Adult Learners Research Articles

Validation of Service-Learning Outcomes Measurement Scale-Short Version (S-LOMS-SV) With New Samples and Cross-Cultural Comparisons

Background: The Service-Learning Outcomes Measurement Scale (S-LOMS) with 56 items is an established tool for evaluating student developmental outcomes arising from service-learning in Hong Kong. However, its length may have deterred potential users. Hence, the current study used a shortened version (S-LOMS-SV) with 21 items for validation in Hong Kong and Singapore. Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to validate S-LOM-SV with new samples, as is required for shortened scales. Methodology/Approach: We recruited 970 respondents from Hong Kong and Singapore universities. They answered the 21-item S-LOMS-SV before and after service-learning, along with a service-learning experience questionnaire. We tested scale validity and reliability and used multisample analyses to examine factor stability and cross-cultural validity. In addition, we employed structural equation modeling to establish the relationship between service-learning experience and developmental outcomes. Findings/Conclusions: The current study established the scale validity and reliability and preliminary cross-cultural validity of the S-LOMS-SV. Results revealed developmental differences between traditional undergraduate students and adult learners and reaffirmed the positive relationships between service-learning experience and student development. Implications: The validated S-LOMS-SV provides a succinct and reliable tool for academic research and quality assurance purposes and paves the way for developing a centralized database for cross-cultural and cross-institutional comparisons.

Psychological Stress in Adult Learners with Low Literacy

Psychological Stress in Adult Learners with Low Literacy

Response to Amy Pickard’s Article on Improving Service to Adult Learners

Response to Amy Pickard’s Article on Improving Service to Adult Learners

What We Can Do Now to Improve Literacy Services for Adult Learners

What We Can Do Now to Improve Literacy Services for Adult Learners

Does mobile government become an administrative burden for older adults?

PurposeThe study explores how mobile governance affects the administrative burden on older adults, focusing on learning, psychological and compliance costs.Design/methodology/approachUsing attribution theory, the research employs a quantitative research design, utilizing surveys to gather data from 516 older adults across three cities in China: Quzhou, Wuhan and Shanghai. The study examines how intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors of m-government interfaces impact older adults’ administrative burden.FindingsPerceived complexity increases learning, psychological and compliance costs for older adults. Personalization and high-quality information decrease these costs, enhancing user satisfaction. Visual appeal decreases anxiety and psychological costs.Originality/valueThis research links attribution theory with m-government’s administrative burden on older adults, offering new insights into optimizing m-government to serve older adults better.

Lookups as an e-reading resource for vocabulary learning: Readers’ experiences with complexified text

In this small-scale qualitative investigation, we explored second language readers’ use of an e-reading programme wherein readers primarily focus on meaning-making. We further examined learners’ reflections on their use of the programme. Four English as a foreign language adult learners (L1 Arabic) read a text for comprehension with the help of Calibre, an open-source e-reading software. We found that while participants did make use of the lookup tool, the use was infrequent; participants also differed in the ways in which the tool was used. Lack of familiarity with the tool was also found to discourage learners from looking up words, often leading participants to guess meaning from context and skipping unknown words.

Validating the foreign language enjoyment scale for young learners: An exploratory structural equation modeling approach

Foreign language enjoyment (FLE) has garnered scholarly attention within the framework of positive psychology. However, FLE-related studies have predominantly focused on adult learners, with little exploration into FLE among young language learners (YLLs). Consequently, little is known about the factorial structure of FLE and its sources for YLLs. This study aims to develop and validate the foreign language enjoyment scale (FLES) designed for YLLs by comparing four models: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), bifactor CFA, ESEM, and bifactor ESEM, based on Alamer's (2022) guidelines for ESEM. 510 Japanese elementary ESL learners in the 5th and 6th grades participated in this study. The analysis of the four models revealed that the bifactor ESEM outperformed the others in terms of model fit and comparative indices, identifying a three-factor model of FLE, which is consistent with prior studies on adult learners. The findings from this study not only contribute to further understanding of FLE within a less-studied population but also advance methodological approaches for scale validation in applied linguistics.

Self-transformation: The Importance of Education for Adults in the Modern Era

This study explores the transformative role of education for adults in the modern era, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning for personal growth and adaptability. Utilizing a qualitative approach through library research and a comprehensive literature review, this study analyzes the impact of education on self-transformation, focusing on how educational experiences foster changes in identity, critical reflection, and emotional intelligence among adult learners. The findings highlight that education is not only a means of acquiring new skills but also a key factor in reshaping personal identity and fostering adaptability in a rapidly changing world. By engaging in education, adults experience shifts in self-perception, develop enhanced critical thinking skills, and improve their ability to navigate complex social and professional environments. Additionally, the study underscores the role of collaborative learning environments, where interactive and participatory educational settings amplify the transformative potential of education. The process of self-transformation is found to be ongoing, with each educational experience contributing to continuous personal development. This study concludes that educational programs aimed at adults should adopt a holistic approach, addressing both the practical and emotional dimensions of adult learners’ needs. Such programs will enable adults to thrive in the modern era, not only by equipping them with essential skills but also by fostering deeper self-awareness and lifelong growth.

Development and application of a non-technical skills coaching intervention framework for surgeons: A pilot quality improvement initiative.

Non-technical skills (NTS) challenges experienced by surgeons may degrade performance, ultimately impacting the safety and quality of care delivered to patients. The objectives of this work were to develop a framework for NTS coaching for surgeons and implement a coaching program utilizing the developed NTS coaching framework. Leveraging adult learning and self-determination theories, a specialty-agnostic NTS coaching framework was developed for individual coaching sessions with robotic surgeons. The framework was used to deliver NTS coaching sessions to robotic surgeons. Surgeon's robotic procedures were recorded, and expert raters assessed their NTS using the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons tool. Measures of surgeon satisfaction, learning outcomes, and performance improvement were determined. Cohen's d statistic was used to estimate the effect size of the coaching intervention. To pilot the program, ten robotic-assisted surgeries (five pre-coaching and five post-coaching) were observed from five practicing robotic surgeons who were recruited from a large academic healthcare system. Expert raters' assessment of surgeons' NTS revealed several exemplar and non-exemplar behaviors. Surgeons were satisfied with the coaching, rating its quality very highly on all NTS dimensions. On a Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), surgeons had a stronger agreement that the coaching could improve their situation awareness (4.0±.5) and leadership (4.8±.2) skills compared to their decision making and communication (3.8±.7). From the post-coaching observations, coaching had medium-to-large effect on situation awareness (d = .65) and leadership (d = .41), small effect on communication and teamwork (d = .14), and no effect on decision-making. Overall, the coaching intervention had a medium effect on total NTS (d = .33). We presented a quality improvement initiative to enhance the NTS of surgeons by implementing a coaching program that leverages our developed NTS framework. Recognizing the importance of NTS in surgeries, our initiative shows a commitment to continuous improvement of patient safety and quality of care.

Interleaved practice enhances grammar skill learning for similar and dissimilar tenses in Romance languages

BackgroundInterleaved practice (or interleaving), the strategy of alternating between categories or concepts during study or practice, can enhance second language grammar skills. It remains to be determined, however, whether that enhancement specifically involves identifying tenses, conjugating verbs, or both, and whether close similarity between tenses is essential. AimsThis study investigated the language skills that interleaving can enhance and the extent to which that enhancement is limited to highly similar tenses. SampleParticipants were college students (Experiment 1, 92 participants; Experiment 2, 109 participants) and adult learners (Experiment 3, 104 participants; Experiment 4, 88 participants). MethodsIn each experiment, participants completed two weekly learning sessions and a one-week delayed criterial test. In the blocked group, participants learned one tense per session. In the interleaved group, participants alternated between two tenses during each session. The criterial test assessed: verb conjugation skills (all experiments), tense identification ability for specific usage scenarios (Experiments 1–3), and the capacity to identify the language of a sentence written in a specific tense (Experiment 4). ResultsInterleaving improved verb conjugation skills in all experiments, tense identification ability in Experiments 1 and 3, and language identification skills in Experiment 4. Benefits of interleaving were observed across tenses varying in usage, meaning, and suffixes. ConclusionsInterleaving enhances multiple language skills, including verb conjugation, tense identification, and language identification. Those benefits are not limited to highly similar tenses. Accordingly, these results challenge assumptions about interleaving and underscore its potential as an effective approach for improving language learning.

A systematic review on robot-assisted language learning for adults

In the 21st-century era of globalization, language proficiency is a pivotal connector across cultures, with artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizing educational paradigms through Robot-Assisted Language Learning (RALL). This systematic review examines the role of RALL in adult second language acquisition, focusing on its pedagogical strategies and learner engagement. Unlike the previous systematic reviews that explore the multifaceted roles of robots in language learning, including as teachers, tutors, assistants, and peer learners, we identify explicit and implicit instructional strategies within RALL, highlighting the unique learning landscape of adult learners characterized by self-regulation and self-direction. We assess the latest advancements in RALL for adult learners through three research questions, compare the effectiveness of explicit versus implicit instructions, and investigate affective factors enhancing RALL performance. Our review contributes a comprehensive status analysis, in-depth exploration of interaction modes, and insights for future research directions, providing a roadmap for academic research and practical guidance for educators and robot developers. This study aims to optimize RALL strategies to better meet the needs of adult learners, fostering a more efficient and engaging language learning experience.

Luonteenvahvuuksien hyödyntäminen aikuisten suomen kielen oppimisessa

In this article, I will explore how to utilize character strengths in Finnish language learning. This study relies on VIA strengths inventory (Peterson & Seligman 2004). I will examine which character strengths adult Finnish learners utilize and how character strengths are related to learning Finnish, as well as participants’ beliefs regarding character strength intervention. The data of this qualitative study consist of an online questionnaire (n=32), individual and group info meetings online (n=21), character strengths intervention (n=8) and final interviews (n=4). The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results indicate that while some strengths are easily applicable to learning Finnish, others prove challenging to employ in language learning. Furthermore, the findings suggest that while participants found the character strength exercise interesting and enlightening, they expressed a desire for examples demonstrating the application of strengths, along with guidance on identifying and utilizing them.

Is there a multilingual advantage in gender agreement processing? Evidence from self-paced reading

ABSTRACT Do learners who have mastered two gender systems prior to learning a third have an advantage in gender processing over those who have mastered only one gender system? To address this question, we recruited two groups of adult Polish learners of L3/Ln Swedish with and without prior knowledge of German. They completed a self-paced reading task in Swedish that involved two types of gender marking: the indefinite article, which is realised similarly in Swedish and German, and the definite suffix, which is uniquely present in Swedish. We found that while both groups were sensitive to gender agreement violations involving the indefinite article, only learners with knowledge of German showed sensitivity to gender agreement violations involving the definite suffix. Therefore, knowledge of non-native German conferred an advantage for the processing of dissimilar rather than similar gender marking. We interpret these findings in light of morphological transfer from German that consists in the employment of the existing morphemes and assigning them new grammatical functions. More broadly, the study indicates that the gender system in a non-native language rather than the native language, might be more helpful for the acquisition of a new type of gender marking in L3/Ln.

Enhanced Learning Outcomes with Audio in E-learning: An Analysis

Audio in any form whether as narration, sound effects, background music, or commentary can make e-learning more interesting for a learner. It completes the sensory engagement in a learner where the visual meets the auditory to comprehend a learning component. As an instructional designer and trainer, over the years, I have created several e-learning courses for adult learners with and without audio. The learning outcomes of the two when compared using several surveys and other evaluation mechanisms showed that learners not only prefer learning instruction that has audio but were also able to retain the learning and apply it to their jobs. This paper analyses how the level of learning outcomes is better in e-learning courses with audio than without audio. It shares some of the science and research that supports this. In addition, it describes the learner surveys and evaluation mechanisms that I have used to prove this and discusses the national and international compliances that make audio a mandate in e-learning to support of my analysis.

Teaching the Historical Jesus in Continuing Education: Of Ghosts and Groundhogs

Abstract This article reflects upon the author’s twenty years of experience in teaching undergraduate-level courses in the study of the historical Jesus outside of a traditional university context as part of the programmes offered by the Institute of Continuing Education of the University of Cambridge. It identifies a number of distinctive pedagogical challenges faced in teaching adult learners, and strategies for addressing them, as well as the wider implications for the field that arise from such teaching activity.

Adapting to Change: A Qualitative Study on Continuous Professional Learning among Adult Learners

Adapting to Change: A Qualitative Study on Continuous Professional Learning among Adult Learners

Lifelong learning in Australian community contexts: Adult learning ‘capabilities’ for study, work, and life

In this paper we explore the Australian adult community education (ACE) landscape and discuss the important roles it plays in developing individual capabilities for study, work, and life. Despite the lack of cohesion of the ACE sector across the various states and territories of Australia, it is well documented that ACE is recognised as important for its capacity to cater for adult learners’ different needs and well-being in community-based contexts. In the last 2 years with a change in the federal government of Australia, ACE has gained more prominence for its capacity to connect hard-to-reach learners into literacy and numeracy programs and preparatory and pre-accredited programs to pathway these learners into further training or employment. The paper reports on research findings from a mixed methods research project examining the effectiveness of ACE outcomes for these first-step learners in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Nussbaum’s Capabilities Framework, provides a social justice lens to reconceptualise the outcomes for learners in ACE, moving beyond narrow neoliberal economistic measures of adult learners’ success. We claim including both vocational and non-vocational capabilities for learners provides a more nuanced account of learner transformation in ACE.

Enhancing Emotional Intelligence of Adult Learners in Online EFL Teaching: Insights from Vietnamese Educators

This study investigates the strategies employed by Vietnamese EFL teachers to enhance emotional intelligence (EI) in adult learners within online learning environments. Utilizing a qualitative research design grounded in Mayer and Salovey’s model of emotional intelligence and Knowles’s theory of andragogy, the study involved semi-structured interviews with ten EFL teachers from two Vietnamese educational institutions. The thematic analysis of the interview data revealed several key strategies: reflective practices, interactive activities, technology integration, personalized feedback, collaborative learning, integration of real-life scenarios, self-awareness activities, development of emotional vocabulary, and creation of emotionally supportive environments. The findings illustrate a multifaceted approach to enhancing EI in online language education, highlighting the innovative adaptation of traditional classroom strategies to the digital realm. The study’s unique contribution lies in its focus on the Vietnamese context, providing insights into how cultural nuances shape online teaching strategies for EI enhancement. The implications of these findings are significant for the field of EFL education, suggesting the need for holistic teaching approaches that integrate emotional competencies alongside linguistic skills.

Bimodal aphasia and dysgraphia: Phonological output buffer aphasia and orthographic output buffer dysgraphia in spoken and sign language

We report a case of crossmodal bilingual aphasia -- aphasia in two modalities, spoken and sign language-- and dysgraphia in both writing and fingerspelling. The patient, Sunny, was a 42 year-old woman, after a left temporo-parietal stroke, a speaker of Hebrew, Romanian, and English and an adult learner, daily user of Israeli Sign language (ISL).We assessed Sunny’s spoken and sign languages using a comprehensive test battery of naming, reading, and repetition tasks, and also analysed her spontaneous-speech and sign. Her writing and fingerspelling were assessed using tasks of dictation, naming, and delayed copying.In spoken language production, Sunny showed a classical phonological output buffer (POB) impairment in naming, reading, repetition, and spontaneous production, with phonological errors (transpositions, substitutions, insertions, and omissions) in words and pseudo-words, and whole-unit errors in morphological affixes, function-words, and number-words, with a length effect. Importantly, her error pattern in ISL was remarkably similar in the parallel tasks, with phonological errors in signs and pseudo-signs, affecting all the phonological parameters of the sign (movement, handshape, location, and orientation), and whole-unit errors in morphemes, function-signs, and number-signs. Sunny’s impairment was selective to the POB, without phonological input, semantic-conceptual, or syntactic deficits. This shows for the first time how POB impairment, a kind of conduction aphasia, manifests itself in a sign language, and indicates that the POB for sign-language has the same cognitive architecture as the one for spoken language. It may also indicate similar neural underpinnings for spoken and sign languages.In writing, Sunny forms the first case of a selective type of dysgraphia in fingerspelling, orthographic (graphemic) output buffer dysgraphia. In both writing and fingerspelling, she made letter errors (letter transpositions, substitutions, insertions, and omissions), as well as morphological errors and errors in function words, and showed length effect. Sunny’s impairment was selective to the orthographic output buffer, whereas her reading, including orthographic input processing, was intact. This suggests that the orthographic output buffer is shared for writing and in fingerspelling, at least in a late learner of sign language. The results shed further light on the architecture of phonological and orthographic production.

From Conversation to Interaction: A Pedagogical Exploration of Applying Conversation Analysis in EFL Classrooms

Within the communicative language teaching approach, current instructional materials often lack explicit guidance or fail to provide L2 learners with a wide range of resources in the target language. Conversation analysis (CA), which focuses on authentic talk, has been proposed as a potential resource for language classrooms. This study examines the effectiveness of using CA as a pedagogical approach in an EFL classroom and its impact on learners’ attitudes toward English language learning. The study engaged eight adult learners in a structured program, encompassing a pre-test, a 4-week explicit CA-informed instruction, and a post-test. After four weeks, learners demonstrated progress in their knowledge and skills of interaction, different aspects of English speaking, interactional competence, and confidence in speaking English. Additionally, the CA-informed instruction positively influenced learners’ attitudes toward English language learning and their appreciation of interactional features. The results strongly suggest that language teachers should consider incorporating CA insights into their teaching practices to enhance both linguistic and attitudinal outcomes.