Using a Socratic language while implementing the mole concept in the general chemistry curriculum has become a recent trend to teach adult learners.

In 2005, the U. S. Department of Education estimated that 44% of the 3 million students enrolled in non-traditional, that is, non-academic, adult education programs were English language learners. Yet, because of the overt focus that tends to be placed on oral communication, little has been done to document how these learners might view themselves…

This paper reports on a five-year study which explored the engagement of a group of long-term mentally ill adults in community provision in which they learned basic, expressive literacy. The research mapped points in the learning, writing and auto/biographic engagement where set identities were being troubled, and frisson created in the challenge…

The aspect hypothesis (Andersen & Shirai, 1994) proposes that language learners are initially influenced by the inherent semantic aspect in the acquisition of tense and aspect (TA) morphology. Perfective past emerges earlier with accomplishments and achievements and progressive with activities. Although this hypothesis has been extensively…

This article challenges the theory and practice of the exclusion of the adult learner's first language (L1) by reporting learners' overwhelmingly positive perceptions of its incorporation in foreign language teaching and learning. Classroom-based research was undertaken with university students in an English as a foreign language course which…

Life for uneducated women involves contending with myriad barriers to economic self-sufficiency. The average income for individuals without at least a high school diploma or GED is about $18,734. That income level falls close to the poverty line established by the federal government for a family of three or more. Further compounding the problem…

Tasks have received increased attention in SLA research for the past decade, as has the role of focus on form. However, few empirical studies have investigated the relationship among tasks, focus-on-form techniques, and second language (L2) learning outcomes. To help address this gap, the present study examined how the task variable +/- contextual…

Whole language learning implies that teachers look at adult learners as whole persons rather than just ESL learners. It asks the teachers to see the learners in their classes as parents, spouses, employees or business owners, neighbors, churchgoers, and members of various communities. In other words, when they approach learners in their classes as…

Adults who are undereducated or who lack basic skills are at a disadvantage in American society. Family literacy programs are often one of the last opportunities for adults to raise their level of education or develop skills which enable them to participate in different aspects of American society. This study explored the outcomes of adults who…

This case study involved an intensive exploration of a single unit, a college program for urban participants designed to increase their professional knowledge and skills and academics. The study explored whether urban participants perceived change in their professional knowledge and skills, change in their roles, as well as progressed academically…

Cutting-edge in its approach and international in its authorship, this fourth monograph in a series sponsored by the Chinese Language Teachers Association features eight research studies that explore a variety of themes, topics, and perspectives important to a variety of stakeholders in the Chinese language learning community. Employing a wide…

Online learning, according to a recent Department of Education meta-analysis (Means et al. 2009), is equal to and sometimes better than traditional face-to-face instruction, while hybrid education is best of all. Students seem eager to reap those online benefits; the March 2009 "Digest of Education Statistics" reports that the U.S. college with…

This article explores videoconferencing in the context of local learning centres in Sweden. The practice is described as a "learning space" in which adult learners construct socio-spatial relations. The study goes beyond a sociological apprehension of actors and opposes the idea of the material as neutral, passive and conformed by…

Higher education institutions are under significant pressure to provide affordable, sustainable approaches that will prepare their students with the skills they will need after graduation to achieve success in the 21st Century workplace. Digital Media Simulations are among the new technologies that have emerged with the promise to help…

In distance education both the physical separation between learner and instructor, and the use of technology create an educational environment that is characterized by learning autonomy and the learner's active involvement. Because of these, self-regulated learning constitutes an inseparable concept of distance education. This study explores the…