Velis 1990

Velis, Jean-Pierre. 1990.Through a glass, darkly: Functional illiteracy in industrialized countries. Paris: UNESCO. 127 pages. 9231026518. Location: Dallas SIL Library 302.2244 V437. Interest level: general.

It is very rare to find professional teachers trained to teach adults, and especially adults with a low level of education. Quotes Brian Street in regard to the unbridgeable "culture gap between the services being offered, however experienced and sensitive the teachers, and the people identified as in 'need'." Discusses problems of the

• lack of good materials and methods
• lack of motivation on the part of adults who place no value on literacy, and
• high dropout rate.

Deals with the ambiguities of differing definitions of functional literacy. Commends a program that was launched in 1985 in Toronto, called Beat the Street. Program begins with establishing an informal one-to-one relationship between two people belonging to the same environment. Is described as "a literacy program that uses homeless street people to tutor street people."

• Bibliography module: Velis 1990
• In overview module: Bibliography (Literacy): V
• In modular book: Bibliography (Literacy), by Doris Gallemore, Trudi C. Hunt, Jeanne Swanson, and Stephen L. Walter
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 28 June 1999

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