• life circumstance

• language profile / literacy awareness

• educational background

• learning strategies / strengths

• confidence / motivation

• cognitive abilities, life experiences

• practical skills

Challenges of adult ESL literacy learners

• in case of refugees: difficulty focusing, sleep disorders, flashbacks, nightmares, anger episodes, inability to participate

• difficulty finding childcare, caring for other family members

• gender barriers, housing problems

• needing to find work, cost of public transport

• health issues/disabilities

Key take-aways:


• ESL literacy learners are adults learning English while also developing basic reading and writing skills that they may not already possess in their first language.

• Many come with limited or disrupted schooling, which affects how they learn in class. This disruption can be attributed to war, poverty, migration, or other serious issues.

• Their strengths, such as life experience and motivation, can support language growth.

• Teaching must use patient, structured methods like the “whole-part-whole” approach.

Main characteristics of ESL Literacy Learners:


• They often have little or no formal education in any language.

• They may be unfamiliar with classroom routines, print, and study habits.

• Their progress is usually slower and requires more repetition.


Barriers to success for ESL Literacy Learners:


• Potentially low confidence or anxiety due to limited schooling and past negative experiences.

• Potential difficulty transferring oral knowledge into reading and writing.

• Potential for negative bias or prejudice from inexperienced or immature teachers.

How to adjust the approach to accommodate those learners:


• Use “whole-part-whole” tasks that connect to real-life situations.

• Provide repeated practice, clear routines, and lots of oral language support.

• Encourage collaboration and, when possible, use learners’ first language to build understanding.

Explanation of “Whole-Part-Whole”:


• Begin with a complete, meaningful real-life task to give learners context.

• Break the task into smaller, focused parts for practice and skill development.

• Return to the full task so learners can connect the parts back to the whole activity.