This book explores cross-international experiences in the field of adult English language teaching and learning, using cross-cultural dialogues to hear voices from different countries and different settings – formal, informal and non-formal – discussing how their lifelong learning has or is still in the process of helping them to change their lives. The book addresses two major questions: (1) How do adults learn languages and transform themselves through learning? (2) How do authorities and societies build capacity for sustainable language development? It will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and adult language teachers, concerned with diverse aspects of teaching and learning English as lingua franca for enhancing the public good internationally. The book draws on the way in which the Western paradigm of lifelong learning was applied by an international team of inspired professionals to English language education in the Tempus project “Lifelong Language Learning University Centre Network for New Career Opportunities and Personal Development (UNICO)”. This project was undertaken by eleven universities in three countries: the Siberian Federal District of the Russian Federation, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Tajikistan, in partnership with the Charles University in Prague, the Institute of Education from the University College London, and the University of Córdoba in Spain.

Offering a new perspective on adult English language education, this book provides theoretical and practical insights into how digital literacies can be included in the learning programmes for newly arrived adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Enhancing Digital Literacies with Adult English Language Learners takes readers inside Langfield, an adult community-based English language centre that supports the settlement and learning of this vulnerable group. Drawing on a six-month ethnographic study of Langfield’s work, the book explores the approach to teaching digital literacies and presents a range of perspectives, including those of the adult learners, the teachers, and the organisation’s CEO. The chapters present a holistic view of teaching digital literacies in the adult English language context by exploring: adult learners’ digital literacy practices in everyday life and their learning at Langfield; teachers' beliefs and practices about digital literacies; and the support offered to them through institutional resources, leadership, and professional learning. The book identifies exemplary practices, as well as areas for further development in Langfield’s work and offers a range of implications for practice, policy, and research. Written in a detailed but accessible manner, this book contributes important insights into the strengths and needs of this unique and complex education sector. Addressing an area of uncertainty for many researchers, practitioners, leaders, and policy makers working within community-based learning contexts in Australia and internationally, this book will be an essential resource.

Millions of adults in the U.S. report that they speak limited English, and English language ability appears linked to multiple dimensions of adult life, such as civic participation and workforce participation and mobility. This report examined: (1) the trends in the need for and enrollment in federally funded adult English language programs; (2) the nature of federal support for adult English language learning, (3) ways in which states and local public providers have supported English language programs for adults; and (4) federal agencies' plans for research to identify effective approaches to adult English language learning. Illustrations.

This book centralizes the narratives of adult English language learners, teachers, and trainee teachers in the development of a humanistic language pedagogy; their strengths, concerns, and stories inform this practical guide to adult literacy development and English language-culture learning and teaching. The author sets the need to educate the whole person, and to focus on the adult learner’s strengths and assets, against a background of rigorous research and practical experience. This book combines evidence-based pedagogy with a passionate belief in the centrality of the learner and the importance of education and will be invaluable to all those involved in teaching and training related to adult English language learners.

This collection of original articles provides an overview of key issues and approaches in contemporary language teaching.

This resource brings together information about policy, second language acquisition theory and research, methods and materials for teaching adult English language learners, program design, and cross-cultural issues that effect learning in adult ESL classrooms. It also discusses the context within which adult ESOL instructors work and in which adult ESOL programs function. The framework for this discussion of context draws from the developing framework of standards for teachers of adult learners under consideration by TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.). This book is designed for faculty and students in adult education graduate programs and other TESOL preparation programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels that target adult learners. Other audiences are adult ESL program directors and policy makers as well as educators working in elementary and high school, many of whom are connected to populations of adult learners through the parents of the children they serve.

English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice provides an overview of the current state of materials design in language teaching. This volume provides an incisive overview of the current state of materials design in language teaching. Seventeen original chapters explore the issues involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of materials in language programs in a wide variety of settings and contexts. This stimulating collection considers different approaches to materials design - including teacher-developed classroom materials, commercial materials, and technology-driven materials. Discussion questions and tasks follow each chapter to make this volume useful to both prospective and practicing teachers alike.

An authoritative overview of the current state of the field of adult and continuing education Drawing on the contributions of 75 leading authors in the field, this 2010 Edition of the respected Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education provides adult education scholars, program administrators, and teachers with a solid foundation for understanding the current guiding beliefs, practices, and tensions faced in the field, as well as a basis for developing and refining their own approaches to their work and scholarship. Offering expanded discussions in the areas of social justice, technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education, the Handbook continues the tradition of previous volumes with discussions of contemporary theories, current forms and contexts of practice, and core processes and functions. Insightful chapters examine adult and continuing education as it relates to gender and sexuality, race, our aging society, class and place, and disability. Key Features Expanded coverage of social justice, the impact of technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education provides a useful update on theories and practices in the field as they have evolved during the last decade. An invaluable introductory overview and synthesis of key aspects of the field of practice and scholarship acquaints new readers to the field The centrality of social justice in adult and continuing education is addressed in a new section. The broader global context of contemporary adult and continuing education is covered in a final section.

Co-published with Colleges and universities are increasingly becoming significant sites for adult education scholarship—in large part due to demographic shifts. With fewer U.S. high school graduates on the horizon, higher education institutions will need to attract “non-traditional” (i.e., older) adult learners to remain viable, both financially and politically. There is a need to develop a better corpus of scholarship on topics as diverse as, what learning theories are useful for understanding adult learning? How are higher education institutions changing in response to the surge of adult students? What academic programs are providing better learning and employment outcomes for adults in college? Adult education scholars can offer much to the policy debates taking place in higher education. A main premise of this handbook is that adult and continuing education should not simply respond to rapidly changing social, economic, technological, and political environments across the globe, but should lead the way in preparing adults to become informed, globally-connected, critical citizens who are knowledgeable, skilled, and open and adaptive to change and uncertainty.The Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education provides rich information on the contemporary issues and trends that are of concern to adult and continuing education, of the programs and resources available to adult learners, and of opportunities to challenge and critique the structures embedded in the field that perpetuate inequity and social injustice. Adult education is a discipline that foresees a better tomorrow, and The Handbook is designed to engage and inspire readers to assist the field to seek new paths in uncertain and complex times, ask questions, and to help the field flourish.The Handbook is divided into five sections. The first, Foundations situates the field by describing the developments, core debates, perspectives, and key principles that form the basis of the field.The second, Understanding Adult Learning, includes chapters on adult learning, adult development, motivation, access, participation, and support of adult learners, and mentoring.Teaching Practices and Administrative Leadership, the third section, offers chapters on organization and administration, program planning, assessment and evaluation, teaching perspectives, andragogy and pedagogy, public pedagogy, and digital technologies for teaching and learning.The fourth section is Formal and Informal Learning Contexts. Chapters cover adult basic, GED, and literacy education, English-as-a-Second Language Programs, family literacy, prison education, workforce development, military education, international development education, health professions education, continuing professional education, higher education, human resource development and workplace learning, union and labor education, religious and spiritual education, cultural institutions, environmental education, social and political movements, and peace and conflict education.The concluding Contemporary Issues section discusses decolonizing adult and continuing education, adult education and welfare, teaching social activism, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and straight allies, gender and its multiple forms, disability, older adults and intergenerational identities, race and ethnicity, working class, whiteness and privilege, and migrants and migrant education.The editors culminate with consideration of next steps for adult and continuing education and priorities for the future.