La enseñanza del español en los Centros de Educación de Personas Adultas en Andalucía

Abstract

Teaching Spanish in Adult Education Centers in Andalusia

Adult education in Andalusia has been particularly important since 1983, when a specific adult education programme («Programa de Educación de Adultos») was initiated with the main objective of achieving zero illiteracy in this region of Spain. In 1994, further legislation was introduced to carry out projects and actions aimed at the immigrant population. Since then, the number of immigrants attending public schools in Andalusia has continuously increased. Employment in schools for adults has risen as in other public educational institutions and now has more than 2,000 teachers who work with over 120,000 students. Teacher training and familiarity with ICT is a key area here. In addition, teaching and learning processes are enhanced with more appropriate methods, which are adjusted to the interests and abilities of learners. The aim of this study is to examine significant learning events based on the experience of immigrant students, who, to a certain extent, construct their knowledge of the new language based on their current needs and on the knowledge previously acquired in their country of origin.