Teaching foreign languages to adult learners: Issues, options, and opportunities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/ths.2015.004Keywords
adult foreign language education, instructional goals, syllabus type, instructional techniques, grammar teaching, individual differences, learner autonomyAbstract
As is the case with any other age group, teaching a foreign language to adults has its own specificity, with some attributes of older learners being facilitative of this task and others constituting a source of major difficulties. The paper aims to provide an overview of key issues relevant to language learning and teaching in the case of adults, highlighting options that teachers have at their disposal and illustrating ways in which the characteristics of this age group can be capitalized upon to enhance instruction. In the first place, common myths about language learning are tackled, which is followed by a consideration of issues concerning the identification of the aims of instruction, the choice of the syllabus as well as instructional techniques, the role of grammar teaching and error correction, the influence of individual learner differences, and the contribution of autonomy and language learning strategies.
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