Abstract

For those of us of a certain age, the term "adult literacy" conjures images of recently arrived immigrants participating in English-language literacy classes to find or to get ahead in their jobs or to take a citizenship exam. Similarly, we might think of those high school dropouts wanting that GED and taking "refresher" courses to make it happen. But as readers of this journal can attest, the world of adult literacy is far more extensive and far more variegated than anything that used to be associated with the term "adult literacy. " While some communities still offer basic English language courses to those who cannot speak English or for those who wish to gain a greater proficiency in reading or speaking the language, the notion of "literacy" has expanded along with ways that communities and other organizations have developed to encourage literacy. Even in this current economic crisis, a great variety of literacy programs are offered to a great variety of clients with very specific needs. In this synthesis, I seek to review some of the major trends in adult literacy and provide some basic information for the interested reader. I do not mean this essay to be exhaustive but to offer a review of some interesting recent research published in a variety of journals on different approaches to adult literacy. As such, I will explore programs in this country and innovative approaches throughout the world in English and other languages. The aspects of adult literacy that I will survey here include the psychological and social factors that participants in literacy programs bring to the tutoring experience, non-governmental agencies and literacy, concurrent and transnational literacies, technology, and literacy for specific purposes.