LEARNING IN ADULT YEARS: THE EXPERIENCES OF THE NIGERIAN ADULT LITERACY LEARNER

Learning is a life-long process since it goes on as long as a person is alive. Every individual is thus faced with one learning situation or another throughout one’s life time. The purpose of this study is to identify the experiences Nigerian adult literacy learners pass through in pursuit of their human right; the right to learn and to offer suggestions on how the adult educator can assist them in their various learning situations. For instance, there are social engagements or community pressures which clash with scheduled literacy classes; there are cultural practices that inhibit women from leaving the home to attend literacy classes elsewhere; there are psychological problems of unfavorable self-concept as well as pressure of work; all affect their regularity of attendance and concentration in learning situations. There are also non-proximity of learning centres especially in rural parts of the country coupled with frequent suspension of classes during peaks of farming and rainy seasons. The onus of assisting Nigerian adult literacy learners to scale through the dilemma they face in trying to overcome such difficulties rests on the adult educator or the facilitator of learning. Some suggested ways of providing the requisite assistance include making the learners aware of the enormous benefits of literacy acquisition, connecting learning activities to the learners’ experiences, adopting strategies to ensure continuity in learning even at adverse circumstances, and affording learners the opportunity to participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of learning programs that concern them