Understanding Success and Failure in Adult ESL: Superación vs Dropout of Adult English Learners in the US

by Taewoong Kim

Overview

This book explores the reasons why adult ESL learners drop out of their language classes and suggests explicit strategies for keeping students engaged. The most effective strategies may be personal rather than technical or curricular. Based on a study of a group of Mexican immigrants to the US, the author proposes that superación or ‘self-actualization’ is crucial to understanding the relative success of adult ESL learners. Learners’ decisions to drop out were not hasty or superficial but were based on a commonsense assessment concerning how the class might improve the quality of their lives. Those involved in delivering ESL to adult learners should stress the tangible, practical advantages that accrue with learning English, and at the same time strive to make instruction relevant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800412422
Publisher:	Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Publication date:	04/12/2022
Series:	New Perspectives on Language and Education , #106
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Taewoong Kim is a lecturer at Washington University in St Louis, USA, having previously taught English and Korean to students of all ages. His research interests include learner identity and investment, computer-assisted language learning, and social justice through education.

Taewoong Kim teaches Korean at Washington University in St Louis, USA, having previously taught English and Korean to students of all ages. His research interests include learner identity and investment, and social justice through education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface                                                                                                                                             

Introduction: A Broken Car                                                                                                 

Chapter 1. Voices Unheard from the Margins                                                                     

Chapter 2. Theoretical Frameworks                                                                                 

Chapter 3. Adult English Literacy Learners in America and Research Context              

Chapter 4. The Six Persistent Learners                                                                             

Chapter 5. Who They Are: Thematic Identity of the Six Adult English Learners                              

Chapter 6. What Drives Investment                                                                                  

Chapter 7. What Makes Adult ELs Drop Out                                                                  

Chapter 8. What Makes Adult ELs Stay                                                                    

Chapter 9. Discussion                                                                                                  

Chapter 10. Implications and Conclusion                                                                  

References
About the Author
Index                                                                                                                  

Editorial Reviews

Why do adult English language learners drop out of language programs? In this book, Dr. Taewoong Kim tackles this problem in a very insightful and humanistic way. He gives voice to those that are often not heard. All teachers wanting to empower this unique demographic of students should read this.

Daniel Rueckert

This book is an invaluable addition to the field of Second Language Acquisition and English teaching. Practitioners and researchers alike will find the emphasis on ‘learner investment’ to be a useful angle to approach their work. Teachers, educators, and scholars will gain insight into the challenges of real adult learners and some potential solutions suggested by the author.

Kyungsook Yeum

Dr. Kim offers an insightful, ground-level perspective of the daily lives and dreams of English Learners. Teaching English to hard-working adults involves more than reconsidering curriculum; it requires a radical reorientation, founded upon caring relationships and knowledge of student aspirations. Dr. Kim explains how to transform your teaching and why it matters.

Lawrence Baines