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Teach Reading to Adults

Teach Reading to Adults Adult Literacy
As you teach reading to adults you will need
the ability to adapt your teaching methods to
suit the individual student. When you teach
reading to adults with empathy, you will be
rewarded with students who grow in
condence. As the adult learner develops the
ability to learn independently your input will be
needed less and less. The right materials to
teach reading to adults can help tremendously.
This website contains a resource that will help
you to teach the facts about reading and
writing to adults in a way that they can grasp
with ease.

Teach Reading to Adults

Practice Reading and Speaking has been

designed to be suitable for teaching any age group. When using it to teach reading to adults, you will
notice that it is age appropriate for teenagers and adults as well as children. It can also be used
successfully with those whose rst language is not English as it contains pronunciation tips.
To teach reading to adults you will need to ll in the gaps in their understanding of phonics and how
words work. By rst discovering what the adult literacy student doesnt know (through testing) or is able
to do, you will be rening a starting point with your learner. As you teach reading to an adult they will
discover that it is possible to learn to read. Adult literacy skills teaching is straightforward with this
course. You will be teaching the facts one step at a time, in order of diculty.
The eBook Practice Reading and Speaking has the unique ability to teach reading to adults in a way that
helps condence grow. Basic English skills can be taught, succinctly. (Look Inside the eBook here.) You can
test their understanding of phonics with a view to lling in the gaps and helping them nd a way to learn
to read. Adult literacy students can monitor their own progress and see at a glance whats left to learn.
(They have their own Progress Record which covers the whole course on page 175.) With Practice
Reading and Speaking, the adult literacy student is taught how to read and write English uently. When
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you teach someone to read and write with this eBook, you will be left in no doubt what to teach, how to
teach it and the best way to teach it. Read through the teaching notes for each Module before teaching it.
This will ensure that you use as few words as possible when explaining how to segment words.
1. First, check that your student can pronounce the individual sounds heard in the English language.
(See the Pronunciation Assessment in the eBook. Pages 154-155)
2. After reading the instructions for testing (page 156 in PRS) set the General Phoneme Assessment
(Pages 158 159) to discover at what level the student is able to read at using the sounds in words.
3. Next, narrow down a starting point in the course for your student by setting the specic
assessment for the Module where your student made their rst mistake when reading.
4. Check recognition of the alphabet and the sounds that they make. (See Modules three to seven in
PRS.)
5. Check that they know how to blend two sounds together to make a word. Use a list of nonsense
words for this task. (See Practice Reading and Speaking Module nine.)
6. As you begin to teach reading to adults, teach phonics systematically in order of diculty. Give
attention to High Frequency words as these make up 50% of our everyday reading. (A list of these
can be found on pages 75-76. Theyre listed by the Module that theyre found in. Concentrate on
the reading and spelling of these words whilst you teach them how to blend and segment the
words found in each Module.) Being able to speed read the sample words in each phonemegrapheme group is also important as it enhances memory.
7. Test the adult literacy student before you teach a Module to discover what they are able to read
from what you are about to teach. Test after teaching to check for improvement and assimilation.
(Module Assessments for before and after teaching are found on pages 160-171.)
8. Students should read material regularly that is age appropriate. This will give them practice in using
what they have learned, by reading sentences, paragraphs then pages of text.
9. Work at the adult literacy students own pace. Encourage them to teach you, family or friends what
they have learned. This will aid memory and help them discover what they need to spend more
time on. (We tend to remember 90% of what we teach others and put into practice.)
10. When you teach reading to adults, teach basic English literacy skills too. (See the English Simplied
chapter on pages 114-134 in Practice Reading and Speaking.)
11. Continue to teach reading to adults until they have a uent adult reading age. There are 70
Modules or pages in the course in Practice Reading and Speaking. They cover every spelling of
every sound (over a thousand) that the student is ever likely to come across in English texts in
order to read uently. A useful index demonstrating the dierent ways a single letter or group of
letters can be pronounced is found in the back of the book (pages 176-178). This is a useful
reference guide as you teach reading to adults.

Teach Reading to Adults who have Failed to Learn to Read and Write
Adult Literacy students, who need help with reading, phonics, writing and basic literacy have a variety of
reasons why they havent learned to read and write uently. When you teach reading to adults, before
you can banish their fears of text and motivate successful learning, try to isolate the reason why they
failed to learn to read well. It could be that the English skills needed for life, werent taught because the
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student missed school regularly. Maybe, dyslexia unrecognized in childhood, prevented them from
making reading progress. Perhaps, a heavy workload looking after a sick parent meant that as a child
they missed school regularly so teachers were unable to help them catch up. Lastly, when you teach
reading to adults be aware that sometimes a brain injury can interfere with the usual learning process.
When you help someone learn to read, remember that adult literacy students need an understanding
teacher who will teach reading to adults with sensitivity.
Before you begin to teach reading to adults, assess pronunciation then their knowledge of phonics and
the ability to read simple words. This will ensure that when you teach adults to read you help rather than
hinder their progress. Teach one fact at a time. If you try to teach too much at a time, the adult literacy
students ability to process what they are learning will be impeded. All you are doing is building a brick
wall in their mind and reinforcing the negative thought that they cant do this. Remind them at the
beginning of the lesson what they have learned so far. Track progress consistently. Aim to understand
your adult literacy students learning strengths. Keep lessons positive and give lots of praise when you
teach reading to adults. (A mind with a smile can learn for a while.)

Teach Reading to Adults to Improve Life Skills

Reading relates to life skills for a variety of reasons. Its a way of communicating with each other. From
reading the instructions on packets, lling in forms, searching for information on the internet to reading
for pleasure, reading relates to many life skills necessary to cope with everyday life. Even map reading
would be of no use if we couldnt read the road names or the names of places.
The key when you teach reading to adults, is to motivate the adult literacy learner to see how reading
and writing relates to life skills. Help adult literacy students to list situations where knowing how to read
or write would be useful. When you teach reading to adults, give them ways to make progress when you
are not there to help them. Adult literacy students need to know that learning to read is an achievable
aim. Also, that learning new things with a teacher who will not criticize but support, is a positive
experience. In turn, the ability to recognize and correct their own mistakes will ourish.

Set Goals when you Teach Reading to Adults

While you teach reading to adults, set reachable goals. Maybe they want to be able to write a letter to a
friend or a letter of complaint. It could be that the adult literacy learner would like to be able to ll in
forms without fear. By setting goals when you teach reading to adults and helping them to reach these
goals one at a time, you will be giving them the ability to manage reading and basic English in everyday
life. As you teach reading to adults, students will likely begin to set their own targets. If they have a
hobby, they may have reading material that they need help with. Half the battle is won if the student
wants to read a text.

Motivate Adult Learners

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When you teach reading to adults and teach adult literacy skills, students often make remarkable
progress in the workplace. It may be that the adult has been oered a job and knows that they will have
to go through some sort of test in the interview. This could raise motivation enough for the adult literacy
learner to speed up the process of learning to read and write more eciently. Yet others have come to a
point in their life, when what others think of them is no longer an issue.

Give Adult Literacy Students Clear Brief Explanations

When you teach reading to adults and they begin to read for the rst
time in their lives, they need clear brief explanations of how to separate
and pronounce the sounds in the words that they have been speaking
their whole lives. When you teach reading to adults, they also need to be
given decoding and spelling strategies that work consistently when
reading. Learning to write well should also be included when teaching
adult literacy students to read. Adult literacy students need to feel a
sense of fulllment knowing that what they have left to learn is
achievable. Remember small successes will help the adult literacy
student to stay motivated and involved in the learning process. When
you teach reading to adults, If you assume that the adult learner has no
prior knowledge of learning how to read and write, testing will help you
Learn to Read Well

to discover at what point in their lives learning to read and write

stopped. It will also give the adult literacy student a chance to show o
what they can do. By starting where they left o, you are helping to train
a dierent area of their brain to process the learning of phonics. (The

way that a child now learns phonics and learns to read.) The adult literacy student will need to learn how
to process the information in a dierent way.

Help Adult Literacy Students Overcome the Fear of Text

It takes courage to try to get to grips with a skill as an adult that you have always found dicult.There is
often a fear of text that needs to be overcome when teaching reading to adult literacy students. So
teaching sensitively and with empathy is a must. Allow the adult literacy student to show you what they
can do. Rather than make them feel that they have a long way to go, remember to keep your comments
positive. As you teach reading to adults, praise consistently. They have been very brave to be willing to
bare their soul to a teacher. So praise their courage and determination to succeed. This will motivate the
adult literacy student to continue allowing you to teach them to read.

Give Adult Literacy Students Time to Think

Give adult literacy students time to think. When you teach reading to adults, stop teaching when they are
tired. They wont be taking anything in. Regular breaks when you teach reading to adults are necessary
to be able to take in and understand new concepts. Pause regularly to allow new ideas to be meditated
upon. Thinking time is just as important as learning time. Due to the enormous amounts of eort it takes
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for an adult literacy student to learn to read as an adult, its easy to tire quickly. Your students brain will
virtually shut down at times, making the student feel sleepy. Short sessions with lots of breaks, is vital.
Teach only what can be readily absorbed in each session. Although its tempting to try to cram as much
as you can into when you teach reading to adults, what will keep them coming back is the simple method
you use to teach reading and teach phonics along with the students ability to grasp and memorize basic
principles. When you teach reading to adults, at the end of the lesson wet their appetite for what they will
learn in the next lesson in order to motivate them to return. The book Practice Reading and Speaking
can be used with any age group to teach reading and teach phonics to adult literacy standards. It also
includes a brief but thorough overview of the skills needed to write well as an adult.

Teach Phonics to Adult Learners

Employ the method of teaching phonics systematically in order of diculty to adult literacy students.
This will give them the best possible chance of reading success. Whenever you teach reading to adults by
means of phonic decoding skills or setting homework, give the adult literacy student a means of
remembering new facts learned in lessons. Use images, spider diagrams or prompt words that will help
the adult literacy student remember the new phoneme-grapheme learned. As you teach reading, employ
memory techniques to aid retention. Teach them how to monitor their own progress and recognize
developmental steps. Give the adult literacy student the condence they need to recognize that they are
still able to learn. Point out even the smallest of successes and praise achievement regularly. Above all,
dont treat them like a child. Preserve their dignity.

Teach Reading to Adults alongside Writing and Basic English

When you teach reading to adults, the student needs to engage as many senses as possible to enhance
memory. Teaching phonics involves looking at letter symbols, recognizing patterns within words and
translating them into the spoken word. By learning to write the words, the adult literacy student will be
helped to memorise what they are learning. Your students will need to learn the following:
Recognise letters, say their sounds and write them in words
Combine words to make sentences that are structured in dierent ways
Spell all of the most used words in English without mistakes
Learn how punctuation and grammar works
Learn to change the way we structure language for dierent purposes
Learn about alphabetical order in order to use a dictionary and increase understanding of
vocabulary
Learn how to scan or search for words, phrases or sentences in a text
Learn how to read to extract meaning
All of these adult literacy skills have been included in Practice Reading and Speaking. The aim of the book
is to teach reading to adults until they are uent at reading and writing. The book helps the adult literacy
student to gain a thorough understanding of basic English. This will give them the condence to write
whenever they need to without fear of embarrassment. When you teach reading to adults with this book
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you have all that you need to hand in one book. You can test adult literacy students reading, teach
them phonics help them learn to write and spell to adult literacy standards. Teach pronunciation to adult
literacy students whose rst language is not English. English learners can learn to recognise how to
pronounce words by learning phonics.
For a free preview of the eBook, to look inside it and to buy it click here.

contact@teachreading.info
www.teachreading.info 2013

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