The first phase of a longitudinal study of the factors that encourage adults to enter and remain in adult literacy programs and the effects program participation has on their lives obtained information on students in a sample of 70 classes in 1988-89. The sample was stratified on literacy provider agency, whether the class was basic education (BE) or English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), program size, day or evening class time, and geographic location within Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Data collection involved interviews with 663 students at 38 adult literacy program sites and a mailed survey instrument completed by 25 program managers. The following were among the study's findings: (1) approximately 40 percent of the students had to wait an average of 3.5 months for instruction to begin once they made the commitment to attend but the waiting period did not affect the reported degree of satisfaction students felt after beginning their programs; (2) ESOL students were much more optimistic than BE students about the possibility of getting a promotion or new job after learning their new skills; (3) ESOL students, unlike the BE students, rarely reported leaving a previous program because they were discouraged or dissatisfied; and (4) a higher proportion of BE students than ESOL students seek academic credentials such as the General Educational Development certificate or a college diploma. (The document contains 52 tables and 6 figures as well as appendices documenting study methodology and sample size; an eight-item bibliography is also provided.) (CML)