Flerov O.V. The Influence of Psychological and Educational Abilities of Adults on Their Success in Learning Foreign Languages

Abstract: The given research article is devoted to the problems of adults learning foreign languages. This makes the object of the research. The subject of the research is psychological and educational abilities of adults, specific features of speaking another language and the influence of these factors on successful education. The article focuses on the relation between issues of andragogy, developmental psychology and language education which allows to develop an integral view of the problem which is insufficiently studied in academic literature and practically unmentioned in teaching and learning literature. As a result, there is a stereotype in teaching practice that adults can be taught foreign langauges the same way as students are. This increases teaching efficiency because compared to students adults have both advantages and disadvantages in learning a foreign language and it is impossible to use these advantanges or to eliminate disadvantanges without understanding interrelated psychological and methodological aspects of teaching a foreign langauge, the process the involves the formation of not only knowledge and skills but also speech abilities. The research methodology implies determination of psychological and educational peculiarities of adults of different ages compared to students and implementation of these peculiarities in language education in order to improve teaching foreign languages to adults. The author concludes that even though maturity and adulthood are traditionally considered to be a positive factor in education, it is not so simple in case of teaching foreign languages. The author provides particular examples and describes particular mechanisms that make teaching more difficult as well as shares how to overcome the aforesaid contradictions. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that adult learning is viewed in psychological and methodological terms but not social and economic terms and the author provides particular recommendations for teachers in the third part of his article. Despite the fact that the format of the article does not allow to carry out in-depth interdisciplinary analysis, described ideas outline ways to improve the process of teaching foreign languages to adults and to use these materials in further research. 

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