Notes similarities in Paulo Freire's literacy method, William S. Gray's model of reading, and H. Alan Robinson's recommendations for reading instruction based on psycholinguistics. (MKM)

One adult's description of what it is like to be illiterate and then learn to read. (DD)

Advocates looking around and discovering the real literacy exhibited in everyday activities. Describes the literacy observed at a laundromat. Finds that everyone there was literate in this situation, able to both follow directions and entertain themselves with reading. (SR)

The main purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the relative importance of complexity of syllable structure and task differences in measuring phonological awareness in low-literacy adults. This study is a replication of a study with children conducted by S. A. Stahl and B. A. Murray (1994). Results indicated that the complexity of…

Apparent reading deficiencies among entering workers, combined with increasing demands for highly skilled workers, have led business and industry to increase their training and education efforts. One aspect of this effort requires understanding the reading demands people in various occupations are likely to encounter. This study examines the…

Project REALISTIC, sponsored by the Department of the Army under contract with the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), was designed to determine functional literacy levels for selected military jobs having civilian counterparts. (MM)

Examines assumptions (such as "every adult can read to some extent" and "adult students will be well motivated") held by a veteran high school social studies teacher before he began teaching adults how to read. Discusses how some of the assumptions were valid, some invalid, and others partly valid. (RS)

Reports on a survey of two groups of prison inmate-students and tutors about their reading, past and present, and to what factors they attribute their current reading levels. Finds that reading-proficient inmates see reading as having a purpose, whereas those who did not develop reading proficiency may have been influenced by physical or…

According to natural-language theory, reading and writing are learned from whole to part, in meaningful contexts. Strategies based on this theory for literacy tutors to use include Characteristics of Good Readers; Apperceptive Interactive Method; Prime-O-Tec (repeated readings); Knows, Wants, Learned, Confused; and List It and Skip It. (SK)

This study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is…

The purpose of this publication is to present Iowa's adult literacy program approved projected benchmark percentage levels for Program Year 2006 (July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006). The passage of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) [Public Law 105-220] by the 105th Congress has ushered in a new era of collaboration, coordinator, cooperation and…

This study discusses the general plan of action for the United States Office of Education's program for school-based right to read centers. The major goal of the program is to increase functional literacy so that most citizens will be able to function as productive adults. This study describes the basic assumptions and objectives of the program,…

Voices concern for growing number of illiterate adults in world and quality and limitation of reading materials available to those who do acquire reading skills. (DS)

Reports that the readability level of a document is a poor indicator of its comprehension for aged subjects and that simplifying the language of documents may not be sufficient in easing their comprehension difficulties. (FL)