Although volunteer tutors traditionally have formed the basis of the programs of Laubach Literacy Action and Literacy Volunteers of America, volunteers have begun to play a greater role in adult literacy instruction provided through community-based organizations, correctional institutions, churches, and federally funded adult basic education.…

The United States has admitted more than 1 million Southeast Asian refugees since 1975. The impact of these refugees on language and literacy education has been profound; many innovations in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) education have derived from efforts to meet their language and literacy needs. The first wave of refugees in the…

Changes in the U.S. economy are altering employment patterns, and these changes have implications for workers whose language is other than English. This digest summarizes the existing types of programs that prepare English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) adults for the workplace or help workers whose first language is other than English who are already…

Research has suggested that many adults choose not to participate in available literacy programs because they equate literacy education with school. Two new directions in adult literacy program development are being explored in an effort to make programs more appealing to nonparticipants. The first is connected to program content and the second…