Jeffrey Schillinger

Deborah,

Thank you for this post. Your point about being a "regular human" is sometimes refered to as setting onseself as a "similar other." It is a good way to build rapport.

Jeffrey Schillinger

Deborah Jong

I like the idea of telling your students about the different ways you do not do well when learning something new. This could put them right at ease from the beginning because they will see you as a regular human rather than someone that is "perfect" and knows everything. This helps them to relate to you on a different level. The challenge of teaching learners that come to you at different stages does involve a little more work. It is necessary to spend some time to get to know each student and understand what got them to that point in their lives. Before they will share that information with you, it helps that they feel you are approachable.