Learning a second language in late adulthood: benefits and challenges


Eguz E.

EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY, cilt.45, sa.12, ss.701-707, 2019 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 45 Sayı: 12
  • Basım Tarihi: 2019
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/03601277.2019.1690273
  • Dergi Adı: EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.701-707
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

As human longevity increases, the proportion of older people worldwide increases as well. Statistics show that, while the population of older adults (ages 65+) was 5% in the 1960s, in 2018 it increased to 9%, and it is projected to rise to 16% by 2050. According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of the population aged 80 and over is growing fast. However, older learners have been neglected as a cohort by researchers. Although there have been more studies on older adults' language acquisition recently, there is still a lack of research about the benefits and challenges of learning a second language in late adulthood. For these reasons, this paper will begin with a summary of background studies on the age factor in second-language learning, and then discuss its benefits and challenges for both older learners and language teachers.