Research

Summary page

Research

Investigating the impact of intensive reading pedagogy in adult literacy - Helen de Silva Joyce, Susan Hood, David Rose, New South Wales Directorate of Community and Migrant Education

Reading is a crucial skill for participation in adult life. However, teaching those who cannot read or who have very poor reading skills is a complex process. This is particularly true for adults from a non-English speaking background, and when classes consist of learners with different reading abilities, sporadic attendance patterns and emotional impediments, such as a fear of failure or ridicule.

In this study, the authors introduced six adult literacy tutors to a particular reading methodology, known as Reading-to-Learn, and examined how this approach could help adult learners from non-English speaking backgrounds become efficient and independent readers. The Reading-to-Learn methodology is a commercial product developed by Dr David Rose and is primarily based on his work in the schools sector. It relies on very careful attention to the relationships between words in a text.

A further focus of the study was how well adult literacy practitioners can implement the Reading-to- Learn methodology in their classrooms. While this particular methodology has been used successfully in other educational settings, such as primary and secondary schools and universities, this is one of the first studies to test its usefulness for adult learners from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Key messages

While this report is based on a very small sample, it suggests that the teaching strategies that comprise the Reading-to-Learn pedagogy are effective in helping adults from non-English speaking backgrounds to improve their reading and writing skills.

The study also shows that use of this pedagogy can increase teachers' knowledge about language and reading processes.

Using this method demands careful preparation of classes and requires teachers to 'unlearn' some common practices that amount more to testing than teaching.

The successful implementation of the Reading-to-Learn approach in the adult literacy sector requires intensive professional development and additional financial resources.

While the teaching resources associated with the Reading-to-Learn pedagogy are commercial products, a Good Practice Guide has been developed to complement this report and can be downloaded at no charge from http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2065.html.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER