Using Technology to Teach English to the Elderly: Can older people learn English as efficiently online as in person?Petko, Karin (Avtor) Skela, Janez (Mentor) adult educationelderlylearning/teaching Englishi-bookblended learningprogramme’s efficiencyLoss of different abilities and memory is often associated with ageing, but lately, the concept of active ageing has become more prominent, bringing to action the idea of offering different activities and courses for the elderly to do and study – either to satisfy their needs or to fulfil their wishes. Plenty of theoretical sources and practical studies prove that the elderly have a need and desire to learn. While the focus is on practical knowledge, they also wish to learn for leisure, and one of such topics is languages. The elderly want to study (languages) to keep mentally active and to socialise with their peers because the retirement period is when they finally have time to do it. We need to keep in mind that adult education is also very prone to different barriers and deterrents such as health, programme options, money, and motivation. Therefore, offered programmes need to be constructed with their users in mind and be flexible. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, many new ways of learning have been invented and have become acceptable even in adult education. One of them is online learning, not only in the sense of a teacher having lessons online but also through online programmes that entirely replace the teacher. One of such programmes is English step by step (akk.si), designed specifically for the elderly with no pre-existing knowledge of English. In this MA thesis, the programme and its efficiency were put to the test. It turns out that while an online programme is a faster course, it is, unfortunately, less successful in terms of quality and quantity of knowledge acquired by the learners. The participants of the experiment in a live group learnt more, and their knowledge was better. They also reported feeling better than the participants of the computer group, who often felt stressed due to having to deal with technology on top of learning a new language. Regardless of the results of my experiment, teachers and creators of independent i-programmes need to keep in mind that ageing is always individualised, and every adult is different – with different abilities, wishes and characteristics, so none of the possible approaches is perfect for everyone. Yet, blended learning is also a possibility.20222023-01-07 07:45:25Magistrsko delo/naloga143684sl