson,
being specifically aware of the contribution each student makes. Correction of spoken
mistakes is important, but should be balanced with the general flow of conversation,
meaning that it is often better to focus on the more obvious and perhaps more
embarrassing errors, letting less important mistakes pass uncriticised, to keep the
student’s train of thought flowing at pace with their intention to express themselves.
Grammar is the most daunting thing in learning and speaking any language, and
a good approximation at sentence structure can be worked with more easily than
a confused and perhaps overly corrected attempt. And lastly, testing can be
comfortably integrated in lessons through the imaginative and creative use of quizzes
and games, giving the teacher an immediate sense of the ability and potential of each
student, and of what may need to be added or taken away from future lesson plans.
Rather than passing exams and gaining grades, our students in a very real sense
need to be speaking as soon as they are able to, and so a purely academic approach
will tend to hinder more than help. What is really needed, is an ability to communicate
and express themselves within the context of their lives. An appreciation of this
should lead to greater simplification and speed up the whole process.

29
Contents
Grammar
verb be (statements, questions, and short answers)
possessive adjectives
articles
plurals
have/has got (statements, questions, and short answers)
this/that/ these/those
there is/there are
present simple tense (statements, questions, and short answers)
possessives
adjectives

Resource-pack of materials, ideas and guidelines for English teachers
30
contained therein.
imperatives
adverbs of frequency and manner
prepositions
can/can't (statements, questions, and short answers)
pronouns
past simple form of to be (was, were) (statements, questions, and short
answers)
past simple tense (regular and irregular forms, statements, questions, and
short answers)
present continuous tense (statements, questions, and short answers)
countable/uncountable nouns
determiners
how much/how many?
quantifiers
be going to (plans) (statements, questions, and short answers)
comparative and superlative of adjectives
question words
should (for advice)
Vocabulary
adjectives
appearance
city and country
classroom language
clothing and shopping
colours
common objects
countries and nationalities

31
daily routine
days of the week
drinks
family
flats/houses and furniture
food and meals
free time activities
holidays
irregular verbs
months, dates
numbers
parts of the body
personal information
personality
prepositions of place
sport
classroom
weather
travel
work and jobs
Skills
listen and speak : using numbers
listen and speak : giving personal information
listen and speak : classroom language
listen and speak: describing your body
read and write : describing your classroom

32
contained therein.
read and write : describing family
read and write : describing everyday life
read and write: describing a room
listen and write : describing your flat/house
listen and write: describing what you eat and drink
listen and write: describing plans for the future
listen and speak : talking about the weather
Functional language
saying hello and goodbye
talking about days and times
understanding / responding to classroom language
talking about routines and habits
describing people and objects
talking about problems
describing procedures
buying and asking about prices
making polite requests
ordering a meal
giving directions
giving instructions
giving opinions
advising and suggesting
apologising
congratulating
talking on the phone
talking about a trip
requesting/offering

33
Summary
In our publication we are presenting some materials for English language teachers
working with seniors. They are several products that are the result of the cooperation
of three organisations from Poland, Italy and Hungary over the past two years.
The materials we are handing in are a joined effort of very experienced educators
who have been taking part in senior and adult education for years and decided to
share their experience and knowledge through preparing materials that can be useful
for other educators and teachers.
Photos by Agnieszka Baran © 2014
Cooperation in our project In Mete55+ was for all of us a very rewarding experience.
In the work on our products not only English language teachers who are experts in
the field of adult education but also our senior students were involved. They took part
in the lessons based on materials that we are presenting. They gave us their
feedback, and shared their opinions, suggestions and ideas. The involvement of
direct receivers of our publications in the process of creating them is a guarantee of
the high quality of the materials and their attractiveness. Finally, we would like to
share with you the reflections on the project and publications that our senior learners
and the most involved teachers have had.

34
contained therein.
“I liked the discussion
activities where we could
practise both words and
expressions, and
grammatical structures too.
The context was really
interesting too.” Hungary
“The lessons were all
really interesting
though sometimes
even a big challenge
for me. I like acting
out situations, so I
especially liked the
tasks where I had to
be creative and
improvise. “ Hungary
“I am a teacher
myself and I can
see how important
your project is. It is
good to find out
about new ideas
and new materials,
well done!!” Poland
“I had the
chance to
know better
my class-
mates.” Italy
“Seniors have a lot of
experience and a lot of
passion to learn. I
wanted to learn English
all my life, but I never
had an opportunity.
Now I travel a lot and I
need English more than
before. I support all
ideas that are making
English more
achievable to seniors.”
Poland
“After this activity I learned
an incredible number of
words and verbs. We should
repeat it with other topics.
You learn while you play,
and I think that when you are
relaxed and without stress
you learn better.” Italy
“I like that teachers and
educators from different
countries exchange
experience in the project
- I think that in many
other areas a policy like
that would be very
fruitful. It's good to talk,
discuss and share
opinions, and I see that
you do a lot of that in the
project. I like it a lot.”
Poland
“It was very funny to
work in teams like in a
competition. At the
beginning I thought I
didn't know any words
but then I discovered I
knew many of them!”
Italy
“Most of the tasks were quite new to me and I enjoyed
them very much. The topics were inspiring and made
everybody actively participate in the discussions.” Hungary
“I think that it is fantastic that
learning English became an
international issue, and that
different teachers from
different countries work
together to improve teaching
that language. I can't wait for
the final products.” Poland
“I found your project
very inspiring - your
work looks very
creative. I have my
fingers crossed for
the final result.”
Poland
“It was very original. I couldn't
imagine that we could do that
during our English lesson.” Italy
“English language is so
important nowadays, I can
find it everywhere I go. In
shops, at the station, at the
airport, in my computer -
everywhere! So I need to
learn, and I need teachers
that know how to teach me.”
Poland

InMete 55+ curricullum elementary

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