Engaging Readers and Writers in Adult Education Contexts

A comprehensive definition of literacy embraces abilities, choices, and attitudes. Literate people not only know how to read and write but also choose to do so. The definition of “engaged reader,” developed and studied at the National Reading Research Center during its five-year tenure, describes fluent, adult readers as having a desire to use literacy (motivation), skills and abilities as readers and writers (strategies), information about reading and writing and how to obtain ideas from or construct ideas using the written word (knowledge), and the ability to learn from and with others in literacy situations (social interaction). This article develops the rationale for this approach in adult education programs and describes current projects that are designed to help teachers offer students opportunities to become engaged readers and writers. Online teaching resources developed as part of these projects are highlighted