Fact Sheet #1 – Literacy• Literacy • Literacy and Health • Literacy and Plain Language • Literacy and Learning Disabilities • Family Literacy
What is Literacy?
What are Literacy Rates in Atlantic
Canada?
Recently, Canada took part in an International Adult Literacy Skills Survey (IALS). The survey found that half of Atlantic Canadians have literacy skills
at levels one and two. They have difficulty reading food and drug labels,
and may not be able to read the materials required to do their jobs safely. What
is Literacy? Literacy is the ability to understand and use printed information
at home, at work, and in the community--
to achieve one's goals and develop one's knowledge and potential.
There are
different kinds of literacy:•
- Prose literacy is the ability to
understand and use information from texts, such as news stories,
magazine articles and novels.
- Document literacy is the ability to find
and use information from documents, such as job applications,
maps and tables.
- Quantitative
literacy is the ability to apply arithmetic operations, such
as balancing a cheque book or figuring out a tip.
What are literacy skill levels?
People
have different skill levels when it comes to literacy. They range
from having difficulty
with basic reading to being able to understand very complex
material. In a the recent International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS),
researchers divided literacy skills into five levels: Level
1
- people
have great difficulty reading and usually know they have
a problem
Level 2
- people can read, but not well
- they
can deal with material that is simple and clearly laid
out and often do not realize
that they have a literacy problem
Level 3
- people
can read well, but have some problems with more complex
tasks
Level 4 and 5
- people have a high level of literacy and can meet most
reading demands
- these levels are usually combined for
convenience
Level One:
4.7
Million Canadian
Consumers
 |
Level
Two:
Nearly
5.5 Million
Canadian Consumers
 |
Levels
Three, Four and
Five: 11.3 Million
Canadian Consumers
 |
Diagram from "We Don't Get It." Pamphlet
by Consumers' Association of Canada and Movement
for Canadian Literacy, with support from NLS and
HRSDC.
Why do
some people have low literacy skills?There are many reasons
why some people have low literacy skills. • In resource-based
economies like Prince Edward Island, young people were often
expected to help the
family with farming, fishing or another family business.
In the past there was no need for high literacy skills, which
is why there is
a lower literacy rate among seniors. • Children who are not
encouraged to read at home often have difficul-ties in their
early schooling. They may become frustrated struggling with
the school system
and drop out before they complete their education. • Some
people have learning disabilities such as dyslexia or Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD) which make it difficult for them to
read and under-stand
written materials. Literacy is a skill that must be practiced.
Even people who graduated from school can have lower literacy
skills if they have not used these skills as an adult at
their home and work. These
days people need to be able to deal with complex reading
tasks on the farm or in any other business. Very few literacy
problems are related to a person’s intelligence or to a lack
of motivation.
Why is literacy important?
Low literacy skills, low incomes and health problems are all related. For example:
- low literacy skills
can prevent people from getting decent jobs and good
incomes
- poverty
can create health problems that make it difficult to
learn
Where to get literacy information...
To learn to read with a trained tutor, or if you
would like to become a tutor, call The LEARN Line • toll
free 1-800-348-7323. This service is free and confidential. If
you would like to volunteer to help school children with
reading, call PEI
Volunteers for Literacy (formerly Project LOVE). (Let
Older Volunteers Educate) • 902-368-4695 For
information about literacy and learning opportunities
in your area, call:
For
information on literacy/adult basic education programs
call:
Holland College Adult and Community Education • 902-629-4260 • lmossey@hollandc.pe.ca To
learn more about adult literacy and basic adult education
across Canada, call:
The National Adult Literacy Database • toll
free 1-800-720-6253 • http://www.nald.ca • info@nald.ca
 |
|
This
is one of a series of
literacy fact sheets
produced
by the
PEI Literacy Alliance.
If you would like more
fact
sheets or information,
please call us. |
This publication is partially funded by the PGI Golf Tournament for Literacy.
| 
in collaboration with PEI Literacy Alliance
