This document, written in the first person, describes the history and feelings of a woman who was functionally illiterate as an adult but who, having learned to read, is now a student at Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange, California. This "open letter" urges teachers to support and encourage students with similar problems,…

Describes how the work of modern poets can expand adult learners' views of the uses of reading and writing and their own ability and specifically shows how the works of Carl Sandburg, Lucille Clifton, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes can be used to teach adults to read. (SRT)

Encourages use of the newspaper to remediate skills in older nonreaders. Proposes teaching essential reading skills concomitant with basic voting procedures so that nonreading adults will be able to function in society and describes seven activities requiring use of critical, literal and inferential skills. (JK)

In teaching introductory English as a second language to nonliterate adult refugees, the focus should initially be on oral skills. The literature on characteristics of recent Southeast Asian refugees and suggested curriculum strategies is reviewed in order to determine the appropriate curriculum and methods for this group. A curriculum for…

This handbook provides useful information on using the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) standards with English-as-a-Second-or-Other-Language (ESOL) students. The ALBSU standards were developed as the result of the Basic Skills Accreditation Initiative funded by the British Department of Education and Science and the Employment…

The following steps will integrate computers into a volunteer literacy program: (1) decide how the computers will be used, depending on the program's needs (typically, computers are used to help with management chores and to motivate students and help them attain their academic and career goals); (2) investigate software and hardware, including…

Any discussion of English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy should address three critical areas: who the learners are, what is to be taught, and how the literacy skills are to be taught. Three distinct groups of students can be classified as "non-literate" in their own language: pre-literates, illiterates, and semi-literates. Two approaches are…

The Major Project in the Field of Education stresses renewed and intensive efforts by Latin American and Caribbean Island countries to provide the resources and training necessary to meet basic education needs by the year 2000. This document examines project achievements, innovations, and problems through 1986 in the areas of rural education,…

This issue of a quarterly newsletter focuses on alternative assessment methods in adult basic education. It is occasioned, as explained in the opening editorial, by the announcement of the requirement for use of the 1987 edition of the Tests of Adult Basic Education for pre- and posttesting of basic education students in New York City, beginning…

Based on research with literacy learners, instructors, and practicing therapists, this book re-examines learning through a lens focused on the prevalence of and effects of violence in women's lives. Section 1, "Canaries in the Mine," highlights a shift away from seeing those who have experienced violence as damaged and towards…

Integrating technology into the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) classroom can be very helpful to students and teachers, but it requires a shift in the teacher's role. The idea of "delivering" instruction--teacher-centered classes or tutor-directed lessons--should be replaced with student-centered, self-paced learning. Although the first…

The educational and linguistic rationales for designing an adult English-as-a-Second-Language literacy program based on phonics are discussed, with specific reference to an Ibibio adult literacy program in Nigeria. An introductory section gives an overview of Nigerian policy and practice concerning literacy education. Next, the phonics approach to…

Offering a variety of perspectives, the articles in this book are intended for those who teach reading and writing; those who make policy influencing what is taught, how, and to whom; and those individuals who would influence the influential. The 18 articles are grouped into four sections: "Literacy, Politics, and Policies"; "Forms of Literacy";…

This booklet, which is written for adult literacy practitioners in Australia, argues that adult literacy practitioners working as trainers and assessors must become familiar with the tasks and texts used by competent workers in particular occupations and industries, and must understand how those tasks and texts fit within the broader social…

Three issues are of particular interest to adult educators: literacy, the ability to use technology, and the ability to access information. These three areas are significant in terms of individual self-fulfillment, human resource development, and individual and societal development at both national and international levels. One questions whether,…