EN
Adult education is becoming increasingly popular nowadays, going far beyond the boundaries of formal education. It is realized outside school facilities and doesn't require direct teacher's involvement on a constant basis. It is referred to as correspondence education and it used to take place by traditional mail, later to be complemented by radio and TV programs, which made the very term 'correspondence education' less popular. Soon, it was replaced by such expressions as 'remote education', 'distant education' and, finally, 'e-learning'. Distant education, understood nowadays chiefly as e-learning, is an heir to correspondence education, and the use of new technologies has contributed to its renewed popularity. The peculiar character of correspondence education, which presently goes beyond traditional mail communication, points clearly to the fact that it is addressed to adult people, who, troubled by a plethora of mundane problems, also face the dilemma whether to study or not to study. More and more often reality verifies this dilemma in favor of studying; taking up education results from both a personal need and professional situation. That is why it is worthwhile not only to get to know the history of this form of education, its principles, its advantages and disadvantages, but also to have a look at the specific way of learning of those it is addressed to. This should enable us to find its place and function in the entire picture of adult education, and also to consider its importance.