ACQUISITION OF HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN SECONDARY EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY IN A MACAU SECONDARY ESL CONTEXT

ABSTRACT

ALTHOUGH THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF RESEARCH ON THE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OF ADULTS, THERE IS LITTLE SPECIFIC RESEARCH ON THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF SENIOR AND VERY SENIOR ADULTS. THIS THESIS INVESTIGATES AND DISCOVERS THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A SENIOR FROM A TRADITIONAL CONFUCIAN HERITAGE CULTURE AGED BETWEEN 55 AND 75 YEARS OLD, LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THROUGH VARIOUS INTERVENTIONS, INCLUDING, THE INTRODUCTION OF AN ADAPTED VERSION OF SYNTHETIC PHONICS TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION, ALONGSIDE THE USE OF ANDRAGOGICAL AND GERAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES TO ACCOMMODATE AND ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGENCY AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING. THIS RESEARCH ADOPTED A CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY TO INVESTIGATE THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF SENIORS, AND INVESTIGATED THE PARTICIPANTS’ SUBJECTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE SITUATION, LEARNING EXPERIENCES, CHALLENGES, CIRCUMSTANCES, NEEDS, AND WANTS WITH REGARD TO THE SITUATION. THEREFORE, AN OPEN AND EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY DESIGN WAS SELECTED TO UNDERSTAND THE PARTICIPANTS AND REPORT THE FINDINGS. FURTHERMORE, THIS THESIS IDENTIFIES THE CHALLENGES FACED BY SENIOR AND VERY SENIOR LEARNERS WHO ARE POST-WORK AND POST-FAMILY REARING TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE FINDINGS TO COMPLEMENT, ENHANCE AND EMPOWER THEIR LEARNING