Intermediate decoding refers to word analysis skills that are beyond a beginning, one-syllable level as described in an earlier NetNews issue, yet are just as important for building adult level reading proficiency. Research from secondary settings indicates that struggling readers in middle school or high school programs often read between the 2.5 and 5.0 grade level. They have achieved the beginning reading skills of phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, decoding of one-syllable words, and high frequency sight words, but their major difficulty is decoding multi-syllabic words. Consequently, they are unable to decode new vocabulary introduced at the beginning of a passage or chapter or embedded in the text. Their fluency and comprehension are compromised because they cannot read so many of the words. They struggle with secondary coursework, are more likely to drop out of school, are less able to obtain employment that leads to self-sufficiency, and often develop social/emotional challenges. Fortunately, a number of studies have demonstrated that it is not too late for these learners to be taught how to read multi-syllabic words and improve their overall reading proficiency. The current research supports a shift from strict syllable rules to a flexible strategy of finding decodable chunks that when pronounced together match words from oral vocabulary. This document describes three decoding strategies for multi-syllable words for instructors to share with adult learners.