Working with limited literacy
adult English language learners
Tacoma Community House Training Project
OV E RV IEW OF R ES EA RCH A N D WOR KS HOP
JE N NY F I E L D
Literature review
Some extensive work done by Burton, Peyton and Adams (2003). National Adult Literacy Survey
between 1989 and 1992 in USA
23% of the adult population studied measured at Level 1. They were able to perform simple routine
tasks involving brief and uncomplicated texts and documents
 27.3% measured at Level 2. They were generally able to locate information in texts and make low
level inferences using printed materials
Result: more than half of the population studied had low or limited English literacy skills, more
than half of those scoring at Levels 1 and 2 were immigrant adults
Dr John Bensemann (2012) New Zealand research - Critical insight
(in partnership with English Language Partners New Zealand and Ako Aotearoa).
36 adult refugee learners interviewed from classes which have less than 9 years formal
education.
He found that many refugee learners begin acquiring their English and other literacy skills at the
lowest level as they have no, or minimal, previous English and they often lack reading and
writing skills in their first language
Progress is usually slow and painstaking, requiring the tutor to:
 carefully scaffold skills,
 build on the small steps previously achieved
 constantly revise in order to consolidate the initial gains
Bensemann cont……
Making progress in language and literacy skills is developed through a balance of:

contextual learning to ensure personal relevance

motivational teaching of structural aspects ensure correct guidelines for English usage

patience, repetition, recycling.
What are the factors that influence L2 Literacy
development?

L1 literacy

Educational background

L2 language and literacy

Learner goals
When considering placement into programmes both the learner’s oral
proficiency and their L1 literacy background should be considered. Burton,
Peyton and Adams (2003)
 Learners literacy backgrounds may range from:
Preliterate, non literate, semi-literate, non-Roman alphabet literate, Roman
alphabet literate.
indigenous, African,
Australian, and Pacific
languages).
Learners had no access
to literacy instruction.
Learners had limited
access to literacy
instruction.
Learners are fully
literate in a language
written in a nonalphabetic
script such as
Preliterate
Chinese.
Learners are literate in
a language written in a
non-Roman alphabet
(e.g., Arabic, Greek,
Korean, Russian, Thai}.
Nonliterate Learners are fully
literate in a language
written in a Roman
alphabetic script (e.g.,
French, German,
Semiliterate Croatian, Spanish}.
They know to read
from left to right and
recognize letter shapes
and fonts.
Learners need exposure
Non-alphabet literate
to the purposes
and uses of literacy.
Learners may feel
stigmatized.
Learners may have had
negative experiences
Non-Roman alphabet
literate
with literacy learning.
Learners need instruction
in reading an
alphabetic script and
in the sound-syllable
correspondences of
Roman alphabet
literate
English.
Learners need instruction
in the Roman
alphabet in order to
Types of L1 Literacy and Effects on L2 Literacy
L1 Literacy
Learning
Explanation
Special Considerations
L1 had no written form (e.g. many
American indigenous, African, and
Pacific languages)
Learners need exposure to the
purposes and uses of literacy
Learners had no access to literacy
instruction
Learners may feel stigmatised
Learners had limited access to
literacy instruction
Learners may have had negative
experiences with literacy learning
Learners are fully literate in a
language written in a nonalphabetic script such as Chinese.
Learners need instruction in
reading an alphabetic script and in
the sound-syllable
correspondences of English
Learners are literate in a language
written in a non-Roman alphabet
(Arabic)
Learners need instruction in the
Roman alphabet in order to
transfer their L1 literacy skills to
English
Learners are fully literate in a
language written in a Roman script
(e.g French Croatian, Spanish etc.)
Learners need instruction in the
specific letter – to sound and
sound syllable correspondences of
English.
Walter Ong (1982)
 Fully
literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a
primary oral culture is like
Moving from a primary oral culture to a chirographic culture
changes the way we think
According to Ong (1982), in an oral culture
thought processes are:

additive rather than subordinative

aggregative rather than analytic

redundant or “copious”

oral thought is empathetic and participatory

agonistically toned

situational rather than abstract
Differences and similarities between literate and non-literate
learners
Literate learners
Non-Literate learners
Learn from print
Learn by doing and watching
Tend to be visually oriented
Tend to be aurally oriented
Make lists to remember
Repeat to remember
Spend years learning to read
Have limited time for learning to read
Know they can learn
Lack confidence in their learning ability
Learn best when content is relevant to their lives
Learn best when content is relevant to their lives
Can distinguish between important and less
important points
May accept all content as being of equal value
From What Non-Readers or Beginning Readers Need to Know, The Spring
Institute for Intercultural Learning 1999
Writing and print

has an existence of its own

establishes a distance between the writer, reader and the text itself

prompts us to get a sense of ourselves as situated in time

Field & Sellars (2008) “becoming literate for the first time as an adult
in another language is a mammoth task. It is much more than learning codes and
signs. Learners must adjust to new concepts of time, of interiorisation of thought,
of vocabulary and of space.
Ong (1982)
In your groups


Discuss some of Ong’s descriptions of people from
preliterate cultures
Have you experienced or observed some of these traits?
So what helps learners who present with limited literacy in
their L1?
Build from an oral platform. Learning to speak English is one of the first steps they can take to
get control of their lives.
 Building up simple communicative strategies gives confidence and builds a platform for
learning.
However they will meet complex situations where more than a few simple words are needed.
Teachers need to find a balance between unstructured conversation and controlled practice of
new language
Use meaningful hooks and plenty of practice, not just parroting
Oral drills
Croydon(2005) p1.
Controlled practice techniques
“Beginner students need a curriculum that builds grammatical structures and vocabulary and
gives then opportunity to practice these new language skills in a controlled environment p.5”
Build oral competency before introducing the written form of the language
Start from the students’ world
Picture stories
As these may be stories about events the past tense may be used here not in a formal way but as part of the
retelling of events.
Grids using pictures , symbols, single words or short known phrases.
Line up activities
I like these line up and circle activities as interaction occurs. However they shouldn’t be carried on for too long.
More activities that support learners
Dialogues and Role plays
Croyden
pp. 17 – 29
New structures can be practised through 4-6 line
dialogues .
Practice together first, then in pairs
A concrete springboard – naming things they
know, having an opportunity to discuss family
matters
Construct simple conversations with prompt
questions and invite them to say more.
Sorting and categorizing
Ordering and sequencing
Comparing
Matching
 Picture cards, magazine pictures
Realia
Drawing Maps
Brainstorming
Board Games bingo, alphabet
 Other games e.g cards, guessing games, picture
games.
Teaching Reading and Writing
“ An effective literacy programme provides the right balance between Meaning Based
approaches and Parts to Whole approaches. .. A reading programme should have opportunity for
students to apply literacy in a real way to meet their needs and well as time spent on bottom-up
processing where students learn how to sound out to constituent parts of a word” Croydon,p.47.
Meaning based Approaches
Learner build up their sight words, use target letter charts.
Teach phonics ( initial consonants) while you are teaching language
 Use worksheets, games, make your own target letter chart.
Language Experience Approach
Students have a shared experience then write about it together. This becomes a text.
The news. Start with informal chatting. Generate ideas with a sentence starter
On the weekend I ______________. I feel ____________ because ____________.
In groups
1. Complete the chart
2. Think about and match activities with those L1 groups which may
benefit particularly from this activity.
Managing a Multi-level literacy class.
“ Almost every English class could be called multi-level since students’ pace of learning, rate of
acculturation, style of learning and previous education experience vary a lot. Adjusting
groupings, modifying tasks, and providing individualised and self-access materials all help to
make a multi level class run more smoothly Croydon (2005)p.78.”
At Wintec there may be students from a variety of L1 backgrounds
 There are benefits in multilevel classes
Tip for worksheets Have four or five tasks on one sheet graded from easy – higher level of
difficulty. The more able student work through all activities whereas beginner literacy students
may complete one or two.
Planning and sequencing of activities will help make your
lessons successful. Ask yourself these questions as you plan.

Will this strategy/ material / activity allow students to respond at their own level. Will
they succeed?

Will the material allow each student to discover something new about the
language?

What language skills are being practised?

Are there visual and non-verbal clues built into the material?

What is the objective for each level of student in the lesson?
Bibliography
Benseman, J. (2012) Adult refugee learners with limited literacy: needs and effective responses
Burt, M., Peyton, J.K., Adams, R. (2003) Reading and Adult English Language Learners: A review of
the research. Washington, DC: Centre for Applied Linguistics
Croydon, A. (2005) Making It Real: Teaching Pre-literate Adult Refugee Students. Tacoma
Community Housing Training Project
Field, J., & Sellars, A. (2009) From remembering to reading: The mammoth task of beginning to
function in a literate world. TESOLANZ, Wellington, New Zealand
Ker, A., Adams, R., Skyrme, G. (2013) Research in applied linguistics and language teaching and
learning in New Zealand (2006–2010) Language Teaching, 46, pp 225-255
Ong, W. (1982) Orality and Literacy The Technologizing of the Word New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd
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