According to a 2003 study by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 30 million adults living in the U.S. were not able to read and write well enough to complete basic tasks like filling out job applications [U.S. Department of Education Institute of Educational Progress]. People who learned to read early and easily find it hard to imagine what life would be like without being able to read and write.
Non-Readers Embarrassed
Differences in the way they process information, poor teaching, or other unusual circumstances have prevented these adults from learning to read. They are often embarrassed by their inability to read, and sometimes hide their disability by having a trusted friend or relative read for them.
Adult non-readers may have someone else complete job applications and write letters for them. They limit their opportunities by avoiding situations that would reveal their problem, and sometimes pretend they can read to avoid embarrassment.
Since literacy is highly valued in modern society, and almost everything that people do requires at least a functional level of reading ability, non-readers are limited as to what they can accomplish. Literacy programs offer help for children and adults who are having trouble reading, but one obstacle stands in their way of their success – their embarrassment over their inability to read and their inability to admit the extent of the problem.
It is hard for a teacher, tutor, friend or relative to help if the person cannot bring himself or herself to admit to the problem. The teacher must know where to start with the non-reader. He needs to know whether the reader can call words, and whether the student is able to understand what he or she has read. Once the person is able to acknowledge the problem, ask for help, and communicate his or her needs clearly, the chances for success are much greater.
Techniques for Helping Adult Non-Readers
Family members and friends can help by being supportive and encouraging. Reading sessions need to be structured so that they are not threatening, and the activities should be meaningful.
The tutor and adult or child learner could start by reading directions on recipes and cooking, or they might read the instructions for gardening or other household projects.
A simple technique can help non-readers. The non-reader tells the story of an event or personal experience, and the tutor records the story exactly as it is told. The story can be recorded on regular paper for an adult, or on large paper with a crayon or marker for a child. If a word processor is available, the story could be entered and printed.
The tutor reads the story out loud. Then the tutor and learner read it together many times until the learner feels confident enough to read it alone. By now the learner has memorized the story, but she has probably also learned at least a few of the words by sight, noticed some similarities and differences in words, and gained some confidence in her ability to read.
Now the paper that the story is written on can be cut into sentences and the learner can rebuild the story by placing the sentences in the correct sequence.
The stories are meaningful to the learner because they are his own experiences written in his own language. He is familiar with the words. The tutor can use the stories to teach phonics, pointing out and asking the learner to point out patterns and similarities and differences in the words and sounds.
New Opportunities for Non-Readers
One of the most important things that friends and family can do is to help the non-reader acknowledge the problem in a supportive way. Admitting to the problem and seeking help without embarrassment is the first step toward achieving literacy.Families and friends can encourage the adult non-reader to enroll in a literacy program, and they can use some of the activities outlined above. Learning to read can lead to a world of new opportunities for anyone willing to seek help.
