For various reasons, adults or near-adults might decide to try to learn a language or improve their language skills on their own. For example, [a] there may not be appropriate, cost-effective language courses accessible in convenient locations at suitable times. [b] Perhaps they lack the transportation to attend class in person or the resources to enroll in a televised, distance-learning, or online course. [c] Independent learners may object to imposed levels of difficulty, curriculum, “one-size-fits-all” lesson plans, pacing, assessment instruments, or other traditional features of formal education. [d] Maybe they find teacher-centered or collaborative-learning classroom styles constricting. [e] They may not need or want “academic credits” or certificates of completion.
Whatever their rationale, in order to optimize the results of their efforts, many people prefer to “learn it themselves.” And with effective, well-organized, user-friendly materials and methods, they can succeed in their goals. As long as they stay motivated through progress, they can follow through—and get maximum benefit from—their own custom-designed (but flexible and fun) courses of study.
In addition, more and more parents are arranging to home school their children. Also called “home-based learning,” home schooling is education provided by parents or tutors to children who, for whatever reason, cannot attend or do not thrive in the formal setting of an institution. Some families even choose “unschooling,” based on educational philosophies and practices that allow youngsters to learn in more “natural” ways than standardized school curricula and requirements provide. In either situation, language acquisition and improvement are integral parts of teachers' and learners’ educational experience, progress, and success.
Of course, even when young students do attend public or private school officially, parents can and should play an important role in their language education and improvement. They can contribute to children's natural curiosity, keep them motivated to learn, and help them to succeed in their use and uses of language. In households where parents are second-language learners, youngsters can become their "teachers." Communication that involves good listening and speaking is a crucial element of foster care and other family situations. Reading together is not only an entertaining pastime, but it also brings families closer together; it improves everyone's language proficiency.
Authors & Editors offers a plethora of products, materials, and ideas well-suited for independent study, use by learning groups, educational interaction among family members, individual tutoring, and home schooling. For instance, there are student texts like Basic & Practical Everyday Spelling Workbooks with supplemental audio CDs (or Tapescripts).
Especially useful for self-study or tutoring are the extensive Answer Keys & User Guides closely correlated with student books like Grammar Scenario One and Before Speaking; Activities for Practice & Preparation in Oral Language Skills. Unique among published products, these lengthy self-teaching tools contain suggested language and content for the expressive oral and written activities of the accompanying texts. Language teachers and learners alike will find them immensely helpful in self- and home-study as well as in large classrooms.
And of course, the pre-prepared Tear-Off Pads intended for paired or small-group activities, the many educational Card Packs designed for classic card play, and the versatile Board Games like English Through Citizenship: the Game are perfect for use by independent learners, groups of friends, and families.
These titles and additional information appear in an Alphabetized Authors & Editors Product List and at the Authors & Editors Online Store. Free ready-to-use lessons may be added to our collection of Teaching Tools, Tips, & Techniques. Links to information about independent and home-study will be included in our section of Informational Articles & Resources.
