Argues that a successful adult basic education program should recognize the differences between younger students and adults, provide a setting in which adults' dignity is not threatened, carefully diagnose each adult's needs, and prescribe and implement a program to meet those needs. (FL)

This article proposes a four-component framework for understanding the literacy of individuals with visual impairments, and defines two levels of literacy--basic (or academic) and functional (or practical) literacy. Implications are drawn for development of self-advocacy skills, development of standards for judging literacy in this population, and…

The article provides a task analysis and procedures for teaching reading skills to nine trainable mentally handicapped students with the use of the TV Guide. (PHR)

Adult basic education and English as a second language teachers, as well as volunteer tutors, can help new refugees acquire functional English through the use of a survival kit. The Literacy Volunteers of America's guide to teaching conversational English recommends these items for a survival kit: a written copy of student's name, address, and…

English as a second language (ESL) teachers find the newspaper a terrific source for easy-to-prepare reusable materials. Travel ads with coupons from the travel section can be cut out for beginning level students to complete and mail in envelopes they address. Students can find places on maps. In addition, intermediate and advanced students can…

Discusses past work toward eliminating illiteracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Suggests planning future strategy with evaluation of what has been done based on reliable information and an effective political will. Urges concentration on quality teaching, planning, integral strategy, and a new political will. Argues that literacy training…

Documents produced for three separate conferences that were convened to discuss the aims and methods of English instruction in the past century demonstrate the pedagogical shift from a "formal" concept of literacy to a more functional one. An 1896 conference at Harvard University reviewed secondary school and college English instruction during the…

Describes three instructional approaches in adult basic education: a class in which retired coal miners recorded their experiences in early coal mining camps; a telephone-based instructional system using "Teleteacher" specially designed and built machines; and an approach to ABE in New York emphasizing adult functional literacy, Project…

This document describes literacy models for urban and rural populations in Mexico. It contains four sections. The first two sections (generalizations about the population and considerations about the teaching of adults) discuss the environment that creates illiterate adults and also describe some of the conditions under which learning takes place…

This guide is designed to provide secondary teachers and administrators with the information necessary to adapt or develop a functional curriculum for children and youth who display academic difficulties. (A functional curriculum teaches functional skills in the most appropriate setting for specific skill acquisition.) It provides suggestions of…

Any discussion of English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy should address three critical areas: who the learners are, what is to be taught, and how the literacy skills are to be taught. Three distinct groups of students can be classified as "non-literate" in their own language: pre-literates, illiterates, and semi-literates. Two approaches are…

This document, intended for Literacy Volunteers of America tutors, explains how to carry out collaborative small group tutoring. Chapter 1 explains the benefits of small group tutoring and collaborative learning. Chapter 2 tells what factors to consider when forming a small group (e.g., whether there is a desire to be in a small group, the…

This monograph presents a collection of methods, materials, and techniques for assessing and teaching students with mild to moderate mental retardation to become successfully literate. Part 1 offers a foundation for literacy instruction and considers whether students with mental retardation can learn to read and write, the existence of multiple…

This manual is part of a Mexican series of instructional materials designed for Spanish speaking adults who are in the process of becoming literate or have recently become literate in their native language. The manual is an instructor's guide to teaching carpentry to adult students with little or no formal education. The goal of the course is to…

This resource guide contains guidelines and information (much of which is specific to Florida) on organizing and implementing literacy programs to reach and teach functionally illiterate older adults. Section 1 presents a profile of illiterate older adults and guidelines for linking existing programs and services and lists organizations involved…