I found today's class handouts to be very interesting. My group looked at a teaching guide for tutors that work with illiterate adults. Surprisingly adults were taught to write in the exact same way as children (by copying letters until their fingers hurt). However, the approach to teaching adults was quite different. The tutors would have the adult students write in a journal, but the tutors would also keep a journal. Every week the student and the tutor would exchange journals so they could read each others ideas. I believe this was done to set the adult student and the tutor as equals so as not to demean the adult. It was also mentioned that spelling was not corrected in the journals unless the adult wanted to specifically concentrate on spelling. It was surprising to me that spelling was so downplayed because I didn't understand how one could learn to read and write without being taught proper spelling. I then talked to a friend of mine that teaches children how to read and she said that the first aspect she teaches is proper letter formation, followed by conveying ones ideas in a practical way, and proper spelling was taught last, otherwise the children became overwhelmed and irritable. I could imagine adults getting irritable as well since it must be harder to learn writing as an adult than as a child.
As far as Knoblach's definitions of literacy my group's piece highlighted functional literacy and literacy for personal growth. If an adult is illiterate they are most probably trying to learn how to read and write in hopes of better functioning in society ie: writing a grocery list, reading directions, filling out a job application, and other everyday necessities. Literacy for personal growth is also a main factor in why illiterate adults would attempt to learn reading and writing. Perhaps to better themselves in their occupations, to teach their children, or simply to gain a sense of personal satisfaction.
We also tried to look at our article from the point of view of an illiterate adult to see if the tutors teaching methods would actually be helpful in teaching an adult how to read and write. Since we were all taught reading and writing in the standard American way we could not think of any alternatives to teaching adults. We could only think of the way we were taught as children. According to this teaching guide this method is still being used to teach adults, but is done so in such a way that equates them with their teachers so as not to demean them.
I found the article quite interesting and look foward to discussing it in next week's class.
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The concept of literacy for personal growth undoubtedly applies to adult literacy much more than child literacy in my opinion. Adults have more of a concept of self and self identity and tend to want to make themselves the best "them" they can be. I too look forward to hearing about your readings in next weeks class. Seeing as i have an acquaintance who would fall under that category, i would be interested to see what the literature on it says.
ReplyDeleteI also found the Thursday's handouts extremely interesting. At first it does seem weird that spelling is not concentrated on. But I guess it sort of makes sense. The most important thing about reading and writing is comprehension, the ability to convey a message. As long as spelling isn't completely atrocious someone could probably figure out what a person was trying to say even if there were mistakes. I just never really thought of that before, because it is hard to remember learning to read.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I also look foward to hearing more about the subject in class.
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ReplyDeleteBeing part of the same group with Sheila, I also found the article very interesting. As college students, it may be difficult to place ourselves in the place of other adults attempting to communicate using the written word for the first time through formal education. One thing that needs to be pointed out here is that being adults, I am certain that these students found a way to function in their everyday life. I find it difficult to believe that they were not able to compile grocery lists, write a check, apply for a job, etc. What it boils down to is they found a way to be functional in their lives, and what these adult literacy courses allow them to do is expand their horizons and attempt to excel beyond their means by redefining their literacy.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting technique to use when tutoring adults. I tutor adults myself, but I work with ESL students and the organization I volunteer for have tutors use lesson plan books. Recently, I've been assigned a new student that can speak the English language pretty well but can't read or write. It's definitely a challenge to teach someone these things and try to come up with a practical way of doing it without making them feel inferior or unintelligent. To be honest, I've thought of bringing in workbooks that are used to teach elementary students how to write using the technique of copying the same letter over and over again.
ReplyDeleteAs Ghyath also noted, it is hard for me to believe that an adult could manage without the ability to read and/or write. Both skills seem so necessary. I also never would have thought of the problem of discouraging adult students by implying inferiority, but I can understand how it would be an impressive obstacle to overcome. These two things are related I imagine. If the teacher cannot grasp how the student could function, it would be hard for the teacher not to demean the student. And if the student feels that illiteracy hasn't prevented him/her from functioning so far, he/she may be sensitive to any innuendo from the teacher that would belie a lack of mutual respect.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most profound things about illiterate adults learning to read and write is the fact that you stated, that it is their own impetus to endeavor to learn these skills. It has not been put upon them, they chose to enroll and attend class. Unlike child students, these students are probably more eager to learn, and recognize that these skills really are necessary for life. Although they may have developed other ways to get by without these skills, their recognition of their own deficiency is what has driven them to attend class. This is the ultimate example of recognized functional literacy.
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