According to international literacy organization ProLiteracy Worldwide, the United Nations (UN) estimated a decade ago that there were over 860 million illiterate adults in the world. Over 570 million were women.

The UN definition of “illiteracy” is “the inability to read and write a simple message in any language”.

The situation has worsened and evidence that illiteracy has reached “epidemic” proportions globally, appears irrefutable. What is just as frightening is the research that illiteracy is a major contributor to poverty, national unemployment, child labor, trafficking in women and children, infant mortality, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and the deprivation and violation of basic human rights.

Every nation has an illiteracy problem ranging from being a major social issue to a plague-like situation that remains neither contained nor abated.

Illiteracy is linked to almost every socio-economic problem imaginable so it is understandable why educational leaders contend that the economic strength of a nation depends on the literacy level of its people.

While many associate “low-level illiteracy” mainly with low-skilled employment or poor or negative employability, the actual, daily, real-life consequences for individuals and the impact on their families and communities are much greater.

Low-level, literacy-skilled adults not only do poorly in the job market, they also suffer serious financial and social disadvantages. Most cannot effectively access the health care systems if they exist. The vast majority are often forced to live in sub-standard circumstances and lack the ability to manage the few assets they have.

Calamitous impact

Most distressingly, research shows the impact on the families and children of functionally illiterate adults can be calamitous.

Childhood trauma, untreated illnesses, undiagnosed learning disabilities,below average scholastic results, poor English language skills, inconsistent school attendance, dropping out of college, financial insecurity, poverty and physical and mental abuse are the lot of so many children and young people as they share the legacy of their parents’ educational, economic and social limitations.

A key objective of the Australian International Language Academy (AILA) is to play a major remedial role in addressing what it sees as a 21st century, international illiteracy crisis. By training teachers, tutors and parents, particularly in developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia, in the accelerated learning methodology of the 4S Approach To Literacy And Language (4S), AILA believes it can make a difference.

It is to achieve this end that the 4S Accelerated English Program (AEP) publications and its E-learning products have been created.

Moreover, it is for this cause that the Teacher-Tutor-Trainer Compendium and other related teacher-resource material have been designed specifically for teaching English to Early Childhood Education (EcE) and English Second Language (ESL) learners and to illiterate adults.

Through this Manila Bulletin, English Is Power column, one of my personal objectives over the last year has been to present ideas and information to assist teachers, tutors, trainers and parents in the challenging and often despairing “mission” of teaching English to other adults.

The focus in part has been mature learners who have failed in or failed by the formal education system or who have become “literacy casualties” because of a myriad of reasons, be they parental, cultural, financial, social, attitudinal, migrational or self-inflicted.

Baggage-barrier-beliefs

Underlying this objective is the belief that illiterate adults are very different from most other learners.

“Baggage”, “barriers” and “beliefs” usually have to be dealt with before any real progress can be made and above all, they have to believe that what they are undertaking will be of personal benefit to them.

Consider these ten special needs of adult learners:

1. The need to be made to feel that they can do it, particularly men and male teenagers.
2. The need for friendliness and acceptance. Vocalized support is appreciated and often a necessity.
3. The need to be in a non-threatening environment and atmosphere.
4. The need to be told when they are correct and not be just left wondering.
5. The need to be told if an answer is wrong in a way that doesn’t make them feel like an idiot.
6. The need to know they are on the right track.
7. The need to know regularly how they are progressing.
8. The need to be treated as an adult.
9. The need to be able to approach the tutor as an equal adult not just as a student.
10. The need for recognition of their personal worth regardless of their academic deficiencies.

While the task of teaching illiterate adults is rarely an easy one, knowing the benefits for the learner and the positive consequences for a child or a family of just one father or mother becoming “literate”, makes the effort that is required so worthwhile.

For a free copy of the 4S Consonant Variation Chart, e-mail: contact @4Sliteracy.com.au. (The author is a former politician, an educator and the director of the Australian International
Language Academy).