Investigating the Language and Literacy Skills Required for Independent Online Learning.

s were determined to be potentially relevant on the following criteria: Sample population (adult learners, not university • students); Publication date after 1990; • Intervention (online learning; basic skills or ESL); • and Setting (relevant secondary or adult settings • excluding senior or university focus; United States or English-speaking country; in or out of formal education). In the end, most research documentation found on adult literacy and language learning online is not about independent self-directed activities, but about online learning that is supplemental to classroom and program involvement. It is not surprising that studies reporting evidence of skill improvement through test scores were evaluations of supplemental activities for students in programs where such tests are administered, rather than independent, out-of-program activities. The implications of this finding, of course, are that this knowledge is based on learners who are already in programs and, as shown above (Kim, Hagedorn, Williamson, & Chapman, 2004), represents only a tiny fraction of the adult population with low literacy and low English language proficiency. Articles gathered were sorted into the following categories in a database according to the facets of independent online learning they could inform: evidence of basic skills and language proficiency threshold levels or of improvement, implementation issues and evaluations, student skills and dispositions necessary for success, and the design of instructional environment and materials. Key points and findings from each article were extracted and entered into the database. Many articles and reports fell into more than one category, and as articles and reports were read and summarized, some categories were collapsed into emergent themes. What follows is a series of thematic analyses within and across the categories and identification of emergent subthemes. Descriptions of the research contexts are explicitly described so that extrapolations are clear. There is much to be gained from this literature as an important point of triangulation for an overall investigation that will provide a fuller understanding of the issues surrounding independent online learning by adults with low literacy and English language proficiency. EvIDENCE oF BASIC LITERACy AND LANgUAgE SKILLS IMPRovEMENT Reviewed here are reports of single studies as well as previous literature reviews on the topic, all with some reporting of student achievement data. The findings Learning from the Literature INvESTIgATINg THE LANgUAgE AND LITERACy SkILLS REqUIRED FOR INDEPENDENT ONLINE LEARNINg 15 suggest that adult learners’ work with computerbased or online materials that are supplemental to adult literacy and ESOL classes positively contributes to their overall literacy and language acquisition plus complementary learning skills. The following studies were of supplemental materials available to students with some type of program support (on-site trained teacher or support person, support person available online, tech support available through the program, and/or automated feedback system in the program) and varying degrees of integration with the regular class curriculum. The supplemental materials and online interfaces were either uniquely developed or chosen for adult literacy and language learners. This addresses one of the key needs for this population mentioned in the Introduction (Lazarus & Mora, 2000): relevant and comprehensible content with clear navigation. Table 3 provides an overview of the studies and findings reviewed for evidence of literacy and language skills improvements, which are described more fully below.