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Foreign languages à la mode. Trends in adult language acquisition based on the example of the VHS programme Learning foreign languages is a high-status activity in organised adult learning. Based on VHS (adult education centre) statistics, the author shows that foreign languages are an indispensable element of the VHS programme range; hardly any other area is in such constantly high demand, a demand which can also be seen in relation to income status. Now making up 30 percent of all courses,…
Mit einer Gastprofessur kam die Idee über den Atlantik: Paul Bélanger aus Montreal versammelte an der Universität Duisburg-Essen Fachleute der Weiterbildung zu einer Konferenz über die »Intimacy of learning – a social issue«. Einige der Beiträge bilden den diesmaligen Themenschwerpunkt. Eine vorsichtige Annäherung, denn die Übersetzung bleibt schwierig. Die deutsche Konnotation von Intimität als »Tabubereiche betreffend« schwingt im Englischen so nicht mit. Die DIE-Redaktion hat sich entschiede…
The following article focuses the neglected relation between identity and learning by reconstructing foreign language learning efforts by adults. In spite of educational policy’s proclamation of (continuous) lifelong learning, real learning processes are characterised by various discontinuities. Adults deal with these discontinuities by perceiving, describing and structuring them dependent on their self-images as learners. Interpretations of interviews with adult language learners supply eviden…
The author starts out from a review of the relationship between language didactics and other fields of research giving inspiration to it (learning psychology, linguistics, second language acquisition research, anthropology), exploring whether constructivism might be one of these fields. He criticizes that in order to explain constructivist perspectives on learning, constructivists tend to use „instructionalism“ as a background against which to position their own ideas, „instructionalism“, howev…
Ein historischer Längsschnitt über die Bedeutung von Sprachenlernen und den Wandel im Sprachunterricht.
Begriffsklärungen und Begriffswandel rund um das Thema Sprachenlernen.
English is firmly established as a lingua franca, yet in order to preserve cultural variety the mastering of several languages will continue to be indispensable. The author demonstrates in which ways learners profit from knowledge of and comparison between various languages and argues in favour of a common aim of „English plus multilinguality“.
The author comments on his essay’s title which should refer to a „human being“ rather than to a „migrant“. With examples drawn from literature, theatre and real life he underpins his theory of an increasing malfunction of language as a means of communication. Finally, he reflects on cultural identity and a (German) concept of integration into a target culture.
