ABSTRACT
In many cases language and literacy skills are not formally taught as part of academic or vocational learning programmes. In addition to the requirements of their syllabus, lifelong learning practitioners should consider the language and literacy skills their learners need in order to achieve their qualification successfully. Tutors must decide how and where these skills are to be gained. For a training provider or institution to be truly effective the literacy and language needs of learners must be addressed at a strategic level supporting staff working at operational levels. Vocational and academic tutors are not expected to work in isolation: a whole-organisation approach is essential. This chapter is a starting point for vocational and academic tutors. It considers the range of literacy and language skills that different levels of qualification require; the need for assessment at an early stage in the teaching programme and the process for carrying out a skills audit to identify where literacy and language skills could best be embedded within specific programmes of study.
Minimum core elements
A1
The different factors affecting the acquisition and development of language and literacy skills.
The importance of context in language use and the influence of the communicative situation.
