# Adult ESL Literacy Learners

Adults learning English and literacy at the same time (often called LESLLA learners: Literacy Education and
Second Language Learning for Adults) need different teaching from literate learners, even at the same speaking
level.

## Learner profiles

| Profile | Description | Starting point |
|---------|-------------|----------------|
| Pre-literate | First language has no common written form | Concepts of print: text carries meaning, left-to-right, letters vs words |
| Non-literate | L1 has a written form but learner had little or no schooling | Concepts of print, letter formation, phonological awareness |
| Semi-literate | Some schooling; reads and writes a little in L1 | Build on what they know; systematic phonics; fluency |
| Non-Roman-alphabet literate | Literate in another script (Arabic, Chinese, Tigrinya, Amharic...) | Transfer reading strategies; teach Roman letters, direction (if right-to-left), sound-letter links |
| Roman-alphabet literate | Literate in a Roman-script language | Mainstream ESL with spelling-sound differences |

Ask (sensitively, often in L1 with an interpreter) about years of schooling and reading in any language;
observe with a short task (copying, reading a sign, writing a name) rather than a formal test.

## Principles

1. **Oral language first**: learners decode words they can already say and understand.
2. **From known to new**: start with learners' names, familiar signs, their own stories.
3. **Systematic phonics with meaningful text**: letter-sound patterns taught in order and applied in decodable,
   adult-relevant texts.
4. **Lots of repetition and recycling** with variety.
5. **Adult content**: never childish materials; real-life topics (health, shopping, transport, work, forms).
6. **Explicit instruction in classroom skills**: holding a pen, using lines, copying from the board, organising
   papers.
7. **Respect experience**: adults have rich knowledge and life skills; literacy is one skill they do not yet have.

## Lesson routine (60-90 minutes)

| Stage | Activity |
|-------|----------|
| Oral warm-up | Talk about a picture or a real object; key words orally |
| Review | Letter-sound cards; read last lesson's words |
| New pattern | Introduce one grapheme: sound, mouth shape, letter formation, words with it (oral first) |
| Blending | Teacher models s-a-t -> sat; learners blend with cards |
| Segmenting | Teacher says a word; learners say the sounds, then build it with letter tiles |
| Decodable text | Short adult text using taught patterns + taught sight words (`decodable_check.py`) |
| Writing | Copy, then write words and a sentence from dictation |
| Functional literacy | Real-life text: sign, form field, bus timetable, medicine label |
| Language Experience | Learners tell a short story; teacher writes it; learners read it back |

## Language Experience Approach (LEA)

1. Shared experience (a trip, a photo, a recent event).
2. Learners say sentences; the teacher writes exactly what they say (lightly corrected).
3. Read together, then individually; cut into sentences and words to reorder.
4. Use the text for word work (letters, sight words).

## Functional literacy targets

Writing name, address, phone number and date of birth on forms; reading signs (Exit, Toilet, Push/Pull,
No entry); reading prices, times and dates; recognising medicine labels; reading text messages from schools or
employers; using a phone keypad and simple apps.

## Assessment

Use observation checklists and portfolios: can recognise letters, can write name, can read 20 sight words, can read
a decodable text with 90% accuracy, can complete a simple form. Progress is slower than for literate learners;
celebrate small steps.