Of all the language arts, many adult educators consider communication skills to be the missing link in learning. Without them, people may be considered illiterate. This is not because of a cognitive deficiency but, rather, a lack of engagement and involvement in the communication process. Communication is extraordinarily complex and embodies both physical and cognitive attributes, as listed below.

Often, the relationship between physical and cognitive attributes is overlooked. Physical attributes alone are ascribed as proof of learning taking place. That is not the case with any communication skill. Many students spend much of their school time hearing, not listening. Few students are listening learners. Actual communication through listening occurs through active involvement in school, work, family, and community affairs.

Composing is not copying, not handwriting, not spelling, not letters of the alphabet. Composing is encoding the abstract thought into concrete symbols which can be decoded by the writer and others. Composing may also shape informal thoughts and ideas into meaningful expression for both writer and reader. It is, again, a cognitive process requiring thinking. Learning to read begins with decoding the encoded message in a common language and moving toward making sense, comprehending the written symbols. Reading, like composing, actively engages the reader in shaping meaning, in comprehending a text.

Speaking is yet another example of a cognitive attribute. Speaking requires thinking, but it is not the same as talking. Talking requires little or no thinking.

“I was in the dark, confused, and scared. When I went to class for the first time, I had it in my mind what people were going to say when they found that I didn't know how to read or write” --Luz A.