| Learner characteristics | include a learner's motivation, learning style, learning strategies, maturity and past language learning experience |
| Learning styles | ways in which a learner naturally prefers to take in, process and remember information and skills |
| commonly mentioned learning styles | visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, group, individual, reflective, impulsive, analytic, |
| 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 |
| Learning strategies | the ways that learners choose and use to learn language -
they include ways to help themselves identify what they need to learn, process, remember, and use new language |
| Maturity | involves becoming grown up physically, mentally and emotionally |
| different maturities that influence language learning | Children, Teenagers, Adults
see table p.73-74 |
| Influence of past language learning experience | Teenage and adult learners may have learnt English before. They may be used to learning in a particular way and have definite ideas about how to learn best.The learners may welcome a change in method, but they may want to learn in the same way as they learnt before. |
| learner training | train learners to become aware of and use different learning strategies |
| mingle | an activity which involves learners walking round the class talking to other students |
