Motivation and learning strategies of older adults in French as a foreign language courses

For older adults, one of the main reasons for learning a foreign language is to re­fresh knowledge they had previously acquired during their schooling. In terms of motivation, learners often mention a desire for new knowledge, an inte­rest in the culture of the target country, and the need for social interaction. However, the methods of teaching foreign languages have changed significantly since the time of their formal education. In the French as a foreign language cour­ses held at the Faculty of Active Wisdom (Modra fakulteta) at the University of Lju­bljana, we observed that modern teaching methods based on the action-oriented approach may pose a challenge for this group of learners. Therefore, this paper also explores the learning strategies used by participants at this stage of life, in order to better understand how they learn and to adapt our teaching methods accordingly. The article presents the results of a study conducted among older learners attending two French courses at the Faculty of Active Wisdom. The first part of the analysis focu­ses on motivation, while the second part examines the learning strategies employed by older adults.