Developing Adult Literacies

DEVELOPING ADULT LITERACIES
GAIL WEINSTEIN
Report by:
Melecia Megan Castillo | Josephine Andon
LL 207 Teaching Lang. I: Approaches to Teaching of Reading
FUNCTIONAL LITERACY RATE IN THE PHILIPPINES IS ESTIMATED
AT 91.6 PERCENT IN 2019 (FUNCTIONAL LITERACY, EDUCATION AND
MASS MEDIA SURVEY (FLEMMS)
Based on a report by United

Nations, the Philippines has the
highest literacy rate at 97.95
percent among Southeast Asian
countries such as Singapore,
Brunei and Indonesia. The literacy
rate is 98.9 percent among females
and 97 percent among males aged
15-24. (Source: PhilStar.com / dated 27 Sep 2019)
SOCORRO TINAJERO PAO JOUA LO MICHELA STONE
 Born in Mexico and raising her  Retired soldier and a war hero in his  Accountant at a community center
children in the “borderlands” own community. serving immigrants from her native
between Mexico and United States  He fled the hills of Laos in the throes Byelorussia, as well as from Ukraine
 Energetic and efficient woman of the wars of Southeast Asia among and Lithuania
 Works long hours in the family with the other 70,000 Hmong  She teaches Russian on the side, both
restaurant refugees who resettled in the United for some extra money and also for
 She wants to develop the language States in 1970. the chance to interact with
and literacy she needs to be able to  He attended classes at the local Americans.
intervene more successfully with her community college in Philadelphia  She likes soap operas and reads
children’s teachers. People magazine. She figures she can
start conversations with American
friends and practice her English.
 Although she has little time to study
between her job and caring for her
aging father, Michela hopes to
prepare for American citizenship.
• Profiles
- Also known as ethnographic studies
- About learners, their resources, their needs and
their goals for learning English.
- To understand the possibilities for language and
literacy instruction
• English as a Second Language (ESL) Literacy

1. Nonliterate
2. Preliterate
3. Biliterate
1. Prose literacy – understanding texts such as news stories, poems,

etc.
2. Document literacy – locating and using information found in
documents like job applications, transportation schedules, etc.’
3. Quantitative literacy – applying arithmetic operations using
numbers found in printed materials like order forms, etc.
Four themes or purposes for Language and Literacy Learning

emerged:
1. Access – to information so adults can orient themselves in the
world;
2. Voice – to be able to express ideas and opinions with the confidence
they will be heard and taken into account;
Four themes or purposes for Language and Literacy Learning

emerged:
3. Independent Action – to be able to solve problems and make decisions
on one’s own, acting independently without having to rely on others;
4. Bridge to the Future – learning how to learn so adults can keep up with
the world as it changes.
Family Literacy Program Goals and Models
1. School personnel have an obligation to understand and better
respond to parents and families
2. To foster a love of reading among both adults and children
3. To provide literacy to support adults in addressing family concerns
4. To reconnect the generations in positive ways
Goals of Pre-employment and Workplace Programs

1. To get a job
2. To survive on a job
3. To thrive on a job (and have job mobility)
Issues and Agendas in Literacy for Workers: Workplace or

Workforce Education?
* workplace education
* workforce education
Civic ESL/Literacy Education

 “settlement houses”
 Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
Goals of Civic ESL/Literacy Education

1. to assist learners in preparing to take the naturalization exam
2. to encourage learners who have been
3. focus broadly on many civic participation
Setting Goals, Monitoring progress
1. General assessments – those that allow comparison across programs
Advantages:
 Have construct validity and scoring reliability
 Are cost effective and relatively easy to administer
 Are accepted by funders for program accountability
 Allow for comparisons of learner progress within and across programs
1. General assessments – those that allow comparison across programs
Disadvantages:
 Don’t reflect what has been taught, or capture what has been learned
 Don’t capture changes in language use and literacy practices beyond the
classroom
 Don’t discriminate well at the lower end of literacy achievement
 May be inappropriately used for “gatekeeping” purposes, especially in the
workplace.
2. Program-based assessments – reflect the approach of the program and the content of the
curriculum.
Advantages:
 Reflect a program’s underlying philosophy of instruction
 Are learner centered, reflecting strengths and goals of individual learners
 Are done “with” not “to” learner, who participate in setting goals, discussing interests and
reflecting on their accomplishments
 Involve a variety of tools, giving a more complete picture of each learner and his or her needs
and progress.
Promising Directions in Adult ESL Literacy Instruction
1. Take an Inquiring Stance
2. Balance Skills and Structures with Meaning-Making and Knowledge Creation
3. Develop “Vision-Making” Muscles
4. Demand Mutual Accountability
5. Create Communities of Learners and Communities of Teachers
“
”
- RALPH BROWN
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. ANY QUESTIONS?

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DEVELOPING ADULT LITERACIES

Based on a report by United

• English as a Second Language (ESL) Literacy

1. Prose literacy – understanding texts such as news stories, poems,

Four themes or purposes for Language and Literacy Learning

Four themes or purposes for Language and Literacy Learning

Goals of Pre-employment and Workplace Programs

Issues and Agendas in Literacy for Workers: Workplace or

Civic ESL/Literacy Education

Goals of Civic ESL/Literacy Education

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. ANY QUESTIONS?

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