My first unexpected challenges with adult learners

It was my first experience as a graduate teacher of English and I felt almost shaking to meet new students. The first lesson began, sparking eyes and doubting faces were staring at me, my first students. We had lessons two days a week very late in the evening. There were about 40 adult learners from low social classes and with out-of-school commitments to fulfill. I expected to find obstacles in the classroom, as we may always have in any school. At first I thought that the generation gap between my students and I could be a difference to reconcile and that students with mixed abilities were common features in adults; however new challenges were set.

Regularly, the number of students per class was thirty out of forty. Absences had become a common issue after a month. Sometimes some of them missed two consecutive lessons and other times they were absent for a fortnight. Even though the problem persisted, I felt it was time for an exam. I came to the decision to set a date for the first test in English. The day finally came and the test was submitted, but, as I expected, many of the students were absent that day.  Despite the quite good results in the test, I noticed that many of my students could not follow my lessons due to their periodic absences. Undoubtedly, neither generation gap nor language knowledge was my challenge any longer; quite the opposite, absentees emerged as conflicting situations to tackle necessarily.

The first term had passed, and yet, the problem continued. I could not see progress in my students; on the contrary, they became de-motivated and even frustrated. I sought help and informed the principal about the situation. As he heard attentively the problem I had, he commented that it was a common encumbrance my colleagues also faced. He also added to continue with my lessons and innovative strategies were welcomed. I started to promote self-paced learning by constant rehearsal and recycling. I brought supplementary activities for those who missed some lessons to complement the absence of face-to-face language instruction. Little by little, changes were introduced.

For the second term, I aimed at enriching our bonds, and as a teaching goal I tried to enhance social interaction through group work and games. I also opted to recycle the contents we had been dealing with during the first term by exposing them to varied input materials. I could see that exposure helped those who were absent not to feel at a loss. My learning objective was for them to see language as a tool for communication and to have, through English, some fun after a hard working day for most of them. Although many of them missed a number of lessons, the constant recycling and the variety of tasks aided them to start noticing progress.

Progress could be smoothly perceived in their attitudes in the class as well, they felt motivated and we enjoyed our lessons. My students and I strengthened our relationship and we started to feel like a tiny community of great adults. We shared day-to-day experiences and sometimes we even spent the breaks eating biscuits with mate. Surprisingly, one of those evenings, I received an invitation from them. A field trip had been organized by the teacher of History and I was invited to accompany the group. I felt so glad to travel with them that I eagerly accepted. It was the most enjoyable school outing and memorable experience I had ever had in my first year as a teacher.

I learned a lot from this experience. Problems always arise in any teaching context. Missing lessons due to absentees in the evening-shift schools is one of the foremost challenges a teacher may cope with. Regardless the subject one teaches, we, teachers, are individuals capable of constructing great learning communities. I also learned that we can shape and build up small classroom identities to make the most of our students and our teaching practices.