ADULT LEARNERS LANGUAGE ANXIETY

In the learner´s mind

MEMORIES OF SCHOOL

• Education is still seen as something that happens to children

CHALLENGE TO BELIEFS

To admit that we need to learn something new is to admit that there is something

wrong with our present system.

MANAGING CHANGE

• CHANGE is at the heart of learning.

If nothing changes then there is no learning.

• DISSATISFACTION

It is a great motivator

without it change is unlikely.

EIGHT STAGES OF CHANGE

1) ANXIETY

“Something new happens.”

The dominant state

of your mind is

“Can I cope?”

• TRAIT ANXIETY

an individual’s predisposition

for feelings of tension

and uneasiness.

• SITUATIONAL ANXIETY

which appears only under certain circumstances.

(MacIntyre and Gardner (1994))

2) HAPPINESS

“Help is at hand.”

“The course sounds good.”

“ There will be people like me.”

“My problems could be

solved.”

3) FEAR

ACCEPTANCE ANXIETY (“Will I be accepted and liked?”),

ORIENTATION ANXIETY (“Will I understand what is going on?”),

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

(“Will I be able to learn what

I have come to learn?”). (Heron (1989:33))

4) THREAT“My existing beliefs or levels of skills are not

good enough.”

“The old rules no longer apply.”

“I don´t understand the

new ones”

“It´s the teacher´s fault”.

“He is too young and

inexperienced”

5) GUILT

“This is that I don´t know.” I was the one who didn´t understand.”

“How stupid I was”

“It was my fault”

Self-belief at stake:

You thought you were

competent but

that was an illusion.

6) DEPRESSION

“It all feels overwhelming.”

“The task seems endless and progress slow.”

“I have reached a plateau.”

“I have little energy.”

“I feel stuck in a paralysis.”

“I want to quit.”

7) GRADUAL ACCEPTANCE

“I begin to make real progress”.

“The puzzle begins to fit together.”

“I can see what it

would be like to

achieve mastery.”

8) MOVING FORWARD

“I am making faster progress and gaining confidence.”

“Practice gives me more confidence and more success.”

• Bibliography:• Rogers, Jenny. “Adults Learning.” Open

University Press. 2007.• Retrieved from internet:

http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol40/no2/p28.htm