Contemporary studies of literacy can be divided into two sorts: those approaches which treat it as a psychological phenomenon and those which treat it as a social practice. This practice view of literacy can be sketched out by reporting the continuation and changing focus of a study conducted on adult learners' perceptions of literacy and…

The message about general literacy standards in Canada (as reported in the Southam Literacy Survey) is that approximately five million Canadians are illiterate. The validity of this message must be challenged because a group of middle-class Canadians with middle-class values established the criteria for being "literate" and felt that all…

As the nation has become aware of the scope of adult illiteracy and its tremendous cost, literacy programs have proliferated. New populations of language minority adults are becoming eligible for and involved in an increasing number of these programs. They include, among others, refugees whose training is no longer funded by the Office of Refugee…

Literacy should be viewed as a continuum of undereducation, stretching from those who cannot read and write at all at the low end to those who have less than a high school education at the high end. People at different points have different needs, which may differ greatly from those current literacy programs try to meet. The track record of…

A collection of reports on literacy and literacy issues includes a variety of perspectives and descriptions of diverse programs and is divided into three sections. The first examines broad questions of literacy: "On the Study of Literacy" (David Bendor-Samuel); "Linguistics and Literacy" (Gloria Kindell); and "Literacy in…

This booklet is designed to sensitize volunteer literacy tutors to the special needs and interests of illiterate older learners. It also gives useful tips for creating successful and self-rewarding learning experiences. The first section on the world of older adults with literacy problems describes some of the characteristics of this group. In the…

Designed for use with the Computer Assisted Literacy in Libraries (CALL) program (a tutoring program for adult literacy), this curriculum guide suggests resources to use with lessons in the "Laubach Way to Reading" series, a format advocated by the CALL program. After an introduction and a section of definitions and suggestions for using…

This document begins with an overview of trends and issues in the area of adult literacy. This overview briefly addresses: the number of adult illiterates, the costs of adult illiteracy, adult illiteracy as a barrier to increasing U.S. competitiveness, efforts that have focused on adult illiteracy, the issues that have surfaced, and…

This issue contains those materials from a seminar on "Campaigning for Literacy" held at Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, on January 4-11, 1982, that concentrate on Asian experience. The "Udaipur Literacy Declaration," presented first, is followed by extracts from the opening addresses and a review of the report, "Campaigning…

Literacy and illiteracy are cultural; the need to read, to write, and to compute comes from values placed on these functions by the cultural or social group in which one lives. They are also intergenerational. This intergenerational factor should be turned around so that parents transmit literacy to children. Illiteracy is also costly to society…

Author reported on one group's reaction to the BBC adult literacy pilot programme. (Editor/RK)

The interim report outlines the evaluation of the program, defines functional literacy, and discusses the effectiveness of functional literacy work, costs, and conclusions. The most successful results were from programs that promoted effective literacy, introduced vocational and job skill training, encouraged logical thinking, and utilized…

Acknowledging that while it is difficult to suggest specific instructional strategies for accommodating differing adult beginning readers' (ABR) psychosocial behavior, this paper offers appropriate instructional principles based on the educational and social needs of the ABR. The principles presented are as follows: (1) teachers should help adults…

Society expects certain levels of literacy from its citizens. In addition, individuals have expectations for their own levels of literacy. In defining functional literacy, there is considerable disagreement over what can be expected of consumers, employees, and taxpayers. Empirical studies in Sweden attempting to establish criteria of functional…

THE INITIAL PHASE IS TO SEEK THE SYNTACTIC PATTERNS MOST COMMONLY USED IN THE SUBJECTS' VERBAL COMMUNICATION. THESE COMMON PATTERNS ARE REFERRED TO AS STRUCTURAL VOCABULARY. ONCE LEARNED, THESE WORDS PROVIDE SYNTACTIC SUPPORT TO AID THE STUDENT IN THE RECOGNITION OF OTHER WORDS WITHIN SENTENCE ORDER. ADULTS NEED IMMEDIATE CONFIRMATION OF THEIR…