This study of "consider" and "find" attempts to shed light on second language acquisition of English small clause complements, as in "we consider [Mary intelligent"] and "we find [Mary interesting"]. It examines how learners' First language (Mandarin Chinese) interacts with the target language. The analysis is based on the results of two kinds of…

The author describes his experience teaching a writing group in Martin Tennessee jail. The faces of most of the inmates showed curiosity. Each was saying not in words, but by gesture, "help make better this boring existence." The first essays the inmates wrote were about themselves and other members of their family. Some have written…

The data presented in this paper is taken from the results of two much larger studies of mature student decision-making and Higher Education (HE), which consider processes of agency from initial consideration of the "possibility" of becoming a student to eventually "becoming" one. In this paper, six categories of applicant to HE are discussed: (1)…

Through access to assistive technology, adult students with learning disabilities can improve their literacy skills and goal attainment as a supplement to regular adult basic education classes. This article describes a project that investigated whether increased engagement with text-to-speech and speech-recognition software could improve…

An exploratory study conducted at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada between 2007 and 2009 investigated language learning with mobile devices as an approach to augmenting ESP learning by taking learning outside the classroom into the real-world context. In common with findings at other community colleges, this study identified inadequate…

This paper examines how emergent technologies could influence the design of learning environments. It will pay particular attention to the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning experiences on massive open online courses (MOOCs). The research shows that it is possible to move from a pedagogy of abundance to a pedagogy that…

The Bachelor in Management and Leadership (BML) is a programme specifically designed for working adult learners in the field of management leadership. As part of their assessment, students have to complete a small research project, called the Major Piece of Work (MPW). The aim of this paper is to discuss the Major Piece of Work as a real example…

As institutions of higher learning have seen the aging of American college students, they have been increasingly concerned about helping them overcome what deters their reentry. Adult perception of deterrents is identified in this study. Analysis and the factor structure underlying these deterrents is examined in the Situational, Institutional,…

The University of Auckland offers a one-year pre-degree Tertiary Foundation Certificate (TFC) Programme, for up to 200 students who are under-prepared for university study. The students may come straight from school without having gained a university entrance qualification, or they may be students returning to education who lack the confidence to…

The advantages of transformative learning approaches in graduate education parallel the tenets of mentoring and lifelong learning. Under this theoretical framework, adult student achievement in leadership programming can be assessed as a developmental and individualized process. The mixed methods study presented here illustrates that it is…

In this article, the author shares her experience teaching English to adult learners at the American Cultural Center in Dakar, Senegal, a poor, primarily Muslim country and former French colony in West Africa. Her class was composed of about 30 students, whose age ranged from about 18 to 50. They were mostly men and mostly Senegalese, along with a…

Offering tutor support to adult learners at the local level has been regarded as a positive recruitment feature of a postgraduate certificate in medical education delivered by distance learning. This paper reports on the efforts of the academic department in question to compare the expectations and perceptions of tutoring practice of key…

This paper will investigate the ontological and existential learning experience of a group of laterlife computer learners in Sydney, Australia. The research, undertaken as a PhD project, focused on the interpretation and understanding of the learning experience from the perspective of the learners. Hence, a qualitative method was used because it…

With the increase in student numbers and political concern to ensure fair access to higher education, universities have been reviewing their admissions processes in order to improve their transparency, efficiency and effectiveness. The process contains relatively discrete activities--applications and admissions--in which both the applicants and…

Lave and Wenger (1991) reject individualistic and psychologistic theories of learning in favor of a more broadly social and contextual approach. They observe that all learning is situated not only in space and time, but also inextricably in relation to social practice. Learning is "legitimate peripheral participation in a community of…