adult literacy information
September 20, 2011 7:34 AM Subscribe
I have a friend in his mid 20s who has, I would guess, a 9th-grade literacy level. I'd like to help him bring that up a bit, so he is more successful in school (he just started at a community college taking business classes). I don't know where to begin! There's soooo much information on the net, I'm having a hard time processing it. Can you suggest a good place to start?
As far as I know, he has no learning disabilities.
As far as I know, he has no learning disabilities.
Does the community college offer any remedial reading services? A lot of community colleges deal routinely with students who may not have college-ready skills in certain subjects and have facilities to help them get up to speed.
Alternatively, ask the school or check the bulletin boards for third-party tutoring services. They may end up being more focused and personalized than the school would be able to provide.
posted by tommasz at 7:40 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Alternatively, ask the school or check the bulletin boards for third-party tutoring services. They may end up being more focused and personalized than the school would be able to provide.
posted by tommasz at 7:40 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had a friend in high school who really struggled with her reading and writing (and, to be honest, most other skills). Her SAT and ACT scores were...well...I didn't know they could go that low. She went to a non-challenging art school for college (despite her artistic skills being pretty limited), went and got a master's in teaching at a community college, and is now teaching middle school (which is exactly what she always wanted to be doing). She still has, I would guess, an 8th or 9th grade literacy level. I could say a lot of things about what I think about that, but I won't. But she has done perfectly well despite her reading level, and I think that's got to do with how darned stubborn she is. I've never heard her accept someone tell her that she couldn't do something.
posted by phunniemee at 7:41 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by phunniemee at 7:41 AM on September 20, 2011
Response by poster: Birds: I think it's more a problem with low vocabulary, spelling, and reading right now. I have no idea if he's a good writer at all.
posted by rebent at 7:43 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by rebent at 7:43 AM on September 20, 2011
The only way to get better at something is to do it. He needs to read a book for an hour a day instead of watching TV or going on the internet. You can help him find some books he's actually going to enjoy reading - rather than it being a chore that won't get done.
posted by joannemullen at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by joannemullen at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am not an education professional, but if someone is reading at a ninth grade literacy level they have the basics down. The way to progress from there would seem to me to be practice. Read, read, read some more. Find a genre (fiction or non-fiction) he likes and get him to read. Suggest he do the reading for classes ahead of time so he can re-read interesting or important parts. Maybe start a book club or something to help nudge him to remember to read.
If he has an ereader he can look words up as he goes. If not, google (search "define: [word]") or a dictionary are easy to use.
Also see previously on the blue: How to read and digest a book.
posted by Wretch729 at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
If he has an ereader he can look words up as he goes. If not, google (search "define: [word]") or a dictionary are easy to use.
Also see previously on the blue: How to read and digest a book.
posted by Wretch729 at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Has this friend asked for your help, or otherwise indicated that it would be welcome?
posted by workerant at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by workerant at 7:46 AM on September 20, 2011 [3 favorites]
To be honest, I think that it may be far more helpful if you first help him identify resources that can help him at his CC.
For example, find out if they have a writing center and the services that they offer. Some of them will help him review his paper for a class and give him recommendations and essentially tutor him as to how to write a paper. I would highly recommend this if you think his literacy skills are below average.
I would also find out if there are any free tutoring resources and “how to study” seminars.
Do you study well OP? I would show your friend different techniques (writing notes, flashcards –your friend can then experiment and see what works). I used to teach uni students, and you would be surprised at the proportion of students who struggled with this in the first year or two at school.
Even though you think that your friend does not have a learning disability, see if the school offers resources for people with learning disabilities. For example, many schools offer access to books on tape/audiobooks for students who are blind, but perhaps if your friend has a hard time reading, this may help (to read it and listen to material)...so find the tapes/CDs if this is the case.
Encourage your friend to talk to all of his profs now at the start of the semester. They may be able to point him to resources or even say “read this instead.”
OP, you mention vocabulary. Show your friend how to read material and either understand the context or look it up in a dictionary.
I think that my vocabulary has always been far below average and I even went to graduate school. If you look up the things that you don’t know, you can fill in the holes to at least master the material in front of you.
posted by Wolfster at 7:51 AM on September 20, 2011
For example, find out if they have a writing center and the services that they offer. Some of them will help him review his paper for a class and give him recommendations and essentially tutor him as to how to write a paper. I would highly recommend this if you think his literacy skills are below average.
I would also find out if there are any free tutoring resources and “how to study” seminars.
Do you study well OP? I would show your friend different techniques (writing notes, flashcards –your friend can then experiment and see what works). I used to teach uni students, and you would be surprised at the proportion of students who struggled with this in the first year or two at school.
Even though you think that your friend does not have a learning disability, see if the school offers resources for people with learning disabilities. For example, many schools offer access to books on tape/audiobooks for students who are blind, but perhaps if your friend has a hard time reading, this may help (to read it and listen to material)...so find the tapes/CDs if this is the case.
Encourage your friend to talk to all of his profs now at the start of the semester. They may be able to point him to resources or even say “read this instead.”
OP, you mention vocabulary. Show your friend how to read material and either understand the context or look it up in a dictionary.
I think that my vocabulary has always been far below average and I even went to graduate school. If you look up the things that you don’t know, you can fill in the holes to at least master the material in front of you.
posted by Wolfster at 7:51 AM on September 20, 2011
Speaking of reading skills... that wasn't the post I meant to link to. I thought it was, but didn't read it closely enough. This one is a little more helpful I think.
Also seconding Wolfster.
posted by Wretch729 at 7:52 AM on September 20, 2011
Also seconding Wolfster.
posted by Wretch729 at 7:52 AM on September 20, 2011
Just some ideas idea:
Propose reading something fun together, and discuss it.
Model good vocabulary-learning behavior for him, by writing down words you encounter in your reading that you don't know, and looking up the definition. Keep vocabulary lists—individual or shared. You could do this online in a shared blog, or more privately in a shared Google document.
You know how fun it is when you learn a new word that you swore you'd never seen before in your life, and suddenly you see it everywhere? You could have a contest for finding words from your vocabulary list(s) "in the wild."
posted by BrashTech at 8:15 AM on September 20, 2011
Propose reading something fun together, and discuss it.
Model good vocabulary-learning behavior for him, by writing down words you encounter in your reading that you don't know, and looking up the definition. Keep vocabulary lists—individual or shared. You could do this online in a shared blog, or more privately in a shared Google document.
You know how fun it is when you learn a new word that you swore you'd never seen before in your life, and suddenly you see it everywhere? You could have a contest for finding words from your vocabulary list(s) "in the wild."
posted by BrashTech at 8:15 AM on September 20, 2011
It can be incredibly hard to tell if someone has a learning disability. I agree with the folks who say just help your friend read more (and model "good" reading skills) if there is no disability but if there is any question, get your friend a Freedom Stick. I learned about it from an amazing speaker at Michigan who has gotten numerous advanced degrees but admits he's just about illiterate. He relies on speech-to-text programs and sites like ghotit.com (awesome for dyslexics) or google scribe to write coherently. He's brilliant. He thinks of these tools as like a prosthetic for an amputee - no one expects an amputee to work harder to re-grow a leg - why not give tools to folks with learning disabilities instead of just expecting them to work harder to be like everyone else? From the website:
The Freedom Stick contains a fully accessible version of the Firefox web browser, the full Open Office suite (comparable to Microsoft Office), the Balabolka Text-To-Speech system, an on-screen calculator which allows students to paste their math work into homework or test documents, a "mind mapper" (similar to Inspiration), the Audacity audio recorder/player, and many, many more supports.
Open the Freedom Stick's Firefox browser and you will finds dozens of pre-set internet bookmarks which will link you and your students to many more curricular supports, to digital libraries, and to other resources.
Honestly, the stuff on the Freedom Stick is just plain helpful and interesting for anyone so maybe it'd be a nifty little gift to help out someone who is hiding issues really well.
posted by adorap0621 at 8:16 AM on September 20, 2011
The Freedom Stick contains a fully accessible version of the Firefox web browser, the full Open Office suite (comparable to Microsoft Office), the Balabolka Text-To-Speech system, an on-screen calculator which allows students to paste their math work into homework or test documents, a "mind mapper" (similar to Inspiration), the Audacity audio recorder/player, and many, many more supports.
Open the Freedom Stick's Firefox browser and you will finds dozens of pre-set internet bookmarks which will link you and your students to many more curricular supports, to digital libraries, and to other resources.
Honestly, the stuff on the Freedom Stick is just plain helpful and interesting for anyone so maybe it'd be a nifty little gift to help out someone who is hiding issues really well.
posted by adorap0621 at 8:16 AM on September 20, 2011
Can you suggest a good place to start?
Comic books. Find out what he likes, find similarly themed comic books and practice reading aloud with those.
Or just find material he would WANT to read. Reading shouldn't be a chore, it should be fun.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:08 AM on September 20, 2011
Comic books. Find out what he likes, find similarly themed comic books and practice reading aloud with those.
Or just find material he would WANT to read. Reading shouldn't be a chore, it should be fun.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:08 AM on September 20, 2011
Has he asked for your help? If no, just be a supportive friend. If he's in community college, he will have lots of learning resources at his disposal, and given that he's an adult, he can choose to access them as he sees fit.
posted by Wordwoman at 9:27 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by Wordwoman at 9:27 AM on September 20, 2011
I went back to school after many years to the local Jr. College and the first thing they did was give a basic skills test. I did very well in verbal, reading and writing, very bad in math, so they made accommodations for those classes and got me tutoring. Most probably I have some kind of math learning disability but back when I was in school, there was no such thing, you were just "lazy".
If your friend is reading at a 9th grade level he is probably on par with many of his classmates. Depending on what field he is going into, he may have enough reading skill to get by, or a small improvement could catch him up.
He should seek help from his school as a first step, as there may be a great deal available he does not know about. Never be afraid to ask. The people I worked with were great. Community colleges are used to dealing with returning students with rusty skills, and those with learning disabilities and gaps.
posted by mermayd at 9:34 AM on September 20, 2011
If your friend is reading at a 9th grade level he is probably on par with many of his classmates. Depending on what field he is going into, he may have enough reading skill to get by, or a small improvement could catch him up.
He should seek help from his school as a first step, as there may be a great deal available he does not know about. Never be afraid to ask. The people I worked with were great. Community colleges are used to dealing with returning students with rusty skills, and those with learning disabilities and gaps.
posted by mermayd at 9:34 AM on September 20, 2011
If he's already taking classes, it's likely he'll have to have skills testing at some point, and if necessary may be referred to remedial classes. The college should have lots of resources to help him improve his skills, IF he's interested and willing to make use of them, whether or not he's required to take any remedial work.
I would say that if he hasn't mentioned anything directly to you, then just be supportive of his college career in general. Ask how classes are going, talk about the subjects, etc. Don't jump in and say "hi friend, it looks like you don't read or write very well, can I give you all this stuff?" But if he complains about difficulty with those subjects, be prepared to suggest some of the kinds of resources other have mentioned.
FWIW, when I was in junior high and my mother went back to school, I proofread all of her papers. She's damn smart, but not so great with writing. I also helped my husband with papers when he went back to school. If this is something that you have skill with, and he mentions having trouble with it, then you may want to offer to help. Depending on your relationship with your friend, this can be a challenging experience. (This AskMe on helping a spouse edit a resume seems appropriate.)
Going back to school as an adult can be hard, especially if he had a tough time the first go-round. Good for you to want to support his educational success!
I worked at a community college for six years, but was not an educator.
posted by epersonae at 10:44 AM on September 20, 2011
I would say that if he hasn't mentioned anything directly to you, then just be supportive of his college career in general. Ask how classes are going, talk about the subjects, etc. Don't jump in and say "hi friend, it looks like you don't read or write very well, can I give you all this stuff?" But if he complains about difficulty with those subjects, be prepared to suggest some of the kinds of resources other have mentioned.
FWIW, when I was in junior high and my mother went back to school, I proofread all of her papers. She's damn smart, but not so great with writing. I also helped my husband with papers when he went back to school. If this is something that you have skill with, and he mentions having trouble with it, then you may want to offer to help. Depending on your relationship with your friend, this can be a challenging experience. (This AskMe on helping a spouse edit a resume seems appropriate.)
Going back to school as an adult can be hard, especially if he had a tough time the first go-round. Good for you to want to support his educational success!
I worked at a community college for six years, but was not an educator.
posted by epersonae at 10:44 AM on September 20, 2011
If he has time and he's serious, he should take a reading diagnostic and he should read on-level texts. But reading levels rarely increase years in months.
Probably he doesn't have time and what he needs more immediately is...
comprehension strategies like "interactive reading" where he holds a pencil as he reads, underlines the main idea of a paragraph, circles words he doesn't know. Like setting the purpose of his reading with the help of text features ("the title of this article is ___ and the headings throughout are ___ so I must be trying to get ___ information").
Self-advocate for learning services. He just needs to go aks for them at the student affairs office. They might test him, they might not. It's worth taking the advantage if it's available.
Prioritize what needs to be readHe's probably frustrated by reading and it probably takes him a really long time. He should focus on the most important texts. This might mean explaining struggles to professors and asking them what they think.
posted by jander03 at 11:28 AM on September 20, 2011
Probably he doesn't have time and what he needs more immediately is...
comprehension strategies like "interactive reading" where he holds a pencil as he reads, underlines the main idea of a paragraph, circles words he doesn't know. Like setting the purpose of his reading with the help of text features ("the title of this article is ___ and the headings throughout are ___ so I must be trying to get ___ information").
Self-advocate for learning services. He just needs to go aks for them at the student affairs office. They might test him, they might not. It's worth taking the advantage if it's available.
Prioritize what needs to be readHe's probably frustrated by reading and it probably takes him a really long time. He should focus on the most important texts. This might mean explaining struggles to professors and asking them what they think.
posted by jander03 at 11:28 AM on September 20, 2011
I hate to say this, but he should really just go to one of those colleges where they just take his money and give him a passing grade. Not kidding.
posted by ovvl at 7:39 PM on September 20, 2011
posted by ovvl at 7:39 PM on September 20, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your answers.
My take away from this is that, first and foremost, he hasn't asked for my help. I don't really think our relationship is one where I can thrust help at him, but I will keep my ears open for any opportunity to encourage and advise him.
Secondly, it sounds like a lot of the best things he can do are right there at his school already.
I'm going to try to keep him engaged in his school, if I can. Also, I try to make time for him to study with me. I don't want to give him too much of my time, but I'll do what I can.
Thanks for the advice everyone :)
One final question in parting: Do you think it is the case that no one has ever sat him down and told him that he needs to improve his spelling and grammar? Or do you think it's more likely that he knows full well where he is deficient, and feels bad about it, and if I said anything, he would just be ashamed?
posted by rebent at 2:02 PM on September 21, 2011
My take away from this is that, first and foremost, he hasn't asked for my help. I don't really think our relationship is one where I can thrust help at him, but I will keep my ears open for any opportunity to encourage and advise him.
Secondly, it sounds like a lot of the best things he can do are right there at his school already.
I'm going to try to keep him engaged in his school, if I can. Also, I try to make time for him to study with me. I don't want to give him too much of my time, but I'll do what I can.
Thanks for the advice everyone :)
One final question in parting: Do you think it is the case that no one has ever sat him down and told him that he needs to improve his spelling and grammar? Or do you think it's more likely that he knows full well where he is deficient, and feels bad about it, and if I said anything, he would just be ashamed?
posted by rebent at 2:02 PM on September 21, 2011
Re: does he already know?
Hard to say without knowing his personality or educational background. It's quite possible that there's a harsh teacher somewhere in his past; Mom has a hangup about writing that I think partially dates to the teaching nuns of her childhood. On the other hand, there are lots of people with poor writing skills who haven't the faintest idea.
Hopefully, he'll have good teachers who can point out where he can improve and help him to do so. And of course a supportive friend to help him practice new skills. :)
posted by epersonae at 9:05 AM on September 22, 2011
Hard to say without knowing his personality or educational background. It's quite possible that there's a harsh teacher somewhere in his past; Mom has a hangup about writing that I think partially dates to the teaching nuns of her childhood. On the other hand, there are lots of people with poor writing skills who haven't the faintest idea.
Hopefully, he'll have good teachers who can point out where he can improve and help him to do so. And of course a supportive friend to help him practice new skills. :)
posted by epersonae at 9:05 AM on September 22, 2011
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What does he not know how to do? Research papers? Full on essays (ie the standard 5 paragraph model)?
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 7:39 AM on September 20, 2011