Beliefs About Learning A New Language After 45 Years Old

Abstract

In Turkey, where life expectancy increases steadily, a very small amount of elder people are attending foreign language learning courses. In order to have a better understanding, this study focuses on the question whether beliefs of people from different age groups are effective in this manner. To examine the different age groups’ beliefs, an online questionnaire was conducted. While deciding on the statements of the questionnaire, popular assumptions and Turkish cultural beliefs were taken into consideration. The findings revealed that although participants find some languages harder to learn they believe that attitude plays a major role in language learning and it is easier to learn a new language for a person who has already learnt one. Most of the participants believe that, learning a new language may prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The results show that, people from different ages think in favour of learning a new language after 45-years-old

Keywords

• Beliefs
• Adult Language Learning

45 Yaşından Sonra Yeni Bir Dil Öğrenmeye İlişkin İnanışlar

Öz

İlişkin İnanışlarOrtalama yaşam süresinin hızla artmakta olduğu Türkiye’de erişkin yaş grubunda olup - bu çalışma kapsamında 45 yaş ve üzeri kişiler- yeni bir dil öğrenmeye başlayan öğrencilerin sayısı genç öğrencilere oranla oldukça azdır. Bu çalışma, söz konusu durumun halkın inanışlarından mı kaynaklandığını araştırmak amacıyla farklı yaş gruplarından insanların konuya ilişkin görüşlerini, inanışlarını sormuştur. Araştırmanın veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılan çevrimiçi sormacanın maddeleri, Türk kültürüne ve yaygın varsayımlarına dayandırılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonuçları, katılımcıların bazı dilleri öğrenmenin daha zor olduğu ve tutumun dil öğrenmede önemli bir yer tuttuğunu düşündükleri ve daha önce en az bir yabancı dil öğrenmiş olan kişilerin yeni bir dil öğrenmelerinin daha kolay olduğuna inandıklarını göstermektedir. Katılımcıların büyük çoğunluğunun yeni bir dil öğrenmenin bunamayı ve Alzheimer hastalığını engelleyeceğini düşündükleri de görülmektedir. Çalışmaya katılan farklı yaş gruplarından katılımcılar, 45 yaşından sonra yeni bir dil öğrenmeye başlanabileceği ve başarılı olunabileceği görüşündedirler

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İnanış
• Erişkin Yabancı Dil
• dil öğrenme

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