4. Adults have a longer concentration span Teachers commonly notice that they cannot get children to concentrate on certain learning activities as long as they can get adults to do so. However, the problem is not the concentration span itself – children will spend hours absorbed in activities that really interest them – but rather the ability of the individual to persevere with something of no immediate intrinsic interest to them. Here older learners do exhibit noticeable superiority, because they tend to be more self-disciplined. One implication for teaching is the need to devote a… of thought to the (intrinsic) interest value of learning activities for younger learners.
5. It is easier to motivate children In a sense, this is true: you can raise children's motivation and enthusiasm (by selecting interesting activities, for example) more easily than that of older, self-reliant and sometimes cynical learners. On the other hand, you can ask it more easily: monotonous, apparently pointless activities quickly bore and demotivate young learners; older ones are more tolerant of them. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that younger learners' motivation is more likely to vary and is more susceptible to immediate surrounding influences, including the teacher; that of older learners tends to be more stable.
Authority – subjects to authority Even in an adult class, the teacher's status as an authority is usually maintained This, however, is based more on the teacher's being 'an authority on…' (the language and how to learn it) than on their being a legally appointed superior: a distinction expressed in the French terms enseignant and professeur respectively. In any case, there is a certain deference on the part of the learners: the teacher is expected to give instructions, the learners are expected to respect and obey them. However, there is also the important factor of accountability: in return for conceding authority to the teacher in the classroom, adult learners demand ultimate returns in terms of their own benefit in learning outcomes.
