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ELT Journal 2000 54(4):362-368; doi:10.1093/elt/54.4.362
© 2000 by Oxford University Press
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Intergenerational literacy: the use of story in family literacy instruction

Joanne R. Nurss

Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta (USA) where directed the Center for the Study of Adult Literacy for nine years. She was Fulbright Professor at the Centre for Adult Education at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (1997) and at the University of Trondheim, Norway (1985–6). She is currently engaged in research in family literacy and in literacy and health care. Email: alcjrn{at}langate.gsu.edu

Storytelling provides a valuable link between generations within a family. It also provides an innovative approach to literacy instruction for adults and children. Descriptions are given of two methods of using stories within an intergenerational family literacy programme for English-as-a-Second Language families in the United States. Folk tales and family stories are used to build the links between oral and written language, and to provide a transition from personal texts to published texts. These stories also provide a vehicle for cultural transmission between generations, and an opportunity for bilingual language and literacy development. Suggestions are developed for using this approach in Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes in other countries, including South Africa. Storytelling can also be an effective tool to foster adult basic literacy in English and/or the mother tongue.


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