of the varying results obtained from the Informal Reading Inventory,
the oral reading tests, and the silent reading tests.

 Teaching adults at the introductory stage is quite different
 from teaching children at the same stage. Few of them need an exten-
 sive readiness program, although some work in sound discrimination
 (hearing likenesses in fan and Dan, hearing differences in leaf and
 leave) may be called for. Illiterate adults know the meanings of the
 words to be recognized, generally have better visual and auditory
 memories than do children, and their visual and auditory perceptual
 abilities are usually far better developed. Except for the specific
 learning disability cases, their abilities are so far in advance of
 young children that most teachers new to literacy education are
 amazed at their progress.

 Instructional techniques at this stage can be broken down into
two main groups. One set builds the whole from its parts while the
other focuses attention on the whole and later analyzes the parts.
Rarely does a competent teacher restrict himself to one set of tech-
niques except perhaps in the very early phases of the training.
Studies of perception disclose that people fall into two main groups
in terms of how they organize their perceptual worlds. Some habitually
build from the elements of that which they are viewing,while others
take in the total picture at a glance. Observation will soon enable
you to spot those who will do better with an emphasis on a synthetic
(part to whole) approach and those who will learn faster with an
emphasis on a global (whole and later analysis of parts) approach.

 In practice, you should not restrict yourself to either a
synthetic or a global approach with a student. Rather, an eclectic
(combination of the two) approach should be used with emphasis given
to the one that appears most natural to the student Rigid adherence
to one method tends to kill interest and slow down the learning
process.

 Research shows that many people learn better through an audi-
tory approach than through a visual approach. Since the adult
illiterate has had more experience in learning concepts through the
auditory approach, it is recommended that much oral reading be done
in the early phases of training. However, the oral reading should
not be done in front of the class until you are sure that few mistakes
will be made. When it is done, it should be on a voluntary basis and
have a practical purpose.

 The student should generally read a selection to himself before
he reads it orally. Do not be concerned if he mumbles the word as he
reads 'silently.' As he becomes more and more proficient, the vocal-
ization and lip movements will subside. When doing the 'silent' read-
ing, tell the students to point to any words that give them trouble
and tell them those words. Record the troublesome words for later


-24-