The master’s thesis aims to explore the key principles of teaching English to adult beginners and examine how much these principles are applied in practice in Slovenia. The theoretical part is based on modern approaches to foreign language teaching, language acquisition theories (especially Krashen’s model), and Knowles’s andragogy principles. The emphasis is placed on the importance of self-directed learning, learner motivation, and the adaptability of teachers. In the empirical part, I analyzed the results of an online questionnaire conducted among English teachers for adult learners. The results show that adult learners are, in fact, highly motivated and bring valuable strengths to the classroom, but often face various challenges that can negatively impact their progress. Teachers most commonly opt for interactive and communicative methods and adapt their teaching to the needs of their learners as much as possible. The findings confirm the importance of a flexible approach to teaching adults.
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