Meeting the Goals and Challenges of Adult EFL Learners

Abstract

The paper addresses the goals and challenges of language instruction to adult learners over 30 in Armenia, with emphasis on oral speech. As the number of English learners among adults is growing, it is becoming urgent to study the peculiarities and specific learning needs of adults to organise an adequate teaching and learning environment. The components of spoken language and the idea of communicative competence are discussed, followed by a consideration of what teaching adults should take into account and how the teaching process can be organised. The target group in this study encompasses three categories of adult learners. One refers to people who take up English for better employment opportunities and/or to meet on-the-job requirements; the second category consists in employees seeking to expand their professional development activities; the last one is represented by an increasing number of emigrants.