The centre believes that the various forms of literacies are interwoven into all aspects of family and community life: health, employment, education, social well being and justice, to name only a few. All other learning is based on these different forms ofliteracy.

In 2001,the centre developed the Foundational Training in Family Literacy, a one-week training program that, as delivered all across Canada to practitioners involved in family literacy. The FCAF adapted this training program for Francophones living in a minority setting. The adaptation, named Fondements de l'alphabetisation familiale dans un contexte minoritaire francophone (FCAF, 2004a), introduces the perspective of multiple literacies into family literacy, as mentioned earlier.

1.6 Characteristics of a family literacy intervention based on multiple literacies

Here are the main characteristics of a family literacy intervention based on the concept of multiple literacies:

• The notion that there is no "right" way to talk, read, write or appreciate and value the world, but rather a multiplicity of ways that change and shift according to the contexts in which these skills are used.
• An emphasis on the control we can have over our own lives: that is, our capacity to change how we live and what we do. This aspect is especially important for a parent living in a setting where his language and his culture are in the minority (e.g., Francophone minorities, immigrants, indigenous peoples).
• The involvement of a parent so that he may improve his abilities with regard to oral language and the written word in all its forms, and so that he may become more competent and gain more confidence in his ability to "read" unwritten messages and to read himself: for example, decoding people's behaviour and understanding how people act in particular groups. The development of an individual's capacity to look on things and events in his life with a critical mind (FCAF,2006).

1.7 Conclusion

By defining the terminology and describing the concepts associated with alphabetical literacy (alphabétisation), literacy (littératie) and multiple literacies, this chapter described the transition fromthe older concept of alphabetical literacy toward a more inclusive definition of literacy and the concept of multiple literacies. This transition stems from a conceptual shift based largely on perspectives derived from psychology and linguistics, domains where literacy and multiple literacies are regarded as social practices. The chapter also provided a brief history of the development of family literacy programs and presented the various definitions of family literacy in use in Canada, namely those of the FCAF, the coalition francophone and the Centre for Family Literacy.

The next chapter continues to place the Coalition francophone's research in context with a presentation of demographic facts about francophones in Ontario and the results of the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey that pertain to French Canada.