METALINGUISTIC AND PRAGMATIC ABILITIES OF PARTICIPANTS IN ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMS

The relationship between oral and written language skills was explored in this study involving 97 participants enrolled in an adult literacy program. Pragmatic language skills were assessed in videotaped conver sational dyads which were later analyzed for level of conversational a ssertiveness and responsiveness and for the status of basic interactio nal skills. Those behaviors which were judged as being most likely to detract from communicative effectiveness were body movement, eye gaze, and facial expression. Metalinguistic/semantic language skills were a ssessed with the Test of Word Knowledge (TOWK) (Wiig & Secord, 1991). A significant relationship was found between total scores on the TOWK and reading levels of subjects as they entered the program. Post-testi ng was conducted approximately 6 to 8 months after the initial testing . These results were available for 22 of the subjects and indicated th at, even for adults, some aspects of oral language improve as reading levels increase.