Of adults, Google Classroom and Iron Maiden

Teaching adults is completely different than teaching teens. That much is obvious, right?

But I was having a hard time with one of my groups: they are all adults, and they are all really successful in their professional lives. 

So anything ordinary in the classroom, like a mistake or team-work, becomes such a big deal for them!  

That is, enter ME! (Evil laugh!)

I was having one of my rebel days. 

And then I heard one of the students from this adult group saying that "he doesn´t have a good listening, and he will never have".

WHAT?! Never??

Sorry, not on my watch!

I then made a drastic and unexpected decision: I decided to treat them like teens.

First off, signing them all on Google Classroom: now I have more flexibility in my classes and I can reach out to my students even when we´re not in class. The teaching possibilities I have with this app are endless! Finally, the sky is my limit. If there´s a limit.

Then, my evil plan: a weekly Music Challenge.
Once a week I post a song, and every day they have a different task to do: on day one, they have to listen to the song; day two they have to try and write the lyrics, not worrying about mistakes; day three they have to watch the video, to help them with context, and write again, trying to correct their mistakes; day four they have to watch the video and try to sing along to the lyrics they wrote; finally, day five, they compare the lyrics with what they wrote.

My students freaked out big time!! 
"What do you mean, listen and WRITE the lyrics?!?! It´s impossible, teacher!"

My response: it´s impossible NOT to make mistakes, but is it impossible to TRY and write anything you hear, wrong as it may be?

The fear of mistakes adult learners have, especially successful adults who don´t rely on their ability to communicate in English for a living, may sometimes impair their ability to take risks. 
How can I encourage them to take risks? How can I show them that mistakes are not only welcome, they are DESIRED in my classroom, because the more mistakes, the more evidence I have of their learning?

Why is it so hard for adult learners to deal with their mistakes?

What do they fear so much?

It is a constant challenge.

But the silver lining is, I´ve chosen the next song for my Music Challenge:
it will be Fear Of The Dark, by Iron Maiden.