This study aims to enhance foreign language learners' language competence by integrating formal and informal learning environments and considers how they can improve their grammatical and lexical skills through the gathering (comprehension) and sharing (writing) of information in the foreign language. Experiments with German learners at a Japanese…

This paper presents the prototype of a foreign language learning space, based on the construction of an integrated formal/informal learning environment. Before the background of the continued innovation of information technology that places conventional learning styles and educational methods into new contexts based on new value-standards,…

The authors present a project that aims at understanding the way language learners write in social media in their every day lives using the target language. How do our students proceed when writing a Social Network Site (SNS) post? What resources do they use for references on word, sentences and text level? By answering these and related questions…

This paper reports on an inquiry into the use of zoos as a source of informal or free choice learning. The study was contextualized within the zoo's environmental enrichment program - an animal husbandry principle that seeks to develop species-typical behavior for captive animals by using naturalistic enclosures or artificial items that stimulate…

The majority of learning that occurs in the workplace is informal, however, little is known about how such learning is best supported and nurtured. A qualitative case study was recently conducted to explore the contextual factors that may shape informal workplace learning. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted and constant comparative…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on different ways of learning. "How Engineers Learn in the Face of Organizational Change" (Robert Reardon) reports on a qualitative study during which nine engineers described how they learned to perform their altered roles after a major reorganization. The study findings supported…

This document contains three papers on strategic human resource (HR) development. "Strategic HR Orientation and Firm Performance in India" (Kuldeep Singh) reports findings from a study of Indian business executives that suggests there is a positive link between HR policies and practices and workforce motivation and loyalty and…

This symposium on adult learning and human resource development consists of three presentations. "Adult Learning Principles and Concepts in the Workplace: Implications for Training in HRD" (Margot B. Weinstein) reports on findings from interviews with restaurant employees who reported that training practices using adult learning…