Exploring Third-Age Foreign Language Learning from the Well-being Perspective: Work in Progress

Abstract

The third age in the life of many people in developed countries is considered to be a culmination; time for personal achievement and fulfilment after retirement. While much discussion is focused on the challenges of an ageing society, there are also opportunities. Popularity of language courses among third-agers, who do not seek further career advancement nor wish to live abroad, indicates that there are other aspects of learning a foreign language than attaining linguistic proficiency. This qualitative study will investigate third-agers’ perceptions, behaviours and emotions experienced when learning a foreign language, and how such experience contributes to their well-being. Through the lens of positive psychology, especially by exploring the concept of savouring, this study will aim to gain insights into how third-agers conceptualize their learning experience, what their savouring capacities are, and what impact these have on their overall well-being. First, an in-depth interview was conducted with a senior lifelong language learner. In the study that will follow, more data will be collected in a snowball fashion through personal connections.

Third-Age Learners and Approaches to Language Teaching

“…Older learners' needs are educational as well as social. Matsumoto [27] claims that learning a foreign language at a later age is clearly intrinsically rewarding for older people since it contributes to their sense of meaning in their life. Viktorova [25] extends that it is a positive intrinsic motivation that plays a significant role in foreign language learning by older individuals.…”

A Comparative Psycholinguistic Study on the Subjective Feelings of Well-Being Outcomes of Foreign Language Learning in Older Adults From the Czech Republic and Poland

“…Despite this, they are still very motivated and from the positive psychology perspective, it is somehow surprising that an activity that is difficult and occupies so much of their free time can create such positive subjective feelings of satisfaction. One can only agree with Matsumoto ( 2019 ) who performed semi-structured interviews with third-age learners. Her findings show that FLL is clearly intrinsically rewarding for healthy seniors since it contributes to their sense of meaning in their life.…”

Adults learning additional languages in their later years

“…Concerning his portrayal of them as apprehensive, this needs to set against what other adult educators have had to say about many older students-whatever their subject matter of choice-returning to additional language learning with excitement and very high motivation levels (cf. Edlinger, 2016;Hillage et al, 2000;Matsumoto, 2019).…”