I believe one is never too old, too far down another path, or too novice to explore and excel in new realms of knowledge. The question isn't if; it is how.

I would conduct an assets assessment--in other words, I would get to know your strengths and what we can leverage to help you successfully reach your learning goals.

Deliver instruction and exercises that require them to actively participate in the learning and knowledge creation process instead of passively lecturing at them. For example, when posed with a new challenge or question, I would first ask a student to tell me what other bits of knowledge they can apply in this situation. I would show them that the answers and resources ultimately reside within them; it is just a matter of figuring out how to tap into, utilize, and best synthesize those assets.

It depends on the age of the learner. With younger students, I would "gamify" the experience by presenting the challenge like a quest in which they were hunting out information and battling confusion on the path to success. With older learners, I would justify how each activity related to and furthered their personal and/or professional goals.

Based on their assets assessment results, I use a framework they're comfortable with already to explain the concept. This typically offers relatable guideposts to orient their exploration of new topics.

I find it helpful to tell the student my own story--including how I achieved my various successes and what led to my various failures. This not only establishes my authority as an expert, but also creates a comfortable environment to discuss fears and failures.

In the case of writing and reading, I typically use discussion to check first for comprehension. Once comprehension and the ability to parse through complex ideas exists, we can progress into manifesting those ideas using technical writing skills such as syntax, vocabulary, and structure.