Adults who want a fulfilling hobby or who seek to serve their community can become adult literacy tutors. The only requirements are a high school diploma and some sensitivity and patience. Training for the tutor is provided free of charge, along with access to a large library of study materials written especially for the adult beginning reader.
Training for the Tutor
Training takes place weekly for at least four weeks at a public location. Volunteers are provided with materials and encouraged to create their own games and study materials if they wish, but every city or county Literacy Council has a good selection of books, games and supplies for various adult reading levels from the complete beginner to advancing adult readers who can read but want to improve their skills.
The Adult Student
Each adult student is matched with a volunteer tutor, and the pair will meet weekly for about an hour in a public location such as a library. Tutors and students are matched based on many parameters, the first being skill level; some tutors are just more comfortable teaching beginning readers, for example. Services provided to the student will be confidential and free of charge. There is also an English as a Second Language Program available in many locations, with tutors who are trained to do this kind of work.
Adult Personalities
There are significant differences in the way adults teach adults compared to the way adults teach children. It is important to keep in mind that adults who cannot read or who are challenged in reading tend to be embarrassed about their perceived lack of skill. They try to hide the fact that reading is difficult for them. They may not wish to be seen in public with a tutor.
Many libraries and other public buildings have small rooms offering some privacy which can be scheduled for weekly use. In most cases the doors have small windows in them so that the teacher need not feel uncomfortable in the room with a person of the opposite sex. Many churches and other public buildings offer small classrooms for similar uses. The important thing is to make the adult student feel comfortable.
Keep Students Interested and Motivated
Many adults with reading limitations remember bad experiences from their school days. They might associate reading with boredom or ridicule. The Literacy Council provides books and study materials that use easy words but keep the subject matter on an adult level. Instead of reading about Dick and Jane going out to play with Spot, the subject matter might be about John and his neighbors Dwayne and Robert taking a hunting trip together, and having an adventure in the wilds.
One tutor was able to keep his adult student motivated by discovering that the student loved the sport of baseball, then finding a way to incorporate the game of baseball into the lesson plans. Both teacher and student shared an appreciation for a local baseball team, and admired the same star player. The tutor researched and found an easy-to-read chapter book that was a simplified biography of this star player, and at the end of every lesson, teacher and student would read one chapter together. A cardboard baseball game was also created and used to practice the spelling of words.
With sensitivity to the student's needs and feelings, some patience, and a little creativity, any volunteer tutor can encourage their student to stick with it and improve their reading skill. The feeling of self-worth gained by the student will be even greater than the feeling of self-worth that comes to the tutor! Often the student's improvement in reading carries over to their entire family as he or she becomes better able to help the children with schoolwork, or the spouse with the work of managing the home and family.
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