This article addresses major philosophical orientations and shows how they have practical import for practitioners of adult education. The philosophical approaches presented are conceptual (linguistic) analysis, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, and existentialism. References are made to selected works by writers in adult education who…

Reviews the theoretical foundations of current-second language acquisition models. Draws upon this research as well as upon various studies of memory and verbal-input processing to present a theoretical model of adult second language comprehension. Discusses the implications of comprehension theory for second-language teaching. (Author/SED)

A brief study of the psychological dimensions of learning in relation to foreign language instruction for adults. Suggestopaedia takes into account suggestive factors which constantly influence us without our being aware of them. Psychology and counselling techniques have much to contribute to this field. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A model for adult language learning is developed based on the postulates that language is semiotic, contextual, communicative, and cultural. Research in psycholinguistics has discovered that a cognitive and recognitional knowledge of language underlies and is greater than performative language. The move from the first level, the semantic base, to…

Discusses recent trends in the field of adult language instruction in which the focus is on the individual. Individual learning strategies are discussed, with emphasis on formal practice, functional practice, inferencing, and monitoring. It is noted that adults need help in overcoming the insecurity they feel in foreign language learning. (PJM)

The fact that some people learn a second language more easily than others has prompted numerous studies designed to link one factor or another with successful language learning. This work examines a large number of these studies to assess the importance of various factors involved in language learning. The influencing factors suggested are grouped…

This publication contains a summary of the discussions and conclusions of a Council of Europe symposium on the organization of modern language teaching/learning in the form of a unit/credit system, in order to allow for an approach based on the individual motivations and capacities of the adult learner. Principal discussion topics include: new…