Research has indicated that the elderly retain the ability to learn, and specifically to learn new languages. Furthermore, the increasingly greater proportion of old people in the population demands that their need for continued intellectual stimulation be met. In the absence of explicit motives for learning an ethnic language, Esperanto is a good choice for second language study among old people. It is a language of great regularity in which communicative competence can be achieved quickly and with little frustration. In addition, the international community of Esperanto speakers is already characterized by its ability to organize into associations that serve the interests and needs of members. In introducing the elderly to Esperanto, their special learning needs, both cognitive and affective, must be considered in course organization, textbook selection, and teaching methods. (JB)