English in Adult Education
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Hugvísindasvið English in Adult Education MA Essay Katarzyna Ostrowska September 2014 Háskóli Íslands School of Humanities Department of English English in Adult Education MA Essay Katarzyna Ostrowska Kt.: 270785-3799 Supervisor: Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir September 2014 2 3 Abstract The study was conducted in order to investigate the effectiveness of a specialized program to meet the needs of adults who have diverse English skills and use English as a Lingua Franca. The program was developed for Menntastoðir, an adult education program in Reykjanesbær. Menntastoðir is an adult education institution that provides opportunities for improving adults’ knowledge and competences. The purpose of the study is to map out the type and amount of English exposure among Menntastoðir students and to examine whether the course improved students’ proficiency in reading, writing, listening, speaking and pronunciation. The study also investigates if the materials and specific teaching strategies used in the classroom helped students make progress. Moreover, the study focuses on participants’ feedback to generate a discussion on how instructors can meet the needs of individual adult learners. 4 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 6 2 Chapter 2. Literature review.................................................................................. 8 2.1 Characteristics of adult learning ........................................................................... 8 2.2 Theories of Adult Learning. ................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Early Theories of Adult Learning ............................................................... 9 2.2.2 Social Theories of language learning ....................................................... 12 2.2.3 Current Theories of Adult Learning ......................................................... 14 2.2. Adult Second Language Learning ......................................................................... 16 2.2.4 Specific effects of Age on SLA ................................................................ 17 2.3 Andragogy as an Instructional Model of Teaching ............................................ 19 2.3.1 Critics of Andragogy ................................................................................ 22 2.3.2 The role of clear learning objectives ........................................................ 24 2.3.3 Relevance and Strategies for meeting students’ needs ............................. 25 2.3.4 Motivation ................................................................................................ 29 2.4 Social Context of Adult Learning ....................................................................... 32 2.4.1 Globalization ............................................................................................ 32 2.4.2 English as a Global Language .................................................................. 33 2.4.3 Demographic changes .............................................................................. 34 2.5 . English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) .................................................................... 36 2.6 English in Iceland ............................................................................................... 40 2.7 Lifelong learning ................................................................................................ 42 2.7.1 Lifelong learning in Iceland ..................................................................... 43 2.8 Miðstöð símenntunar á Suðurnesjum (MSS) in Reykjanesbær .......................... 45 3 . The Study ............................................................................................................. 48 3.1 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 48 3.2 Participants ......................................................................................................... 49 3.3 The Survey .......................................................................................................... 49 3.4 The Analysis. ...................................................................................................... 50 4 The Results ............................................................................................................. 51 4.1 Background information ..................................................................................... 51 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 73 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 84 References ..................................................................................................................... 86 Appendix A .................................................................................................................... 95 5 1 Introduction Learning in adulthood is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single learning theory or principles. The field of adult learning has sparked much interest and controversy among educators. In the last decades the area of adult education has gone through many changes. A contemporary approach to learning in adulthood is grounded in the notion that adults are participants in their own learning in contrast to traditional approach that was teacher centered. Teaching adult learners is a challenging task as adults are a group of individuals who ‘self-direct’ their learning. Educators guide and assist learners; but they are not responsible for their learning. Adults are practical, which means that they make an effort to learn if they consider learning meaningful in their daily life experiences. To maximize learning, it is critical to provide students with relevant teaching practices and clear objectives. One of the most important factors in adult education is to address the notion of learners’ diversity which reflects in different areas of life. Effective teachers of adults recognize the importance of adjusting teaching instruction according to learners’ needs and expectations. Successful educators understand that adults come to a classroom with extensive life experiences and different priorities. Moreover, adults are engaged in a variety of tasks outside school, which might influence their learning outcome. Recognizing adults’ multiple roles and commitments is a crucial issue, therefore teaching adults requires flexibility. Under the circumstances that English in Iceland is used as a Lingua Franca, it is important to support learners’ by embracing different varieties of English. Teaching adult learners in Iceland is a unique experience as English is no longer considered to be a foreign language but a second language. As the exposure to English in Iceland is extensive, it is necessary to correspond to this linguistic trend by implementing meaningful teaching practices. Adults are more likely to participate in a learning process if they are provided with proper support and encouragement. It is critical therefore to promote the idea of continuing education and motivate adults to develop the quality of their life. The thesis aims at examining the effectiveness of an English program offered by Menntastoðir in Reykjanesbær. The study attempts to discover whether the English course meets the expectations of adults learners. Specifically, the thesis aims at 6 examining whether materials and teaching practices improved learners‘ English in reading, writing, listening, speaking and pronunciation. Importantly, the thesis is to generate a discussion on how instructors can teach English to adults who use English as a Lingua Franca. The study is meaningful since there has been relatively little research in the field of adults language learning in general. The thesis is organized as follows. The first chapter includes the introduction that is followed by the lieterature reviev referring to the charactreistcics of adult learning. Chapter 3 includes the description of study. Next, chapter 4 includes the statistical results of the study, while chapters 5 and 6 are concerned with the discussion and the final conclusions respectively. 7 2 Chapter 2. Literature review 2.1 Characteristics of adult learning Until recently, there has been relatively little research in the field of adult education. Most educators assume that the difference between the ways adults and children learn can be attributed mainly to their age difference, especially in language learning, but the difference goes far beyond age. Effective adult education is based on an understanding of how adults learn and what factors determine their learning success or failure. This chapter addresses some characteristics of adult learning with particular attention to early and current theories of adult learning. It also presents the Andragogical Model of learning (Rachal, 1994). The notion of Andragogy is defined as a learner-focused education, while pedagogy refers to a teacher focused education (Conner, 2004). Next, the chapter examines the notion of social context of adult learning. Moreover, it discusses the role of objectives, relevance and motivation in adult learning. Additionally, the topic of English as a Lingua Franca is explored and its effect on adult education. Furthermore, the chapter covers the topics of English in Iceland