#5. Know thy audience

Before you even start “teaching”, take some time to understand who your learners are. For example, these are some of the questions that you may want answers for:

1. What is the social/economic background of your learners?
2. What do they have exposure to already?
3. What are their likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, considering their background and exposure levels?
4. How have they fared until now, not just academically but also socially and emotionally?
5. Do they have an ambition? If yes, what? If no, why not?
6. Do any of your students have any learning disabilities?

Though it is impossible for a “teacher” to know every minute detail about each learner in his/her setting, it is very important to know at least something about each learner. Each learner is unique and special, in his/her own way.

This serves as an entry point for initiating any dialogue with your learners, which is a very important aspect that we will discuss in the forthcoming posts. Also, knowing some of these details will help you to set appropriate contexts while “teaching”.