Adult education programs must increasingly serve non-native speakers of English, many of whom are neither literate in their native language nor in English. It is suggested that first language literacy promotes second language acquisition and that literacy skills in the native language are likely to transfer to the second language. This digest…

This digest describes how foreign language instructors at Iowa State University of Science and Technology and Santa Clara University (California) have integrated the participation of native speakers from their communities into the curriculum in ways that allow students to practice their language skills and develop a heightened sense of cultural…