Book Review: Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation

Abstract

Smith, A. F. V., & Strong, G. (Eds.). (2009). Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation. Alexandria, VA: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). 175 pp. ISBN 978-1931185615 (paperback). With the fast development of globalization, adult education is undergoing constant and continuous transformations not only in the content and means of instruction but more profoundly in the fundamental understandings about the purposes of learning. In response to the pressing needs of seeking new perspectives in the teaching of adults, Smith and Strong's (2009) edited book, Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation, provides a compendium of fresh ideas and insights for adult learners of the English language. With a total of 18 chapters, the text is organized into three sections. The first section focuses on professional development of teachers of adult learners of the English language in diverse contexts. This section addresses topics related to policy and practice. In terms of policy considerations of teacher development, the idea of decentralization is asserted by the author of a chapter, heuristically titled Thinking Locally Training Globally, as an alternative to the traditional approach--centrally planned locally implemented (CPLI) for the purpose of empowering teachers to gain greater ownership of their professional development. In regard to practices of teacher development, the authors of Section 1 write about their experimentation with state-of-the-art technologies to help teachers build their own perspectives of teaching and learning. Such a constructivist stance resonates with the pragmatic view espoused by Malcolm Knowles, one of the chief architects of andragogy, that all experiences could be used to serve the purposes of learning in one way or another without ideological constraints. Extending the general theme of ownership of teacher learning to student learning, six chapters in the second section of the text are presented with a focus on developing autonomy in adult learners of the English language. Drawing on principles of andragogy, authors of Section 2 explore ways to capitalize on the strengths of the diverse populations of adult learners. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, these learners vary in their English language proficiency, academic preparation, and expectations, which mirror the changing demographics of today's adult learners of the English language around the globe. The curricular engagements developed by the authors are meant to serve the dual purposes of teaching knowledge about the English language and modeling how to learn the language in an effort to meet the diverse needs of adult learners. The third section, comprising five chapters, looks at innovations from the perspective of a particular course or program. …