I have a friend, a lovely young woman, who is not at all stupid but has a pathetic education. She’s earning her living as an exotic dancer, which is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far.
I love her to death and I want to help her, and there’s a bunch of issues here, but the top of the list is her poor education, crappy reading skills, and vanishingly tiny attention span. She complains that she can’t bear to read because it’s difficult and she can’t stay focused for a paragraph.
I really don’t know about functional illiteracy, but she’s close. And I don’t know if there’s much of a cure in a situation like this. What I DO know is that almost every aspect of life can be improved by reading, whether it’s a job application, the newspaper, a short story or a self-help book.
I haven’t a clue how to begin improving anyone’s life or future prospects without reading being a part of their life. So I’m feeling stuck in my efforts to help her because everything I can think of to even help her face her various issues starts with some kind of reading.
Even if she just ends up getting married and having a kid, how can she be an effective parent?
I don’t have much experience with adult ed, but one general rule of thumb is to start with something the learner is interested in. Offer to read together for 1/2hr-1hr each day, and let her pick the material; even if it’s just fashion magazines or a celebrity gossip tabloid, at least it’s reading. Don’t make the selection too long, and don’t make it painful for her. At first you can read all the words to her and have her just watch as your finger follows the text. Later on (after several sessions) you could try doing something like have her find a word or passage in the text. But the key here is commitment to whatever lessons she decides to go with. No matter what program is used, she has to follow it every day and for a certain amount of time. With follow-through and commitment, any program will work, even boring old “Hooked On Phonics.” So the trick is to keep her interest.
Isn’t there an 800 number for some national campaign to reduce adult illiteracy? You might try a Google search.
Sounds like one of the girls who tried to get me to do her homework in school. Maybe she’ll learn when she has more incentive, eg, can’t rely on her looks to get everything done for her.
I think tclouie’s suggestions are excellent. Making reading seem enticing is what’s important, especially at the beginning, when it could be a frustrating chore or a daunting challenge.
But then, I think elementary school teachers are simply the best. That’s why I married one!
All this puts me in mind of Born Yesterday, with Judy Holliday. Maybe you could have her watch that movie sometime.
It sounds like your friend may be undiagnosed dyslexic. Help her set up an appointment with someone who can diagnose her and also to set her up with someone who can “re-teach” her to read. I’m no expert, but I’ve heard that dyslexics have to read differently than the rest of us for it to make sense.
Any idea what her interests are? Might help us recommend reading material.
As far as teaching kids/adolescents how to read, even comics have been found to have a positive impact on vocabulary and reading “levels” - what level of literacy is appropriate for a 4th grader, a 6th grader, etc.
And these were, you know, regular comics. Something like Gaiman’s Sandman series (published by Vertico/DC) should be even better. (And, really, I can’t imagine someone not wanting to read them, though I’m sure there’s a couple of people out there somewhere…)
Along similar “how can you not read it?” lines, how’s about the SDMB? Most of us write fairly well, most posts are easily digestible at only a couple hundred words (excepting GD and the Pit), and some threads (maybe the TMI thread and the “funniest things said during sex” thread) are funny enough that anybody should like to read them. Of course, YMMV.
And, Stoid, may I just say good for you for wanting to help her. I’m sure it’s a task that may get frustrating now and then, but I think it is wonderful of you to put forth the effort.
Dyslexia and vision problems are definitely possibilities which I neglected to consider in my earlier post, which should be checked out. (A quickie diagnosis method: show her a text with very simple words, like a Dr. Seuss book, and ask her to spell a frequently used word from the story. If she can’t spell “Sam” or “cat,” either she needs to learn the alphabet or she should be checked out for dyslexia. For vision, see how far away or how close she can read a letter or group of letters. Yes, with one eye covered. It’s best to have a good idea the problem exists before spending a lot of money on an appointment with a specialist.)
That’s also a good point about whether your friend WANTS to be helped. That’s actually Step #1.
The suggestions about subtitled DVD’s, crosswords and hangman are also good suggestions which can be used to vary the daily routine. It doesn’t have to be partner reading EVERY day. Or maybe start each session with a little reading, then close with a game or DVD.
I would add one suggestion to that: MAD Libs. You know, that game where you say, “give me a noun,” etc., then you reveal the story for which she’s been supplying the words. Lotsa giggles there. You may have to explain each time that a noun is a person, place or thing, a verb is an action or “doing” word, and an adjective is a describing word, but that’s not hard.
Anything to get her to associate reading and writing with fun!!!
Thanks for the props, DAVE. We teachers are so picked on sometimes that it’s good to hear praise.
Back when I was dating a Vietnamese woman, she had some books which were aimed at adults who were non-native speakers of English. They were “adult” stories (i.e. aimed at an adult, not simply a children’s book) written in English structured so that someone unfamiliar with the language could read them easily. You might try and find some of those. That way she doesn’t feel stupid trying to read a children’s book.
Scrabble’s good, and my Vietnamese girlfriend enjoyed playing it, even though I had to help her (and she used to laugh hysterically when she’d win :rolleyes: ) with the words. Additionally, I’d suggest getting her to write something. You don’t have to grade it or offer critizism of it, but writing will help her with her reading.
Finally, find out what kinds of things she’s interested in, and get her books and magazines on that, as she’ll be more inclined to work at it if the subject matter is appealing to her.
We have a program here for Adult Literacy. They have the kind of books which Tuckerfan mentioned. You might go to your county or state’s web site and look for Adult Literacy programs. I found out about it when I tried to teach my first husband how to read. Unfortunately, all he did was chew the backs off the books.
Many local libraries offer adult literacy programs. My library had a branch of PLUS (Project Literacy U.S.) which actually offered training to people who wished to volunteer in adult literacy.
Wow, I would love to tutor a stripper.
Thanks for the props, DAVE. We teachers are so picked on sometimes that it’s good to hear praise.