[mesmark]

I have a couple advanced adult classes now and to be honest I don't really see the point. They can have pretty complicated conversations and should be teaching their own classes, IMO. (Most are.)

I teach them some really difficult vocabulary, idioms, nuances and it's a platform for them to actually use English, but it doesn't really feel like teaching.

What should we be doing with these students? Is it just a way to motivate them to keep up their English? They could just as easily pick up a book or watch a movie and probably learn more.

There must be a point when the student no longer needs a teacher. What is it and should we be kicking students out and telling them to go it on their own?

[susan53]

I have one who is not only a near native speaker, she's also a completely autonomous learner who gets through an incredible amount of work outside the lesson, including watching satellite TV and DVDs in English constantly. Finding stuff which will challenge her is very, very difficult. She's already passed proficiency and is way beyond most coursebooks, so I end up pulling stuff off the net and developing lessons around it - which is very time consuming.

On the suggestion of another teacher, who has also been teaching her recently, she's considering doing an Open University course. The idea is that we'll use the lessons as language tutorials based around the course requirements, for example to help her polish the written assignments. It might be the best solution ...

[HUE]

For some students who don't live in an English-speaking country, or don't get to use English regularly, your lessons provide them the chance to do so. A lot of students who have lived abroad notice a decline in their English when they return home, so lesson provide one way to keep their skills up.

With high level students of my own, I often run my lesson like a university class back in the States. This means a lot of discussion on the topic, case studies, learning and applying new vocabulary and ideas, and so on. Sure a student could learn on his own, even teach on his own... but how is that different than an undergrad or a grad student at university? The professors act as guides, especially at the higher-levels. Choose a topic to discuss over several sessions. Assign homework in which the student needs to research the topic for discussion. Give articles to read, and discuss them. Most importantly, have the student apply the material and ideas from his readings, otherwise it just becomes a bit of free conversation around a topic.