Presents an overview of the problem of adult illiteracy and discusses what it means to be literate. Offers considerations pertaining to the teaching of literacy and of how technology might be used to facilitate this teaching. Concludes with recommendations about how to exploit the possibilities of technology in literacy education. (FL)

THE GREATEST PROBLEM FACING EDUCATION TODAY IS THE ERADICTION OF ILLITERACY IN OUR OWN AND OTHER COUNTRIES. TEACHING READING TO ILLITERATE ADULTS IS PRIMARILY A MATTER OF ESTABLISHING THE PROPER CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS OF THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE, WHICH ARE UNKNOWN TO THEM, AND ELEMENTS OF THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE ALREADY IN THEIR REPERTOIRE. THE…

Describes "initial teaching alphabet" (i.t.a.), a self-instructional reading program designed to teach basic literacy skills in English to adults in a systematic and logical way by teaching the language sounds and their related i.t.a. characters through the use of recordings and workbook exercises. (WL)

An approach based on sociolinguistic theory is reported that was devised to describe the way written language operates in the different domains that make up the everyday lives of a given group of people. The approach involves the practices that the people use to deal with written language, and the perceptions (uses, beliefs, attitudes) they have…

This practical manual is designed for teachers involved in adult basic education (in particular, teachers of bilingual and adult literacy students) who would like to introduce their students to word processing through the language curriculum. A range of activities linking language and word processing skills is suggested. The tasks can be…

THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION PREPARED THESE GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS OF UNDEREDUCATED ADULTS--ILLITERATE, FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE, AND NON-ENGLISH-SPEAKING. THE RATE OF ILLITERACY HAS BEEN DECLINING, STANDING IN 1960 AT 18,059. FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY IS HARDER TO DEFINE SINCE CRITERIA ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING, BUT IT IS FOUND…

Two separate research reports are presented in this paper. In the first report, we have identified through literacy research three sets of job-related reading tasks for adults: (1) those involved in getting a job, (2) those concerned with learning a job, and (3) those concerned with doing a job. National surveys have indicated that the black,…