Studying English in Senior Years: A Psycholinguistic Perspective

Abstract

The objective of the present paper is to provide psycholinguistic profiles of senior students attending a course of English as a foreign language at a Third Age University. The analysis consists of the teacher’s reflections on the course, and the participants’ accounts of their life experiences in foreign language learning, as well as of their motivation to study English in senior years. The analysis of the accounts and the teacher’s reflections indicate that senior students are differentiated both in terms of the length and intensity of studying English as well as in their cognitive strengths. However, their motivation to study English has a common thread, which is senior students’ desire to socialize and to take advantage of their knowledge and experience.