What Are Challenges Related to Adult Learning and Literacy?

The challenges of adult learning and literacy are different than those of teaching a group of children in school who are at approximately the same level. Teaching literacy to adults must be approached with a different mindset.

Here are considerations provided by Teach Reading:¹

Be empathetic and keep it simple
Use high frequency words
Use phonics suitable for adults
Use age-appropriate stories
Practice reading out loud
Relate reading to real-life situations
Set goals

Adults already have a full plate of responsibilities when they come to the task of learning to read. They may be tired and have things on their mind. This is especially true of those caught in the cycle of poverty who come from generations of illiterate family members. Many are struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis.

Providing them with opportunities to learn is essential if they or their family have any chance of escaping the straits of poverty that can bind generations. Supporting organizations that can provide these services in a way that fits the unique needs of adult learners is important not only for the individuals themselves but also for the economies where they live.

GFA missionaries are trained to bring literacy classes to areas where many people have never had a chance to learn to read or write. Often, because their family has lived in poverty, they either had to quit school to take care of siblings or go to work themselves as children. They will have been deprived of an education and most likely their parents were, too. GFA hopes to break that repeated scenario.

GFA missionaries, like the Sisters of Compassion, receive special training to set up literacy classes in the villages where they serve. The workbooks they use are specially designed for adult learners. They also incorporate aspects of the Gospel and Scripture. The students will learn to read the most important truths available through the Word of God.

Give today to GFA World’s literacy program, which is geared toward adults who never before had a chance to learn. You can be sure that your gift will come with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ into some of the most difficult situations in our world. Funding literacy is giving people in desperate circumstances a path out of poverty into self-confidence and a future.

Learn more about how to fix illiteracy

¹ “Adult Literacy.” Teach Reading. Accessed March 4, 2022. http://teachreading.info/teach-reading-to-adults/.