The personnel director of a local industry requested reading help from Central Missouri State University for several employees. After several meetings, a workplace literacy program that used the whole language approach supplemented by direct instruction in word recognition skills was developed. Two types of tests were written. One, a vocabulary…

After an introduction to the use of the whole language approach in adult literacy instruction, this paper describes some techniques or activities used in two adult literacy programs in Vancouver with participants who speak English as a first and as a second language. The Municipal Workplace Literacy Program, operated by the City of Vancouver…

Describes how three tutors helped an adult progress from a nonreader to a competent and enthusiastic reader, using an approach rooted in whole-language research and practice. (SR)

This paper was designed to show that the two seemingly disparate concepts of andragogy (the study of how adults learn) and whole language are compatible and should be considered by planners and implementers of adult literacy programs. Guiding principles that both andragogy and whole language share are: (1) active participation of learners; (2) use…

The argument is advanced that many literacy materials, such as basal readers and workbooks, do not allow literacy students to learn to read and write in the daily context in which the skills will be used, and an alternative is described. The limitations of phonics-based materials and the resulting controlled vocabulary of readers and workbooks…

Describes a two-year literacy project: an innovative adult basic skills class designed and orchestrated by the students themselves, where Head Start mothers and college-student volunteer tutors worked together. Attributes the project's enormous success to combining the whole-language approach with oral history and the writing process, resulting in…

The New York Public Library Centers for Reading and Writing developed a Saturday writing class for adult literacy students. The class design also provided an opportunity to train volunteers and professional teachers in this model of writing instruction. One project goal was to formulate suggestions for others setting up such courses, which follow.…

This journal provides a forum for adult educators to express their ideas on adult literacy. The following articles are included: "Teaching Moments: Teaching People, Not Lessons" (Patricia Wild); "Whole Language: Implications for the Adult Learner" (Jeri Gillin); "Gatekeepers or Advocates?" (Rosie Wickert); "Writing with Teen Mothers: I Have…

A family literacy demonstration project was conducted to offer family literacy classes in three public schools in Philadelphia. Instruction was offered for 2.5 hours per day 4 days per week for parents of kindergartners and first graders from January to June and for parents and children together in July. The project was designed to help adults…

This paper describes Project FORWARD, funded by the Texas Education Agency to develop a life skills curriculum for JOBS (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills) participants. The Project FORWARD curriculum is designed to promote individual self-worth and independence so that participants can achieve self-sufficiency and eliminate dependency on…

This final performance report for Project VIA (Volunteers In Action), a collaborative program between the El Paso Public Library and El Paso Community College (EPCC), begins with a section that provides quantitative data. The next section compares actual accomplishments to the following project goals for 1992-93: (1) to recruit and train 140…

The Monroe County Library (Union, West Virginia) and Peterstown Public Library (West Virginia) conducted a project that involved recruitment, retention, coalition building, public awareness, training, rural oriented, basic literacy, collection development, tutoring, computer-assisted, and intergenerational/family programs. The project served a…