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The Laubach Way to Reading
The Laubach Way to Reading provides the syllabus for Project Read. It is a specially devised adult literacy programme. It has worked for over 60 million people world-wide.
Dr. Frank Charles Laubach (September 2, 1884 – June 11, 1970) was a Christian Evangelical missionary and mystic known as "The Apostle to the Illiterates." In 1935, while working at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program, which has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in their own language[1]. He was deeply concerned about poverty, injustice and illiteracy, and considered them a barrier to peace in the world. In 1955, he founded Laubach Literacy, which merged with Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. in 2002 to form ProLiteracy Worldwide. During the latter years of his life, he traveled all over the world speaking on topics of literacy and world peace. He was author of a number of devotional writings and works on literacy.
Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Laubach
The
illustration [at the left] is reduced from Skill Book 1 of the Laubach
Way to Reading. Notice the pictures that accompany and frame each
letter. These are called visual puns. They help the beginning reader
to get the letters clearly in mind. The Laubach Method works through
the alphabet one letter at a time. It introduces letters in the
order which adults can best absorb them, not alphabetical order.
Yet, it is not only a phonics program. As part of the first lesson, students read a story. They learn new words in context. They are also encouraged to use their imagination to make the words on the page relate to his life and to use critical thinking skills.
This is a four book series with supplements. It uses a controlled vocabulary. Words are used repeatedly so the student becomes thoroughly familiar with them. Only short sounds of vowels are encountered in Book 1. Book 2 concentrates on the short vowel sounds and introduces consonant blends. The long sounds of vowels are introduced in Book 3. Vowel combinations like ough, oi, oy and au (as in Paul) are presented in Book 4.
Book 4 also teaches how pronunciation of consonants varies, ie, the three different sounds of ch (as church, chef and chemistry). Book 4 also teaches how to use the dictionary. When students finish Book 4, they are ready to read to learn, rather than learn to read. It also teaches grammar and punctuation without getting bogged down in technical explanations.
It accomplishes this by laying out in detail everything the tutor is to say and do. This does not mean that the tutor is rigidly confined. When a student hits a spot of difficulty, the tutor is encouraged to use additional methods taught in our tutor training workshops, and use any additional materials which will help their student grasp the concept with which the student is having difficulty.
Source: Salam Literacy Council:
http://www.open.org/~literacy/laubach.htm