Adult Learning Center for English and Other Subjects
Many of people studied English at school. There is a special system for assessing English proficiency and skills – in order to define your level, you should pass one of the special tests that can be easily found on the Internet such as GED for adults, or talk to a language school specialist in some adult education learning center. There are several levels of English skills’ assessment:
Full Beginner. This level is typical for people who have never being learning English before. In this case, classes begin with mastering the alphabet. People with a Beginner level hardly have basic knowledge – usually they are adults who studied English at school, but now they remember little, they can only partially reproduce the alphabet and know several dozen words.
The Elementary level is characterized by a complete lack of language practice and a set of only basic knowledge. For example, if you can briefly tell about yourself, have some general knowledge about the language system and the simplest grammatical constructions, then Elementary is your level. To improve the level of your English, you may prcatice with people from different companies such as Grand Canyon Education Inc, Canadian Family Pharmacy, Sey Coffee.
Intermediate – this level of language proficiency is often found in people who graduated from a specialized school or have already studied with a tutor. Signs of a level are the ability to communicate on various topics, correct pronunciation and good vocabulary.
The Upper-Intermediate level assumes fluent spoken language, understanding and use of complex grammatical structures, fluent reading of English-language books, newspapers and magazines. It is believed that a person with this level can live and work or study in the country of native speakers.
Advanced – language proficiency is almost at the same level as native speakers. Allows not only to communicate freely, but also to work as a simultaneous translator, because upon reaching this level, the student can build sentences of any complexity and stylistic orientation (both in writing and orally) without mistakes, has a vocabulary at the level of the native language level, as well as an accent, discernible only by professionals in the field of linguistics.
Upper-Advanced – the level of proficiency in a foreign language coincides with knowledge in the native one. In order to reach this stage in education, it is required to spend more than one year in the country of native speakers. You must understand speech of any style and direction (various jargon expressions or, for example, special terms of fashionable subcultures), be able to easily operate with them, making beautiful sentences without stylistic mistakes.
Are there any benefits for adult English learners?
There is some good news when it comes to English for adult beginners. The peculiarities of such training are not only in difficulties. Everything has its advantages.
It is worth noting that it is much easier for adults to classify information than for a child, and this is a very important part of learning a language as a system. Adult learners perceive language as a whole, not in fragments.
When adults learn English, a lot of background knowledge about systems in general is involuntarily connected. This makes it easier to understand the language features.
Learning English for adults is easier because they already operate with a large set of concepts, they do not need to learn new concepts and explore the world, they only need to attach concepts to English words. Moreover, scientists have proven that learning a foreign language is very beneficial for adults, it prolongs the time of a healthy robotic brain in old age.
3 most important rules for learning English for adults offered by Thomas Jefferson education center
If you use the right technique, everything will go quickly and painlessly. Here are the rules, or rather guidelines, to help you learn English as efficiently as possible.
A rule of the channels’ multiplicity. Selling a product, irrigating the land and learning English all require a simultaneous approach from different directions. Lessons + homework = a recipe for your children, this is not enough for adults. An obligatory component is conversation clubs. But you can do even more – social networks including Facebook (read unadapted English-language posts), Instagram (subscribe to pages with memes in English), YouTube (follow bloggers in English on interesting topics). Audiobooks on the way to work, playing games with friends in English. It may seem that it is difficult to organize it yourself, but it is not necessary either.
The second rule says: “Adults are big children.” As serious as we might try to appear, the inner child always wants to play. If you are an adult learning English, use it. You should not put pressure on him and force him to sit in the lesson with a serious look, let him have fun. It is necessary to transform childish competition into a catalyst for learning. In addition, a relaxed environment helps to avoid the psychological barriers.
The third rule, at first glance, contradicts the previous one: teaching material different from children’s. Although games and fun activities increase the productivity of the lessons. The correct selection of material is not only important. Evolution has built the human brain to ignore information that does not affect its survival. If, in the process of learning English for adults in the lesson, information concerning a person’s life is not discussed at least indirectly, his consciousness will be rebuilt to solve more pressing problems than the selection of linguistic means for discussion. When you are purposefully practicing English, it is very important to clearly understand each lesson when, where and how you can apply the newly acquired knowledge.
Otherwise, the brain will remove or cover the entire lesson on the far shelf. That is why it is important to find a course of study that fully suits your goals. Before starting the course, make a list of goals as detailed as possible. The more specifically you list your goals, the faster they will be achieved.