A collection of interesting facts about adult MFL learning

source: CilT

What stops an adult from learning languages?

The Adult Learning Inspectorate report of April 2007 identifies seven key barriers that have the potential to prevent adults from learning languages.

The barriers are:

• an absence of local learning strategies
• insufficient cooperation between providers
• insufficient specialist curriculum leadership
• poorly qualified tutors
• wrongly applied accreditation
• insufficiently individualised learning
• insufficient opportunities for language learning in vocational and work-based programmes

Among the report’s recommendations are the following for providers:

• take measures to recognise achievement and to identify progression opportunities
• continue to develop language-specific methodology and mentoring arrangements for tutors
• provide opportunities for sharing good practice between tutors
• improve individual advice and guidance for language learners and ensure that individual aims can be met