Insegnare le lingue straniere a studenti senior: da un modello glottogeragogico alla sperimentazione di metodologie Project-Based

The world population is increasingly ageing; the ‘demographic protagonism’ of older adults raises a fundamental issue of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to be an active part of society, equipped with the necessary skills for active citizenship – among which linguistic, intercultural, and social competencies are central. Therefore, educational models and training proposals are needed to provide older citizens with plurilingual skills and knowledge, useful for personal fulfilment, successful ageing, and societal development. Starting from the neurological, cognitive, and psychological characteristics of older adults, we have identified a geragogical approach to language teaching, which we have termed glottogeragogy. Within this framework, it is possible to tailor language teaching specifically for a senior audience. After outlining the concept of glottogeragogy, we will focus on a particularly effective methodology for older students – Project-Based Learning (PBL) – to describe a teaching experience currently being carried out in an English class at a University of the Third Age