Welcome to the
Literacy in Life Training
An Introduction to Teaching Adult Learners
Tacoma
Community
House is an
organization that began
in Tacoma in 1910 as a
settlement house to
welcome newcomers to
Tacoma.
TCH offers:
 Adult education
 Employment
assistance
 Immigration services
 Trainings (like this
one– through
Literacy NOW)
Literacy NOW
is a division of
Tacoma Community
House.
Literacy NOW
provides a variety
of workshops:
 For ESL Tutors
 For Literacy Tutors
 Intercultural
Communication for the
Workplace or Library
The workshops are
funded by:
 Office of Refugee and
Immigrant Assistance
 Fees to individual
programs
 Tacoma Community House
Historical Perspectives on
Literacy
YEAR
Considered
Literate If…
1880’s
you could sign
your name
1930’s
you completed
the 4th grade
1960’s
you completed
the 8th grade
2000
???
In 1991, according to Congress, to
be literate was to have the
reading, writing and math skills
necessary to function effectively
as a worker, family member,
and community member.
Historically, literacy has been
measured based on possession
of a high school diploma.
According to the 2000 US Census,
571,000 WA adults do not have
a high diploma and are not
enrolled in school.
The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL) uses three different literacy
classifications:
1. Prose Literacy:
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The knowledge and skills needed to perform prose tasks, (i.e., to search,
comprehend, and use continuous texts).
Examples include editorials, news stories, brochures, and instructional
materials.
2. Document Literacy:
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The knowledge and skills needed to perform document tasks, (i.e., to
search, comprehend, and use non-continuous texts in various formats).
Examples include job applications, payroll forms, transportation
schedules, maps, tables, and drug or food labels.
3. Quantitative Literacy:
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The knowledge and skills required to perform quantitative tasks, (i.e., to
identify and perform computations, either alone or sequentially, using
numbers embedded in printed materials).
Examples include balancing a checkbook, figuring out a tip, completing
an order form or determining the amount.
Each type of literacy has four different
levels of proficiency:
 Below Basic:
 no more than the most simple and
concrete literacy skills
 Basic:
 can perform simple
and everyday literacy
activities
 Intermediate:
 can perform moderately
 challenging literacy activities
 Proficient:
 can perform complex and
challenging literacy activities
Warm-up Activity
 Draw a picture of a
living space, inside
or out. A place from
your past, or future.
 This activity contains
the key principles we
need to incorporate
when working with
adult learners:
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It is personal
It is meaningful
It is interactive
There is a concrete
hook
Adult Learners are
often treated as if
they are an empty
head full of scores.
But adults are more
complex than their
test scores. They
have multiple roles
to fulfill in and
outside the
classroom, and
multiple reasons for
choosing to be in
school.
GED
Traditional Approaches to Adult
Literacy
Who are my students?
Adult learners
fulfill multiple
roles and have
multiple
reasons for
being in school.
Adult learners
have three
intersecting
roles: as family
members,
workers, and
citizens.
Why become literate?
Adult students typically have four reasons for
improving their literacy:
1. Voice:
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To express ideas and opinions with the confidence that
they will be heard and understood
2. Access to information:
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To access information to orient themselves in the world
3. Independent action:
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To solve problems and make decisions independently
4. Bridge to the future:
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To reflect on their past learning experiences and apply
insights to the world as it changes
Adult Learners are NOT
the Same as children
Adult learners differ in many
ways from children. They
have more independence,
heterogeneity, responsibility,
life experience, time
constraint, and choice in being
a part of a classroom.
Materials must be adapted to
meet the practical and
immediate needs of adults
and teaching must respect the
maturity of students.
Adult Literacy
Standards
These are some
broad
descriptions that
identify what
adults need to
do to be
successful in
their roles and
purposes
Assessment
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System
 CASAS has been used by over 3 million adults.
The assessments provide descriptions of
adults' general job-related ability in reading,
mathematics, oral communication, and writing.
 Scores are on a numerical scale ranging from
150 to 250. For more information, see the
CASAS skills descriptors links below:
 Adult Basic Education Level Descriptors
 Writing Levels
 Speaking Levels
Learning Styles
 Auditory
 Learns through hearing and
talking
 Examples: listening to a
lecture
 Visual
 Learns through seeing,
watching, and reading
 Example: Watching the
lecturer write information on
the whiteboard
 Kinesthetic
 Learns best while moving
large muscles
 Example: fidgeting or jiggling
leg during a discussion
 Haptic
 Learns best while moving
small muscles
 Example: doodling while
listening to a lecture
 Tactile
 Learns best by processing
information in context
through touch
 Example: using braille to
read instead of trying to
visually process letters
 To create the most useful learning
environment, ask the learner:
 Do you like quiet or music when you read or
write?
 Do you like lots of light?
 Do you like dimmer lights?
 What kind of space do you need around
you?
Auditory Learning
Strategies
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Think aloud – Talk to yourself. Before beginning a project or study session state out
loud what you are going to do. You may want to write them down at the same time.
Write and state aloud goals for assignments. Restate out loud as often as needed.
Discuss ideas with a friend or small group. Quiz each other out loud, brainstorm out
loud, etcetera.
Say math problems and steps aloud. This will help you retrieve the steps from your
memory.
Ask to take oral quizzes, tests, and exams. Some subjects require learning to organize
your writing but, in other subjects or assignments, oral presentations are acceptable.
Memorize material by reciting it out loud over and over again.
Free write a rough draft of a paper. Write what you hear in your head or verbalize it
into a tape recorder. Make changes such as organization and grammar later when
ideas will be there.
Read class material aloud; by yourself, in a group, or with a partner.
Sit in the back or the side of the room.
Make your own tapes of important information from lectures or from readings.
Record the steps of math problems or formulas or say them out loud to study for tests.
Use mnemonics to memorize material. They can include rhymes, songs, or rhythms.
Make flashcards and read them aloud while making and practicing them.
Visual Learning Strategies
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Work in a well organized and quiet space.
Think on paper. Write down thoughts, ideas, questions, and steps to complete tasks.
Use visual organizers such as cluster maps to organize information and ideas.
Use spelling techniques that concentrate on the shape of the word by outlining it using color.
Keep paper and pencil handy to jot down ideas or thoughts about papers, tests, or projects.
Draw pictures or symbols for complex ideas or information; copy reading materials and take
notes on the page.
Highlight important information in one color and new vocabulary in another.
Make eye contact with speaker/presenter and ask questions or write down questions as they
occur to you.
Make charts, graphs, and tables out of data and statistical information.
Use flow charts or visual representations to remember steps to problems.
Make posters, videos, or presentation boards for reports when possible.
Use color to organize notebooks or 3-ring binders.
Preview reading by scanning pictures, tables, charts, and headings. Write down questions
next to the text.
Create your own flash cards using color and symbols to set apart from one another.
Sit in the front of a classroom away from doors and windows when possible.
Go over notes rewriting them in outline form and compare with a friend for important
information.
Make a list or keep a pocket calendar to track assignments and appointments. Mark them
complete.
Write down mnemonics such as “sapia”, a word created from the first letter of the oceans of
the world.
Kinesthetic Learning
Strategies
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Chew gum while in class or while studying.
Work at a tall table that allows you to stand or move around freely.
Play music in the background. Wear headphones if around others.
Connect physical movement to information to memorize; walk while reciting flashcards.
Take frequent short breaks while studying or change your position every 10 – 15 minutes.
Use a koosh or squeeze-it ball to keep your hands busy, or roll a tennis ball with your feet
to keep your body quietly moving during periods where you must remain seated.
When learning new information, make task cards, flashcards, card games or teach
someone else.
When memorizing new words, draw each letter in the air with your hand using large
muscles and large movements while saying the letters out loud.
Use interactive computer games to help with learning math facts.
When reading a chapter or short story, preview the material by scanning the cover, any
pictures or illustrations, and reading the table of contents or headings before reading.
Use multimedia to report on what you have learned when you can by creating videos,
posters, models, power point, photographs, and dramatic presentations.
Make large flashcards or charts of information to be remembered or understood.
Create raps or rhyming poems of new information and concepts.
Some of your students will
have learning disabilities
 1 in 5 adults in the US has a learning disability:
that’s about 1,333,640 in WA State alone
 30-80% of adult learners have learning
challenges that negatively impact their learning
 So, what do you know about learning
disabilities (INSERT What do you know PPT
here)
The Tutor’s Role
 To motivate
 To set up a welcoming
learning environment
 To set the tone for learning
 To monitor the learner’s
development
 To identify and use relevant
and purposeful materials
 To create timely learning
experiences connected to
what the learner is ready to
learn
Activities for the 1st Meeting
 Names:
 Exchange names with your student and ask questions
about their name: How did you get your name? Do you
have any nicknames? Where did they come from? What
do you like and not like about you name?
 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
 Student and tutor interview each other. What is one
thing you did in your past, one thing you are doing right
now, and one this you hope to do in the future?
 My Personal Shield
 Create a symbol to represent areas of your life. Draw a
round shield divided into four parts. In each part, make
a picture to represent: 1. The best time I ever had. 2. My
greatest accomplishment. 3. My most prized
possession. 4. Something I would like to happen.
Sources Cited
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems. Skill
Level Descriptors. 21 August 2009.
http://https://www.casas.org
Frequently Asked Questions. 28 July 2009. National Institute
for Literacy. 18 August 2009. http:
http://www.nifl.gov/about/faq.html
Literacy Network of Washington. What do you know?
National Center for Educational Statistics. National
Assessment of Adult Literacy. 2003. 21 August 2009.
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/
Schneider, Melody. Literacy in Life: A Handbook for Volunteer
Literacy Tutors. Washington: Literacy Network of
Washington, 1998.
Us Department of Education. 25th Annual Report to Congress
on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. 2003.