Foreign Languages In Non-Formal Adult Education - A New Trend

Communication and learning

If personality represents the internal representation of the psyche, then behaviours and verbal expressions are phenomena that show the desires, motivations and the declared or hidden needs. In motivational theories, motivations are realities inscribed somewhere in the psyche and the logical system guiding behaviours and expressions is only postulated. "Desires, motivations, values are actually grids of a world perception and determined profound attitudes, that is supositions about things" ( Mucchielli, 2015, p. 12).

The suppositions will determine someone’s acts, originating in their attitudes, then their opinions as verbalizations of their position in regard to something. As the above mentioned author sais in the quoted book: a small number of desires and values are the basis of a great number of attitudes, then an even greater number of opinions because they express evaluations of a great number of things from daily life. By studying opinions, we will also find the atitudines and values behind them ( Mucchielli, 2015).

Through communication, personal values and beliefs are automatically suggested in connected to the sent message, so very rarely is something communicated in a completely objective way. Values are called self-attributed motivations of which the person isn’t really aware.

Self-disclosure is not necessarily done consciously but often without the direct wish of the person, through the attitudes they cannot control or through non-verbal language. In some cases, the other people around see better what desires, needs and frustrations someone has because they can see from the outside the manifestation of the true self, while the person itself can feel that the mask they use is working. Implicit motivations cause spontaneous behaviours, self-attributed motivations create immediate specific answers or carefully chosen behaviours to particular situations. Individuals from different cultural groups are preoccupied to do something well but that something is defined by the motivations and purposes that they attribute to themselves, in part determined by what is considered important in the group they belong to.

In our communication we show ourselves, the social group that we belong to, our culture and the historical moment that we are living. Even if we are conscious about these things, they cannot be hidden from others and cannot be changed without the changing of the surrounding reality first, by gaining a new social status or through defining existential events like graduation, marriage, death, etc.

Paul Freire represents an important voice in adult education through his democratic visions and the literation methods he developed and successfully used in under-privileged areas in South America. He managed to synthetize in a philosophical way the essence of human communication and its highest purpose – to transcend personal limits by connecting to a universal existence. He also raised some controversies, in part due to his idealism and belief in the human capacity to develop oneself in harmony with others and the environment.

He presents a philosophical view on education and offers it to common people, regardless of their level, as an instrument for knowledge of the world and themselves. The success he had is not without risk, as his message is always open to personal interpretation and ca be used for manipulation. But it proves to be better fitted for today’s society, so individualistic and dynamic, where independent learning becomes more and more important. However, both in communication and in learning, the individual ca be its own enemy.

Interest is connected to affection, we have an interest in something if we like it, if it stimulates us or if it can help us get to our desired position – in this case, even though interest is based on external factors, it depends on an internal desire or need ( Martins, 1993).

No interest is completely void of emotion, whether it’s due to a personal or professional need and must be seen in relation to the individual personality. This doesn’t mean that motivation will forever be transparent as it is often vaguely known by the persons themselves or badly understood and attributed to external elements.

One must, however, make a distinction between interest based on pleasure, in which a certain activity or study gives pleasure and an interest based on the results of an activity or study. In the case of adult education, the main interest are the results of the instruction and rarely the activity of studying per se or simply interest in the field. Performance does not depend on the type of interest but on the complete lack of it. Initial interest or other knowledge of a certain filed determine the reactions towards new information. If there is already a preoccupation for the object of study, it will be considered interesting and more attractive and learning will be done almost automatically.

Multiculturality and globalization

Teaching foreign languages in an inter-cultural context means teaching about a culture, its customs, a tradition to people who also come with their own social and cultural identity. The knowledge they have of one another depends on the people themselves but also on their country of origin and the shared history of certain nations. Another aspect, of a political nature is the dominant culture in a historical moment in a particular space. If we consider the United States, for example, the people’s knowledge about this country will depend on the relations between their country of origin and the shared history. Some subjects or cultural aspects cane be sensitive, that’s why the teachers needs to be open to other cultures and overcome their own stereotypes to be able to remain as objective as possible towards their students, who are of all ages and come from all walks of life ( Byram, 1997).

The cultural awareness of each person interacting with another from a different culture can be of several kinds: historical, social, religious and often cantered around the national identity built by education. It comes from stories, personal experience, previous interactions and the international image, whether fictitious or realistic, that each nation has. Their impressions will be compared between themselves or to the present reality, creating either stronger convictions or a dissonant perception.

The problem of the English language is often debated because of this, as it is seen to represent western culture and values and can be rejected as such – in Saudi Arabia or other Arab states although rarely in Romania. A similar phenomenon happens here with Russian as a representant of the history and culture of the country and the recent relations between the two can turn cultural dialogue into a sensitive act.

The teaching of English or the teaching of a foreign language to Romanians raises linguistic problems. Firstly, it is often not taught by a native speaker and the accuracy of the information provided can vary. The language can also be taught with mistakes or outdated vocabulary.

Language is a living object, rapidly changing and non-natives who teach cannot keep up with what happens in another part of the world. However, one must ask how much such a thing is relevant to the teaching of international languages like English and French and how much their status as such opens them up to regional influence and change ( Prabhu, 1994) as once happened to spoken Latin. The benefits of knowing an international language overrun the deficiencies that appear from possible mistakes. The responsible usage of the language and awareness of the existing limitations can alleviate the passing of erroneous information. Given comparable learning conditions it is equally reasonable to look at the quality of the samples given as being more important than their quantity. Namely, that learning basic structures that can afterwards be developed and applied is more useful than a vocabulary of high complexity, taught by a native. Learning a foreign language through a non-native is more useful than not knowing it at all.

Other studies on adult language learning

The study of adult language learning is still at the beginning. There have been some more studies done on the English language in the United States or some European languages in Europe, but there are no studies of this kind done on Romanian. In Adults' language learning strategies in an intensive foreign language program in the United States, Oxford and Ehrman ( 1995) examine a sample of adult language learners, in order to show the relationships between language learning strategies and factors such as proficiency, teacher perceptions, gender, aptitude, learning style, personality type, ego boundaries, motivation, and anxiety. The study aims less to establish the trends in adult education and more some pedagogical characteristics.

Then, in English Language Learning Motivation of Adult International Learners Studying Abroad in the US , Weger( 2013) presents a study on the motivations of adult, international learners of English, studying English in a US-based Intensive English Program. She also used a questionnaire, but had it designed to measure language attitudes, learning orientations, and learning confidence and was administered to a sample of 131 IEP learners. Factor analysis of the responses revealed five motivation components: Learning Self-Confidence, Attitudes toward English Language Learning/Community, Personal English Use, Value of English Learning, and International Posture. The purpose was to establish the learner’s attitude to the English language as basis for motivation, concluding that international English learners are less motivated by positive attitudes toward the English community and more motivated by a sense of personal pride in learning and using English.

A study on Italian - The motivation of adult foreign language learners on an Italian beginners’ course: An exploratory, longitudinal study - was done by Ferrari ( 2013). It focused on English speakers learning Italian during a beginner’s course. It is a qualitative, longitudinal investigation using semi-structured interviews undertaken at the beginning, middle and end of a 30-week Italian beginners’ course, using the. Process Model of L2 motivation. ( Ferrari, 2013) The findings focus on establishing the factors responsible for sustaining interest and participation in the course, even though they might not reflect the initial motivation and considers social participation and leisure participation motives. The thesis’ ambition is to propose a new conceptual model that represents second language learning motivation in general.

The Romanian natives

Language classes are more and more requested by native Romanians who wish to learn a new language or improve one they’ve studied before. The major demands are for English – although it’s the most studied language in schools, German – in the region of Transylvania and Bucharest, French, Spanish, Italian – every so often. Although some of these languages are studied in schools it appears that students don’t graduate with a level that is advanced enough to serve their professional needs and seek private lessons as adults. The research wishes to see what are the main social groups that these people belong to, from an educational and professional perspective in order to better understand their needs, the faults in their formal education and develop more efficient study materials.

The Immigrants

The demand for Romanian classes has increased in recent years as Romania is seeing some forms of immigration. As it was mentioned before, this can be permanent or transitory but regardless of the condition of these people, language classes should be delivered in the same way. However, the pedagogy of Romanian as a foreign language is a very new development and hasn’t really been explored, resulting in workbooks that are inappropriate for adults, inefficient and incomplete. By analysing who are the foreigners who request private Romanian language classes and why, the pedagogy of the language can be developed to match the necessities of the market with better materials.

Romanians

The assessment showed that the Romanians who chose to study foreign languages in non-formal education were almost equally split between men and women, with no overpassing the other. The main languages demanded were English and German, followed distantly by French and Spanish. The German need can be explained by the presence of many German companies in Transylvania and Cluj-Napoca, where the study is based. As for English, even though it is studied in schools for as much as twelve years, it appears that the level achieved by the students is not advanced enough for the demands of a global job market. This points to deficits in the formal education received at school, which, despite its lengthy duration, does not offer enough to cover for the real necessities of the job market, leaving graduates without proper training. The main age categories are 20 to 30 years, followed by 31 to 45 years, with few students over 45 years old. About 80 % have a university degree and were employed at the moment of the study. They work in technical fields, followed by corporate and economic.

As for motivation, the main trends are the study of an international language, perfecting an already studied language, professional obligations or changing the current job and personal interest in the language. As the first motivation is professional, it appears that people without a university degree work in fields that either don’t require much knowledge of foreign languages or that they are not interested in advancing their position, which would need them to continue their studies. Emigration was rejected as a motivation by 80%. However, those who emigrate could learn the language of their new country when they arrive there and not before or they could already have some knowledge of it prior to their departure, making them able to get by.

Immigrants

The non-Romanians who chose to study Romanian in a non-formal private setting came from many different national backgrounds, with no country being represented predominantly. However, the gender division is different to that of the natives, with a 65 % to 35 % ration of men to women, namely, a greater part of transitory of permanent immigrants were male. Most of them are between the ages 20-30 followed by 31-45 and have a university degree. Their main motivations are better social integration and language fluency, an interest for the language and personal/ family obligations. It doesn’t seem that knowing Romanian is very needed in the workplace as these people mostly work in international companies and speak English with their colleagues. This connects to the fact that Romanians of the same field tend to learn foreign languages in order to use them at work. However, depending on their work environment, they might need to use it in communicating with older colleagues, who are less fluent in English. Again, 80 % are employed and the rest have their own business. If they are interested in settling here, then Romanian is the language they use to communicate to their Romanian partners and their families and relatives. The decision to learn the language of their new country shows that they are interested in local culture, at least superficially and would like to be somewhat integrated. The presence of more men than women is interesting, and it can point to several things. First, due to the smaller sample of participants in the study, it could be that by chance more men were chosen to take part, however, it can also point to the fact that immigration to a new part of the world, in this case, Eastern Europe, can be viewed as a more dangerous and pioneering thing and women prefer to stay in a familiar community, perceived as a safer choice.

Appendix

Questionnaire

Sex: M/ F

Nationality:

Mother tongue:

Studied language:

Other spoken languages:

Age:

• 20 – 30 years

• 31 – 45 years

• 46 – 55 years

• Over 55 years

Last school graduated

• Middle school

• High school

• Bachelor’s Degree / Master’s Degree

• PHD

Current profession ...............

Status:

• Employed

• Owner

• Home maker

• Unemployed

• Student

• Retired

• Mark with X in the following template according to your agreement to each statement. I choose to attend a language course for:

• Mark with X in the following template according to your agreement to each statement. Through this class I wish:

• What opportunities do you think learning the language will bring?

• How do you think you will get involved in learning the language? Mark with X your choice in the following template:

• I will allocate so many hours a week for studying:

  • Up to an hour

  • 1 – 3 hours

  • 3 -5 hours

  • Over 5 hours