Teaching An Adult To Read

This might sound silly but buy him readers for children. This will allow him to start learning words based on pictures. I think teaching an adult to read is the same as teaching a child. Congratulate this man for taking hold of his education and future.

Hey, foxy. I volunteered to teach a mentally handicapped lady, and made some progress by having her relate stories to me which I wrote on paper or recorded. I then had her read, and/or listen to what she had told me.
Amazing how a person can recall their own words and thereby become familiar with the written word. Good luck.

He gets constant praise while we're reading together, and he's even starting to say 'I did really well on that book' ~ thats really positive!!

Another idea is to get a phonics book. The home schoolers used it, and it worked for them.

Also, you can use the materials that he's going to have to know, e. g. the state probably provides some sort of a study book from the Department of Motor Vehicles, so ask for that or go down to the office (or he can go, if he prefers to) and get a copy.

Everyone has menus lying around, and they sometimes have pictures. You can point to things, e. g. here's spaghetti and meat balls, let's look for where they list spaghetti and meat balls and see what it comes with. That kind of thing.

PS This is a very nice thing you're doing.

Teaching An Adult To Read
Foxy1983, you should be commended for taking upon yourself to help this person to read. It's one of the most rewarding and valuable things you can do for another person, for society, and also for yourself. I suggest that you apply at your local Literacy Council. This is the best route to go, since you're new at doing it. Then get your friend to register as a student. They will then give you a small training session on the most effective method for tutoring an adult.

For about 1 1/2 years, I was a volunteer tutor for the local Literacy Council where I used to live. My situation was unique, however. It was during the Christmas holiday season, and I felt compelled to volunteer a little of my time to help others. So I searched through the local telephone directory for social services, and out of the ones listed, I selected the Literacy Council. Since I love reading, I felt that I could transfer that excitement for reading to the student. Also, I've always had a natural knack for breaking things down into the simplest of terms, whenever necessary, in order to be easily understood. Patience comes very easily for me, as well, which is vital when teaching someone anything.

When I arrived at their office, I was surprised at how easy it was to be accepted. While waiting before the interview, I'd picked up one of their monthly newsletters next to me. On the back of it, I noticed a small segment about a fellow in need of a tutor. Apparently, they were desperate to find someone to take him. He was around 23 years of age and handicapped, confined to a wheelchair. That's all it basically said, other than he was deeply motivated and eager to learn to read.

Something tugged at my heartstrings, and that silent part of me within whispered to take him. But the other part of me balked, since I was a complete novice with the program, and had never been around the handicapped. Certainly, I rationalized, he needed someone with more experience for his situation. Still, I wondered if this was indeed the right thing for me to do. So after the interview and registration, I asked the supervisor about the person in the newsletter, and what kind of experience was required to teach him, because I might be interested. She seemed to jump at my offer, and stated I could take the position if I wanted it, which also surprised me.

Later while driving back home, I reflected with excitement, on my new project of teaching the functionally illiterate how to read. But when I thought about the student I had accepted, butterflies started swirling in me, and I began wondering what I had gotten myself into. The next day I received a call from the mother of my new student, and we talked for a bit. She asked if I would mind driving to their home instead of him going to a public meeting place. I wasn't supposed to do this because it was against the rules, but I told her I would. So I agreed to drive 80 miles round-trip, once a week, so that he wouldn't have to leave his home. Besides, the way I saw it, if he were in the setting of his home, then he would be more relaxed, making it easier for him to learn and less distracted... considering his unusual situation.

I then called the council's office and told them I was ready to teach him. They said that there wouldn't be another training session available for me for at least 4 weeks, because they were going through some changes in the training program. I asked her if I could go ahead and just get the books and figure out how to do it myself, and she said that considering the circumstances, I could. (I think she didn't want to take the chance on later changing my mind.)

When I arrived at the student's home, I met him (we'll refer to him as "Michael"). I experienced yet another surprise. It turned out the Michael was about 4 1/5 feet tall and a paraplegic, due to cerebral palsy which had afflicted him at birth. This means he couldn't use his hands to write. His mother also informed me that he was legally blind. With very thick glasses, he could still only barely make out objects. This meant he couldn't read the workbooks. And then during the course of our conversation, I found that he could only enunciate a few syllables that I could understand. He couldn't pronounce a lot of the sounds, so he had to make up his own sounds that he could pronounce. His mother could understand him, but I couldn't, for the most part. This meant that I wouldn't be able to tell whether or not he was getting the words right. The people at the Literacy Council never told me any of this! No wonder they were advertising for a tutor.

I'm the type who believes that nothing is impossible, and where there is a will, there is always a way. I figured that if I heard him speak long enough, maybe I could learn to interpret some of what he said. First on the list I made, was to get a large white erasable board and an easel, along with some colored pens. This way, I could write the words on the board in large, 4" tall letters so that he could see them clearly. He mother gladly cooperated and purchased the supplies.

During the first session of tutoring him, I made notes on the sounds that he couldn't pronounce... one of them being "s" (ssss). He would substitute it with a "t". So when he said "Yes", it would sound like "Yet". I asked his mother if he had ever had speech therapy, and she said he had, when he was younger. It was obvious that their standards must have been very low. She also showed me his high school diploma hanging on the wall. I was absolutely stunned. How could they pass him through high school, when he couldn't even read? She told me that they said he was retarded, so they didn't really try to do much for him. He of course couldn't see to read, so what little he did learn, he had to remember by simply listening. I suspected that they passed him on through, for fear of destroying his self-esteem.

Retarded, huh? Well, it's against my belief system to accept that sort of thing. I just absolutely refuse to accept it. Period. I truly believe that there is hope for every person, no matter who they are, if you believe it, regardless of what anyone else says. If Michael can see that I believe this and expect the best from him, then he will believe it too, and act accordingly. As I sat in front of him, I told him directly and firmly, that there was a genius inside of him, and that we were going to pull him out. His face beamed with intelligent enthusiasm, and he replied excitedly, "Yet!!" He knew I meant it, so he took the picture into his mind and started running with it.

The next day while I was out, I picked up some little colored stars and a journal to keep track of his speech progress, because I had decided to give him speech therapy, myself. Although I didn't know the first thing about that sort of thing, I figured with simple common sense and a little ingenuity, I could certainly come up with some ideas. The night before while in bed, I thought about the sounds he couldn't say. I would pronounce them to myself, analyze how my tongue was shaped and where it was in relation to my teeth and lips. Then I came up with ways to describe to him how to practice exercising those mouth and tongue positions, over and over. I believed that after a time of doing this, there was no reason why he couldn't eventually say the sounds. I was raised to believe that "practice makes perfect", and that if a person does anything long enough, with determination, persistence, and desire, they can do anything the set their mind to do.

At the next appointment with him the following week, I showed him his "progress journal" (dated and with his name in it), along with the stars, and told him he was going to learn some speech exercises to help him pronounce words. Each time he did his speech exercises, or I saw a noticeable sign of progress, he would get a star in his journal. I asked him to also practice during the week while I was gone, because this is the only way that he could improve. He was fine with it, and excited to get going. Bless his heart, he would work tirelessly, and never complained, and always did what I asked. I had initially expected to spend about 1 to 1 1/2 hours at the most with him per session, but I soon realized that he needed more time. So I would stay with him from 2 to 2 1/2 hours, sometimes even 3, to maintain at least a moderate pace. He truly was eager to learn, desperate to do what he could to rise above his circumstances. All he needed was someone to believe in him and expect the best, instead of settling for the get-by.

It didn't take long before I noticed that Michael couldn't keep his eyes focused on the board for very long, without them moving away uncontrollably, to one side. When he would look back again, he would lose his place in the sentence and get confused. I could tell this frustrated him, but he never let on about it, and kept on trying to do his best. I explained him what he was doing, and he didn't realize it was happening. I told him that I understood the problem, but that he is the boss of his eyes, they are not the boss of him. He is the master, and he can tell them what to do, and they have to obey. So what he needed to do is determine to take control of them, and "show them who was boss". He liked that attitude, because it appealed to his ego, and it actually worked. When I would catch his eyes wandering, I would remind him of what I'd said, and he would strain with determination to keep them looking ahead. Over a period of time, his eyes looked away less and less, and I would give him extra stars for good effort. He really loved those stars and was very proud of his progress. He knew that he really earned them, and they weren't just given to him. This genuinely improved his self-esteem, and he appreciated it.

When his mother would sit in with us once in a while, she would always tell him he was doing great when he wasn't. This was not good. I understand that she was trying to keep his self-esteem up, but this was the wrong way to do it. I later told Mike that he could expect only the truth from me. When he didn't do something right, I would tell him. But when he did do something right, I would certainly tell him that, too, that way he would know that I really meant it. This would make it possible for him to self-gauge his progress, and work from there, moving forward.

To shorten this long story, I was with Michael for about 1 1/2 years, and he got through 3 work books. This averaged approximately 1 book every 4.5 months. It was slow and drawn out, but you have to realize that time was also spent with the speech therapy. I am so pleased to say that Michael was finally able to say "Yes!" instead of "Yet!", along with a few other sounds he couldn't say before. Then came an unexpected situation with my job at the time, which took me away from my time with Michael. So I had to discontinue the tutoring. I couldn't bear to tell him, so I asked to supervisor at the council to break it to him. I felt terrible, but she actually praised me, to my surprise (I got surprised a lot, as you can tell). She informed me that no one had ever chosen to stay with him, to teach him. I was the only one. And she was amazed that I'd stuck it out for a year and a half. They had never told me this, but it didn't surprise me, since he didn't know anything when we first began. I told the supervisor the progress Michael had made, and explained to her how it was being done, so that hopefully she could relay this information to the next tutor who might choose to take on the challenge.

I still think about him sometimes, and wonder how he's doing. I hope that he was able to have someone else to pick up where I left off. He was the only student I ever had. I think one of these days I'd like to volunteer as a reading tutor again, wherever I might be living. That experience was one that will always remain with me, for the rest of my life. I hope I was able to touch his life, as much as the experience has touched mine.

P. S. - Thank you for starting this thread, Foxy 1983.

YOU ARE DOING AN HONORABLE THING.

Teaching An Adult To Read


Great idea, Letty... it's nice to meet a fellow creative thinker! (I already knew you were, from your radio thread.) And what a good heart you have, too. In fact, everyone here had good suggestions.

I know this thread is a little old, but that still doesn't detract from its value.

Wow, thank you for your reply Poet!

The man I was helping, I had met through work, as he was on an employability program, and I provide training support for the occupational area he was training in. Eventually, he had to leave (end of his allowed time) and attempt to find a job to get him off benefits.

I think we would have kept in contact so I could keep helping him, but his girlfriend was very over-protective and wouldn't have allowed it. It's a shame we couldn't continue, but I hope it gave him some confidence for when he decides the time is right to start again.

The girlfriend was overprotective?

Did you dress like your avatar during his lessons?

:wink:

I'm not being serious foxy, just an early morning chuckle.

Maybe if I had dressed like my avatar he would have progressed more!!!

Hah....