New Skills, Better Skills

Referring People to Literacy-Upgrading Programs

Word-of-mouth has been found to be the number one way in which people find out about literacy programs. Expensive advertising and other promotional methods are useful too but it is contact with someone they know and trust that usually inspires people who want to improve their literacy skills to do so.

A recent study asked 106 literacy students in two provinces to name the various ways in which they heard about the upgrading programs they were taking. Sixty-nine per cent said that they had heard through word-of-mouth: 46 per cent from someone they knew and 23 per cent from a helping professional. Another 17 per cent mentioned television and radio.

Neighbourhood houses, community centres and drop-in centres are ideal places to recruit people into literacy programs. A tutor in Montreal recruited a lot of young people in the city's east-end parks. On their own turf, people are more receptive to information about services they may be interested in using. They can feel at ease and comfortable talking to someone they know and trust.

Messages From People Who Care

Your agency may be a place where people feel at ease. Perhaps the people who use your services do so regularly and come to know and trust the counsellors and other staff. If so, those who might be interested in taking literacy upgrading courses might also be receptive to information about them from your staff and volunteers. Or you may want to bring people in to inform your clients and consumers about literacy programs.

Literacy students who are happy with their upgrading programs are the best recruiters for these programs. They can explain how the programs work and that they are flexible and personalized. They can also relate their personal experiences with improving their literacy skills. A message about improving one's skills may be a lot more palatable coming from a peer than from someone who seems more like a school teacher or a boss. People want information, not pressure.

People who are following literacy upgrading programs have said that they appreciated being approached about improving their skills by someone with whom they already had a relationship of trust. In Calgary, a John Howard Society life skills worker encouraged caseworkers to review clients' course logs during counselling sessions. In this way, the caseworkers learned more about their clients' daily challenges and were able to help them better express themselves.

By taking opportunities like this to learn about clients' literacy skills, workers can feel more comfortable suggesting upgrading programs. How the suggestion is brought up is important. The words “illiterate” and “illiteracy” need never enter the conversation. Most people are not illiterate. They have some reading and writing skills, but may need and want to improve them.

Improving One's Skills

It is easier for most people to agree that they have a reading problem than to admit that they are unable to read, even if that seems to be the case. They are more comfortable with the idea of “literacy- upgrading programs” instead of “literacy programs.” And some people don't want to hear about anything that sounds like school or education.

They may feel that they were failed by the educational system and not want to go back. Literacy upgrading programs are often nothing like their early school experiences. Different methods are used to teach adults to read and write.

1,001 Excuses

Fear and embarrassment can make people put up walls to block out a suggestion to enrol in a literacy program. Beneath the denials and excuses, you can hear some of the reasons why people really don't want to take

“I don't have a problem.”

When people say, “I don't have a problem. I just don't bother.” they may be embarrassed to admit that not being able to read and write well limits the person's life in ways that are troublesome.

• Tell the person that you know many people who have trouble reading and writing. The person is not alone.
• Point out that other adults take courses to improve their skills. Talk about how learning to read and write is wonderful. Mention some people you know who have taken courses — Paul, Claudette...
• Stress that it is never too late, that anyone can learn, at any age.

“I get along all right”

When people say, “I've gotten along just fine up to now,” they may be uncomfortable talking about the subject and want to get away from you and the idea of tackling the problem at long last.

• Recognize that the person has done really well in getting around the problem. Ask how the person has done it.
• Mention that there are lots of different kinds of courses around. People can learn on their own if they want, or they can work with a small group of people. And literacy courses deal with subjects that are really interesting.
• Ask if there are any times when not reading and writing well is a real problem. Suggest that the person could learn to read and write just for that reason.

“I'll never go back”

When people say, “You'll never get me back into a school,” you can be sure that the person remembers school and that the memories are not good.

• Talk about those memories. Ask what schools the person went to and what happened there. What are the person's fears?
• Explain that things are different for adults learning to read and write. It's all very relaxed. They treat people like adults. You have a say in what you learn.

“It's too late”

When people say, “I'm too old to go to school,” it is important to deal with their concern.

• Give examples of other people the person's age who have taken literacy courses.
• Get the person to talk about goals, plans, dreams and the things the person could do if reading and writing weren't such a problem.
• Point out how the person's life, perhaps their retirement years, would be even better.
• Find out whether the person has recently learned something new. Talk about that experience. Find out if the person enjoyed it.
• Invite the person to try, to take a chance.

A Program for Every Need

Across Canada, there is a plethora of literacy-upgrading programs. One-on-one literacy training, often offered by volunteers, has a long history of success. Community based training programs seek to make people comfortable with their learning experience by making it as relevant and close to their everyday lives as possible. The “Life Experience” approach to literacy training, for example, uses the student's own experiences as the subjects of stories and journals. Everything the student learns is relevant to his or her life. High Schools and Community Colleges also offer literacy upgrading and, in Quebec, the School Board network offers extensive programming throughout the province.

In Sanikiluaq, Northwest Territories, a literacy-upgrading program was designed to teach English and Inuktitut by researching and writing Inuit educational materials and literature. Teams of learners and tutors interviewed elders to learn community stories and legends. They collected information about traditional medicine, eider-duck parka-making, kayak-building, traditional family life and hunting.

In the process of putting all this material together for publication, the participants learned and developed literacy skills.

A literacy network can tell you about the various types of programs available in your area. The provincial and national networks are listed at the end of this handbook. Literacy professionals can help you and a prospective student decide on the appropriate type of course for the person and can assist with the initial contact with a program.

The Signs of Low Literacy

You have probably dealt with some people whom you thought might be having difficulty reading and writing. It is often hard to be sure, especially if you only deal with an individual once or twice. The literacy notes on this page list a number of indicators that can alert you to watch for other signs of low literacy.

Help Take Down the Walls

The idea that they need to improve their reading and writing skills may be difficult for some people to face.

The information-based society around them has often blamed them for their low literacy and put up literacy barriers to keep them from participating fully as citizens and consumers. But most people whose skills need improvement want to do something about them. You may be able to provide the caring support and information they need to take the first step toward literacy.