Increasingly, educators understand that learners represent a complex array of personal experiences, values, and intentions that can inform curriculum development and classroom instruction. This is particularly true of the diverse population in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and family ESL literacy programs. Educators respect and honor their…

This publication summarizes reports from a workshop to share the experience of UNESCO's literacy program and to learn about other effective experiences in literacy available in the region. The opening of the workshop and election of officers is reported. Summaries of the following reports are given: (1) the role of learning centers to achieve…

This set of learning modules was developed during a project to deliver workplace literacy instruction to individuals employed in the more than 50 businesses related to the activities of the Port of Baltimore. It is intended to accomplish the following objectives: familiarize students with basic concepts of geography; give students knowledge of…

This publication lists 91 trade books that a group of adult literacy professionals have read and recommended for use in adult literacy programs. An introductory section explains the process used to decide upon recommended books, provides a key for the symbols that describe each book, and makes some general suggestions for the ways books from the…

Problem posing is a tool for developing and strengthening critical thinking skills. Freire expanded on the idea of active, participatory education through problem-posing dialogue, a method that transforms the students into critical coinvestigators in dialogue with the teacher. Problem posing begins by listening for students' issues. Teachers…

Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) affiliates were surveyed regarding standardized and informal assessment devices they currently used and their frequency of use and effectiveness. A literature review focused on assessment tools and their limitations. The survey was sent to 39 LVA affiliates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and…

This document is a report of a panel discussion on literacy conducted at an adult education conference in Quebec (Canada). Panelists included Leona Grise, Brenda Lee, and Nicole Snaauw; Ann M. Gauvin was the moderator. The discussion centered on student recruitment, the dropout factor, and alternate methods of learning for individuals lacking…

The purpose of the project reported here was to develop a model of strategies to facilitate parental access to schools and educational services and to increase parental understanding of school district procedures and practices. Other objectives of the project were as follows: improve participating parents' communication skills and self-confidence;…

A workshop for adult literacy tutors and learners was developed on the basis of the findings of a telephone survey of 45 tutors and presented to a total of 51 tutors and 48 students. The workshop, which was based on an experiential whole-language approach, was structured in a series of three 2-hour sessions. During the first session, tutors and…

In Bihar, India, the number of illiterate people has increased during the last 5 decades despite the rise in the percentage of literacy. Reasons are lack of encouragement by the upper classes for education of the masses, lack of unity among lower classes to demand education as a matter of right, and a low base of development. The Mass Literacy…

This report consists of papers given at, relating to, and produced by an international seminar that emphasized sharing practical experience and analyzing conditions necessary to set up and sustain a literacy program. The first section provides an "Introduction" (James Porter) and "Background to the Seminar" (Alan Rogers).…

This publication contains the success stories of 10 outstanding men and women who have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become contributing citizens of Pennsylvania. These stories describe how, through their participation in Pennsylvania's adult basic education and literacy programs, they were aided in their successful struggles to…

A workplace literacy demonstration project involving a hospital and a manufacturing company in New York City was conducted between May 1992 and June 1993. Two classes in the spring and fall were conducted. A total of 41 hospital personnel and 30 manufacturing company employees began the training, and 25 hospital employees and 27 manufacturing…

As the technology of the workplace changes, U.S. workers are called upon to have increasingly high workplace literacy skills in order to remain competitive. These skills encompass more than academic skills of reading and arithmetic; they involve complex applications of reasoning and problem-solving skills. In order to meet the need for workers…

A study evaluated different approaches to placing students in adult literacy classes using 168 adult basic education (ABE) and General Educational Development (GED) students. Students in classes at Rochambeau School in White Plains, New York, were given the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE), the Tests of Adult Literacy Skills (TALS), an oral…