People are increasingly reaching the so-called third age, a period when seniors search for a renewed purpose to life and spend time undertaking activities that they consider motivating, such as the learning of a foreign language. The study of language learning among aging populations has become a fast-growing area of research and this book is one of the first attempts to bring together what we know about this age group and their profiles as foreign language learners. Contributors to the volume discuss the issue from various psychological, neurological and pedagogical perspectives. Each of the chapters provides an updated theoretical background and offers some initial conclusions on the basis of original empirical studies carried out. Chapters challenge certain familiar preconceptions and assumptions about senior learners, offer the reader ideas for future research in this under-studied area and provide some practical advice for applying the proposals and solutions offered in real foreign language third-age classrooms.

Table of Contents:
Danuta Gabryś-Barker: Introduction: The Background Part 1. Foreign Language Learning in the Third Age Rebecca Oxford: A Developmental Perspective on Third-Age Learning David Singleton: Really Late Learners: Some Research Contexts and Some Practical Hints David Green: The Interactional Challenge: L2 Learning and Use in The Third Age Maria Kliesch, Nathalie Giroud, Simone E. Pfenninger, Martin Meyer: Research On Second Language Acquisition in Old Adulthood: What We Have and What We Need Mirosław Pawlak, Marek Derenowski, Anna Mystkowska-Wiertelak: The Use of Indirect Language Learning Strategies by Third Age Learners: Insights from a Questionnaire Study Monika Grotek , Agnieszka Ślęzak-Świat: Balance and Coordination Vs Reading Comprehension in L2 in Late Adulthood Ewa Piechurska - Kuciel , Magdalena Szyszka: Compensatory Strategies in Senior Foreign Language Students Part 2. Foreign Language Pedagogy in The Third Age Monika Grotek: Student Needs and Expectations Concerning Foreign Language Teachers in the Universities of the Third Age Marek Derenowski: Identifying the Characteristics of Foreign Language Teachers Who Work With Senior Learners Anna Niżegorodcew: Teaching English to Senior Students in the Eyes of Teacher Trainees Anna Pot, Merel Keijzer,, Kees De Bot: Enhancing Language Awareness In Migrants’ Third Age To Promote Wellbeing Danuta Gabryś-Barker: Concluding Comments and a Way Forward