Section 2. 4: Meet Some Literacy Learners

 

Let's meet three fairly typical learners. A summary of the general information usually collected in an initial meeting is given below for each learner. This is followed by a discussion of what factors would be important to consider in planning suitable teaching and learning activities for that individual student. 

 

Alvina

 

Although Alvina's brothers and sisters went to school, she was kept home to help with the household chores. She left her rural home when she was about 18 and worked as a live-in housekeeper for a city family. Since marrying she has helped to manage the family business. She is a mother and a grandmother. She has four children and five grandchildren. The youngest grandchild is a two-year-old girl and is the apple of her grandmother's eye.

 

Now that her children are grown, Alvina would like to learn to read and write.  She doesn't have a specific reason for wanting to learn to read and write, except that she wants to be like everyone else. She wants to be able to write her own story some day.

 

At the start of tutoring, Alvina recognized most of the letters of the alphabet and knew some of the sounds. She also recognized some words on sight. She could use consonant letters to spell words when they were dictated and could sign her name. She knew how to alphabetize as she kept track of files in the family business alphabetically.

 

Alvina did not go to school, so the best place to start with her is at the beginning and help her to build a solid foundation of skills/knowledge. In addition, she will likely need some help in learning how to learn; that is, study habits, organizing her learning time and materials, etc. Alvina doesn't have a specific goal to work toward other than a general desire to read and write better. Thus, she falls into the general stream.

 

She obviously is very interested in family and children, so activities centred around her grandchildren (e.g., reading stories to them, writing stories for them, etc) and/or the family business would likely be interesting and motivating for her.  The fact that Alvina has worked all of her life and raised four children speaks to a wealth of experiences to tap into, as well her ability to persevere and take responsibility for her learning.

 

Raymond

 

Raymond was about 15 when he left school, but before then he hadn't been going regularly. His parents' separation around that time was difficult for him. Raymond worked in construction until he had a disabling accident on the job. He wants to learn to read and write so he can go on to adult high school. His long-term goal is to find employment in an office environment because of his disability.

 

When his tutor writes down a story that Raymond dictates, he can read it back with little trouble. It is harder for him to read other stories, but he can manage if the topic is familiar. He uses the context to predict words, but he has difficulty using letter cues. Often he can predict words in passages, but not recognize them by themselves. At first he was nervous about writing or spelling, but with encouragement he started to spell words the way they sounded, and then to spell from memory of how they looked.  Raymond is sociable and is interested in the news. He likes the outdoors and animals.

 

In that Raymond did attend school until he was 15, he likely has fairly good foundational skills/knowledge to build on. This is evidenced by the fact that he can read fairly well if there is context provided for the words, and is willing and able to try things he is not strong in. The fact that Raymond is willing to try and is sociable indicates that there is likely less of a barrier in terms of self-confidence and shyness about his literacy skills to overcome. Raymond has a specific goal in mind in terms of upgrading his literacy skills; that is, to go on to adult high school and achieve his Grade 12. Thus, goal setting and activity planning will be fairly straightforward. He also has a number of interests (i.e., current events, the outdoors, animals) that could also be used as themes around which to build learning activities.

 

Raymond reads fairly well although he depends heavily on context to figure out words that are unknown. Thus, he will need some additional strategies for decoding unknown words. In terms of writing and spelling, Raymond will try new approaches so as his tutor you will need to continue to be encouraging.

 

Carl

 

Carl was suspended for the last two weeks of school when he was about 13. He found a job up north and has been working ever since. He's worked in mining and construction and has run his own businesses. More recently he fixed and sold used appliances. Carl is not quite sure what his specific long-term goal is in terms of improving his literacy skills. For now he just wants to improve generally, thus he falls into the general stream. Like many students, however, once he gets involved in learning he may switch to wanting to prepare for attending adult school or undertaking his GED.

 

Carl says he can read just about anything he has to if he can take his time. He uses his background knowledge to figure out a word from context, but he doesn't know other strategies for identifying words that he can't figure out that way. Even when Carl has trouble with words, he can read something and remember most of what it is about. Carl says that spelling is a real problem. When asked to spell a word, he tries to remember what it looks like and you can see him try to envision the word in his head. If he can't remember the word, he doesn't try to spell it. When encouraged to spell words the way they sound, Carl can do so. However, he has a hard time telling the difference between sounds. Because of his difficulty with spelling, Carl avoids writing. Carl tells a good story and is happy to share tips about fixing washing machines. He likes to keep up on the news, which he watches on TV. He also looks through the newspaper most days.

 

Carl may have some negative memories of school that you will need to be sensitive to as his tutor. In that he left at age 13, he likely has fairly good foundational skills/knowledge, although he may need some help in developing learning strategies and habits (e.g., setting some time aside in his day to practice reading/writing and do homework). The fact that Carl has worked his entire life and even managed his own businesses points to a good level of motivation, self-directedness, and the ability to persevere, all characteristics which will serve him well in the learning environment.

 

Carl reads the newspaper most days and this is a good habit to build on since in many homes with low literacy, there is little reading material available. Current affairs are obviously interesting to him, so this may be a theme around which to build many of his learning activities. In terms of spelling, Carl would benefit greatly from reviewing the sounds that consonants and vowels make, and learning some alternate spelling strategies

 

Now that we have met a few typical learners, just how do we go about working with them?  While these first two modules have painted the 'big picture' about literacy and discussed adult education theory, it is time to move on to some specifics. In the next two modules we will examine the process and content of adult literacy teaching and learning.

 

Resources:

 

·       Learners Advisory Network - www.literacy.ca

·       Book of Changes: Adult Learners Stories – www.literacy.ca

·       What Adult Learners Would Like YOU To Know  - www.literacy.ca

·       Learners In Action - www.literacy.ca

·       Manitoba Adult Literacy Learners’ Testimonials – www.mb.literacy.ca

·       NALD’s collection of Learner Writings here

·       Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education (US organization) www.literacynet.org

 

 

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(Page updated June 2002)