Language Teaching and the Older Adult is compulsory reading for all individuals involved in the teaching of older adults, considering furthermore that educational programs focused on this segment of the population are rising significantly. If those programs intend to be credible, they cannot be coordinated by individuals who lack the theoretical preparation conveyed in Danya Ramirez Gomez's work.
Maria ... Read moreda Graca L. Castro Pinto, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Linguarum Arena, Vol. 8, 2017
By writing this book, Gomez brings the needs and importance of older people into the spotlight and reminds us that this age group is as valuable and respectable as when they were younger, and that their cognitive, psychological and social needs should be met.
Sahar Farrahi Avval, Iran
LINGUIST List 28.3463
Ramirez Gomez'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 (...) 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.
Annelie Carslake, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland
Adult Education Quarterly 68(4)
In recent years the teaching of second languages has focused more and more on younger learners, while virtually ignoring the growing demographic of much older learners, particularly in developed countries like Japan or Western Europe. Ramirez Gomez's timely book not only redresses this imbalance but proposes a pedagogy - not based on a deficit model of the older learner - that both respects and enlists the older learner's experience and learning dispositions.
Scott Thornbury, The New School, USA
This is an excellent introduction to foreign language (FL) teaching for older adults. It provides a thorough overview of the issues facing older FL students and explicit techniques for addressing these issues. It explains why FL teaching for older adults is something we should all be interested in. This book will be of interest to not only teachers, but FL and TESL program coordinators, researchers and even therapists working with older adults as we all prepare to cater to an aging world population.
Loran Edwards, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Language Teaching and the Older Adult is a watershed moment in the field of adult education. Ramirez Gomez successfully interweaves that theoretical interface between the study of foreign languages and geragogy, whilst also engaging a practitioner's lens that culminates in practical recommendations for programme facilitators. This book is a necessary read for facilitators and academics working in adult education.
Marvin Formosa, University of Malta, Malta
Show Less