Although English-as-a-second-language (ESL) practitioners are generally making good progress in teaching listening and speaking skills, the entire area of teaching literacy skills to ESL students is barely in the formative stage. The teaching of ESL is further complicated when students are not only lacking in English literacy skills but are also…

The U.S. work force is unready for the new jobs, unready for the new realities, unready for the new challenges of the 1990s. Across the board, jobs are demanding better reading, writing, and reasoning skills and more math and science. Statistics define the scope of the problem: 25 percent of young people drop out of high school; 70 percent of all…

This teacher's guide is designed for use in helping adult basic education (ABE) students to develop beginning language skills. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics: occupational knowledge, consumer economics, health and safety, government and law, and community resources. Each unit contains some or all of the…

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,…

The National Reading Panel (NRP) reviewed quantitative reading research focusing on grades K-3 to identify methods leading to reading success. The following areas were identified as key areas in the process of beginning to read: (1) phonemic awareness; (2) phonics; (3) fluency; (4) vocabulary; and (5) comprehension. The research findings were…

This resource guide contains learning activities designed to complement existing ABE curricula or become the cornerstone of an ABE curriculum integrating reading, writing, and math skills with practical life knowledge. The guide begins with an introduction, acknowledgments, and an overview of Colorado's Certificate of Accomplishment program, which…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the areas of electrical and instrumentation (E&I), pipefitter, and millwright contain a lesson that deals with reading charts and tables. The lesson consists of these components: objective, instruction, 10 exercises for E&I, 5 for…

This document contains 12 units of study for a competency-based workplace literacy program, developed by Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, for a local plastics and engineering company. Each unit covers between two and nine competencies. Of the 12 units, 5 are devoted to language skills and 7 are devoted to mathematics. Each…

The College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, formed an educational and business partnership with four area businesses to design and implement workplace literacy programs targeted to the needs of each business. The project's four objectives were as follows: develop a model of cooperation between a community college and the business community…

This report describes a project originally intended to identify demographic patterns among adults with low literacy skills in each Canadian province. The project was carried out between March 2000 and June 2001 under the auspices of Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL). The project was based on the assumption that demographic information about…

E-learning's potential for responding to the challenges of adult literacy was explored through a review of research and input from program managers, developers, and funders. The study identified adult literacy e-learning products, programs, and resources that are available or in development. Challenges to greater use of technology in adult…

This guide contains activities and resources to help adult learners develop the work-based foundation skills and knowledge areas included on the Foundation Skills Framework wheel (Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy 2000). Its four sections (basic employability skills, basic workplace knowledge, basic workplace skills, and lifelong learning…

Intended for programs and organizations that provide employment, education, and training services, this guide is organized to show how the work-based foundation skills framework tools may be used in interaction with customers. Section 1 discusses framework development, framework tools (21 work-based foundation skills and knowledge areas, lists of…

This instructor's manual contains the materials required to conduct the competency-based workplace literacy program that was developed to help employees at a foundry that has evolved from a small, family-owned business into a major foundry group with several automated production systems. The workplace literacy program consists of 24 lessons in…

This guide is designed as a training tool for volunteers participating in the Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) program. Developed by the staff at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, Indiana, VITAL is an adult literacy program that is based on active cooperation between program trainers and volunteer tutors. Various…