Abstract
“The field of foreign language learning has somewhat neglected older learners as a focus of research” (p. 201). Ramírez Gómez’s book emphasizes the need for an investigation into foreign language (FL) learning needs of older adults (60 years and older). By 2050, the elderly population will make up more than 20% of the world population with effects on educational programs including FL teaching and learning. The author’s goal is to provide a framework for teaching older adults, termed FL geragogy.
The Introduction gives an overview of the main literature on language learning regarding age and ageing and the (few existing) FL geragogy studies. Chapter 2 characterizes the language learning older adult from physical, cognitive, psychological, and experiential points of view. Ramírez Gómez discusses in detail the complex variables affecting older adults and their learning. In chapter 3, she presents a mixed-method study with Japanese older learners of Spanish. A main challenge for older learners is the memorization of vocabulary, which, in the study, was helped by using Vocabulary–Learning–Strategies (VLSs). The chapter provides the context of the study and reveals how the author tried to make her students aware of ineffective learning habits and beliefs and how different VLSs were perceived by them. In the following chapters (4, 5, and 6), Ramírez Gómez presents a framework for a FL geragogy that is specifically aimed at course providers and instructors. Chapter 4 includes constructs for adult education, paying special attention to a critical education for older adults. Chapter 5 showcases a pilot program taught at Kobe City University, in which students were retrained to “become more resourceful, focused and self-directed” (p. 126) when learning an FL. How an FL geragogy can be employed in the day-to-day classroom is part of chapter 6. Chapter 7 summarizes succinctly the book’s content and requests further research in the field of older adult language learning and teaching.
Ramírez Gómez’s work can be described as convincing, relevant, hands-on, and pragmatic. The book offers great insights into who we are teaching (older adults) and how we are teaching them; it gives ample opportunity to reassess teaching practices but also concrete advice for the classroom.
FL geragogy is a term the author introduces to spark a discussion among researchers, teachers, and course creators regarding effective parameters to increase older adults’ language learning experience and success. The book is a milestone with regard to this currently underresearched topic. Research into learning profiles, including trajectories (FL learning experiences), and orientations (ability to recognize instructional discourse), combined with students’ use of VLSs led to a complex picture of older adults’ formal language learning. The study’s strength is to have gathered quantitative and qualitative data on VLS use among older learners, which has not been accomplished so far.
Ramírez Gómez makes clear that the methodological framework applied, meaning the retraining of older learners regarding their beliefs and perceptions of old age and language learning and the use of VLSs, is in progress. While one could argue that this is a weakness of the study, I believe it shows the reality of classroom research: It is never static, generalizable, and finished. Variables affecting the teaching and learning of FLs change constantly. What this book does, however, is to yield hope. Reaching proficiency in an FL as an elderly person is possible if learners are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, trajectories, and orientations. Reaching awareness requires openness on the part of the learner and the teacher. Teachers of elderly learners should in the same way be trained to accommodate this group of students appropriately.
Ramírez Gómez unfortunately did not include a discussion of her approach to research ethics regarding her study on and with learners of Spanish. It remains unclear how aware the language learners were regarding their active participation in the study and if its progress and result were made transparent. Furthermore, I disagree with the author that only FL geragogy studies including quantitative as well as qualitative methods reach a “deeper understanding […] and concrete contributions for developing a FL geragogy” (pp. 35-36). This, I believe, can be also accomplished by applying a purely qualitative approach.
In conclusion, any foreign language teacher teaching older adults or creating courses for them should read this book. Researchers interested in FL acquisition and geragogy will also find that this book is an educational gem due to its timeliness in proposing a possible new way forward in teaching the older adult.