Adult ESL literacy learners are a diverse group of English learners. They learn English for various reasons, and have a diverse educational background.

At the beginning of an ESL course, adult learners may be pre-literate, non-literate, or semi-literate:

• Pre-literate = learners come from oral cultures where the spoken languages do not have current written forms or where print is not regularly encountered in daily life. These students may not realize how important reading and writing are in Canadian society.

• Non-literate = learners do not know how to read or write in any language.

• Semi-literate = learners have some basic reading and writing skills, but are not functionally literate yet.

They have a diverse knowledge of topics and life experiences; they can use this knowledge to help them understand a variety of written topics.

• As they learn best when strong connection are made between content, social interaction, and their personal lives.

They tend to use higher oral language knowledge to support literacy development.

They learn better by doing (hands-on).

They benefit from using their native language to develop understanding of key information, concepts, skills needed to learn how to read and write.

They enjoy collaborating with other learners to share their knowledge and skills to discover task requirements.

Tend to have remarkable survival skills, resilience and perseverance.

In their past educational background, they may have been singled out as a minority, denied education because of poverty, gender, ethnicity or disability. Therefore, they may not be used to the Canadian education system, tools and resources.

They may not be aware of the purpose and use of literacy / may not be familiar with the Roman alphabet.

Might had limited formal learning strategies, concepts and background knowledge.

May lack confidence and self-esteem related to literacy and learning a new language.

Some learners may be affected by past trauma, forced dislocation, separation from loved ones, loneliness, poverty, family issues, unsupportive systems.

Some may have health issues, mental health issues, past injuries or disabilities related to war. These learners may have difficulty concentrating, have sleep disorders, inability to participate in class, and may be unmotivated to learn.

Learners may encounter obstacles that prevent them from registering or attending an ESL class like having difficulty finding childcare, a job, health / disabilities, housing problems, the cost of public transport, and understanding how Canadian social systems work in order to access information and assistance.

Learners who have low levels of oral English skills may not be able to discuss their options or struggles.

Adult ESL literacy learners tend to make a slower learning progress.

Require a high supportive, calm environment that allows them to move around, take unscheduled breaks, work at their own pace, and collaborate with other students.

They need resources available to them to recover from past traumas.

They need community support to address their problems of not attending class, such as finding childcare, housing problems, cost of public transport, need to find work, and understanding how social systems work in order to access information and assistance.

Create lesson plans where students are encouraged to talk about their experiences and knowledge.

Numeracy: is important for adult students to learn how to complete real-life tasks like paying bills, using money, reading the time, writing dates, and counting quality and quantity.

Digital Literacy: is important to teach adult learners how to access online services, applying for jobs, and to communicate with others.

Sociocultural Knowledge: this type of knowledge is helpful for adult ESL literacy learners to understand our Canadian culture. How our medical, educational, transportation, financial, and government systems work. It also teaches them our values like fairness, inclusion, and respect of the rights and freedoms of other individuals.

Appropriate placement into the language program that will best support the needs and facilitate the progress of adult ESL literacy learners is essential

• It is recommended that ESL Literacy learners are placed in a class according to their reading and writing levels, not their oral communication skills, which may be more advanced

Due to limited or no previous classroom experience, ESL literacy learners might not be used to things like getting information from texts, studying, sitting at a desk listening to a teacher, etc in the classroom environment

• Therefore, a supportive and comfortable environment where learners can move around, take breaks, work at their own pace,, and work with other learners is important

• Sometimes additional support may be needed, e.g. community support or resources available for addressing trauma

Provide good models of correct language

Discuss with learners what they learned in the lesson, and ways those skills and knowledge can immediately be applied to their lives outside of class (e.g. work/while looking for work, getting things done in the community like appointments)

When possible, using L1 while learning, particularly to discuss needs, opinions, and understand key instructions/concepts can be a valuable support for ESL Literacy learners

• If possible, having a language coach or volunteer who speaks students’ first language can help to facilitate this

It is beneficial to design tasks and lessons so that ESL Literacy learners can work collaboratively

• Can be helpful for understanding key concepts and instructions better

• Allows ESL Learners to experience successfully accomplishing a task collaboratively, which can ↑ confidence and motivation

  
  

They come to class with a rich array of experiences, knowledge, and abilities, and these can be a great starting point for classroom engagement

They often have stronger oral language ability, which can be helpful in supporting development of reading and writing skills

Tend to be highly resilient

They have very strong practical skills and expertise in navigating social systems

• Specific strengths may include skills such as running a household, sewing, doing different types of repairs, cooking, using technology, etc

• ESL Literacy learners may be highly motivated once they see how language learning and literacy can connect to things they are already interested in and can apply/relate to in their own lives

Numeracy skills, digital literacy, and sociocultural knowledge are essential skills for interacting/participating in the community, workplace, and educational environments.

• In addition to developing literacy skills, some ESL Literacy learners also require support in learning these skills in order to navigate these contexts.

• Strengthening these skills is part of enabling learners to achieve their goals, which are usually linked to these contexts

As with other literacy skills, making connections between numeracy/digital literacy/sociocultural knowledge and learners' own lives and how they can transfer these skills to relevant situations (e.g. filling out a job application online, online banking, workplace culture and norms) can be useful and motivating

As adults, students have cognitive abilities, life experiences, and language abilities that can assist with engagement in the classroom.

Less literacy hasn’t prevented the learners from navigating social system and being members of a community. This means their oral skills are likely stronger and that can assist with learning reading and writing.

They will have other important skills like cooking, cleaning, sewing, running a household, fixing cars, woodworking, and maybe even using technology.

These interests can assist teacher with planning appropriate activities that will lead to engagement. The learning will be relevant to their daily lives, and will encourage motivation.

They lack literacy in their L1 which means they are learning to read and write in two languages at the same time. They may not have the literacy concepts, knowledge, or strategies from their L1.

These learners have little experience in the classroom. Formal education might have been a negative experience in the past. These students might come in with a lack of confidence and feeling of unworthiness which can hinder their motivation.

They may not be used to the schedule of sitting for long periods for listening, processing print information, or doing homework.

If these students are leaving war-affected areas, they might be dealing with trauma related mental health concerns which affects their learning motivation.

Other challenges might include: needing childcare or taking care of family members, lack of housing or employment, lack of funds, and not being able to access public transportation or other social systems.

Using their L1 to communicate needs, discuss learning, and develop understanding of the concepts, strategies and skills for literacy. They may need instruction and explanation in their L1.

They need to work with other learners on tasks and activities. They need to share knowledge and skills and figure out the tasks together. They would be responsible for monitoring and demonstrating their learning to others. This would also assist the teacher in providing a more encouraging environment which helps build confidence.

They need real-world content for motivation and relying on their prior knowledge. They need print-rich materials, predictable routines, strategy training, repetition, spiraling, and practice. The teach should use a "whole-past-whole" approach so that every aspect of an activity can be broken down into smaller manageable steps.

Students need to developing literacy, numeracy, digital skills to interact in a community, workplace, and educational environments and may need support to function at home, work, citizenship, and community. These goals are the same as any student in an ESL program.

Numeracy skills have five categories: numbers, money, measurement, time, and data. Adult leaners with basic literacy skills might already have numeracy skills. It is necessary to cope with everyday demands are home, work, and in the community. It assists with math skills but also provides more knowledge of English vocabulary and culture.

Digital Literacy is necessary for daily life in the community, work and school. The three principles are: use of digital media software and hardware like computers and phones, the ability to critically understand digital content and applications, and know how to create with digital technology. Learners might already have some digital literacy, so lessons can rely on that prior knowledge. Activities can use a kinesthetic approach, but it also provides other options for language learning with the teacher being able to model and give students opportunity to practice.

No matter the level of literacy, sociolinguistic knowledge is an important part of communicative competence. However, having limited formal education might mean students have culture barriers too. They won’t have the same understanding of values and behaviours of classroom learning. Sociocultural knowledge can be introduced in three ways: the teacher applies it to different language characteristics (like reading direction, learning the alphabet, and name order), it is introduced through daily experiences (banking, common symbols for direction and warning, community involvement, concept of lime like lateness, culture images like holidays or history etc.), and introducing the culture of learning (classroom routine, planning, errors and correction, learning outside the classroom etc).