Learning to Listen Learning to

"Vella writes persuasively about the power of listening as the predominant tool for effective teaching.... This is a book that broadens cultural horizons, tears down superficial boundaries, and presents excellent practical ideas for all adult educators."
--NACADA Journal

"Anyone who wants to help make the world a better place should read this book. Jane Vella is an educator par excellence. But the message of this book is not for academics; it is for the people who will help things change on the ground. This book is about reality--real people, real situations, and what I call real development."
--James P. Grant, executive director, UNICEF

In a distinctly personal and highly entertaining style, Jane Vella reveals twelve basic principles of adult learning to offer a practical, proven, universally applicable approach to adult education.

"The deep lessons [this book] contains creep up on you and flower into joyful insights. Jane Vella is one of the most gifted adult educators I have known."
--from the foreword by Malcolm S. Knowles, professor emeritus, North Carolina State University

"Anyone who wants to help make the world a better place should read this book. Jane Vella is an educator par excellence. But the message of this book is not for academics; it is for the people who will help things change on the ground. This book is about reality--real people, real situations, and what I call real development."
--James P. Grant, executive director, UNICEF

"Adult educators, because they are also lifelong learners, will continually cheer, ÔYES!Õ as they read Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach. The management and literacy trainers in our organization need this book as they prepare to become better facilitators of learning"
--Margaret A. Price, director of field services, Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc.

"The principles and practices contained in these wonderful stories are an invaluable source for people who view learning as a transformative, enriching process of discovering and creating knowledge."
--Fernando Menendez, program coordinator, New England Institute for Non-Profits, Tufts University
"Contains a wealth of information on how we can develop the skills and attitudes that will make a difference in the way we teach our medical students, our residents, and our patients. Medicine is changing drastically and we need tools that help us return to the essence of our art. This book is one of them. Let's use it."
--Rodrigo Escalona, M.D., assistant professor, Department of Psychiatric and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

In a distinctly personal and highly entertaining style, Jane Vella offers a practical, proven, universally applicable approach to adult education. From a graduate school in New York to the mountains of Nepal to the drought-parched fields of Ethiopia, Vella draws on her rich personal experiences as an adult educator to reveal twelve basic principles of adult learning that transcend cultural differences.

Each of Vella's twelve stories describes a specific problem, analyzes the learners and their perceived needs, details the educational program and process, and examines one particular principle of teaching and learning. Every chapter concludes with a learning challenge, inviting readers to use the principle in some way that is appropriate to their own situation.