<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 24, 2023</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Multiliteracies: Making Connections in
Adult Literacy Education</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tom Sticht, International Consultant in
Adult Education (Ret.)</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In 1974 I spent the spring semester at
the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a visiting associate professor teaching
courses in adult literacy education and the development of readable, usable
materials for adults. I was assigned to work in the office of Professor
Courtney Cazden who was on sabbatical leave that year. Also in that year
colleagues and I published a book entitled Auding and Reading: A Developmental
Model that cited research by Cazden (1972) on oral language and children’s
education so the assignment of me to her office was an interesting event for
me.  </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some 20 years later, in 1994, both
Courtney and I were inducted into the international Reading Hall of Fame and
then, just two years later, in 1996, Courtney joined with several others to
form the New London Group which published a seminal article entitled “A
pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures” emphasizing “the
multiple linguistic and cultural differences in our society” </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Another member of the New London Group
was Allan Luke, who was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2021
Luke was serving as a member of the board for the Oxford Research  Encyclopedia of Education (OREE) and
recommended to the publishers that I be invited to write an article on Adult
Literacy and Basic Education in the United States for the OREE. I was indeed
contacted and I agreed to write the article (Sticht, 2022)..</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the article I discussed various
topics that are today often discussed in terms of “multiliteracies” as
formulated by the New London Group with both Courtney Cazden and Allan Luke as
members. This includes topics such as academic literacy, health literacy,
family literacy, workplace literacies, civics literacy, and digital literacy. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now, bringing this all up to
date, Cacicio, Cote, & Bigger (2023) have prepared a report for “ALL IN:
The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network”, a coalition of organizations formed
by the Barbara Bush Foundation to advance adult literacy education in the
United States.  Entitled “Investing in
Multiple Literacies for Individual and Collective Empowerment” the report’s
authors “,,,acknowledge the seminal work of the New London group in
establishing the concept of multiliteracies which captures the multiplicity of
communications channels and increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the
world today; multiple literacies shares a focus on the impact of technology and
distributed digital information on literacy”..</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Cacicio et al (2023) report maintains
that “<span style="color:black">In the age of information, the types of literacies
needed to participate in society have increased dramatically. These literacies
include civic, digital, financial, health, information, and oral literacy,
among others, all of which correlate to strong foundational literacy skills.
Foundational adult literacy skills are clearly linked to sustained income growth,2
better healthcare access,3 improved job prospects for justice-involved and
returning citizens,4 and stronger language and literacy skills among children.5”</span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Reference number 5 at
the end of the above paragraph refers to a paper I wrote (Sticht, 2011) that
discusses the relationships between oral language and written language learning,
which relates to the works by Cazden (1972) and Sticht et al. (1974) mentioned
earlier, and how this helps in the intergenerational transfer of oracy and
literacy from parents to their children. In the Cacicio et al (2023) report oral
language and literacy are discussed in a section on Storytelling and Oral
Literacy and notes that, “</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Historically, oral culture and communication has
served as a powerful tool of resistance to oppression, particularly among Black
and Indigenous communities. Storytelling and public speaking in general, is a
leadership skill–embodying empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to
motivate others.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Cacicio et al (2023) report
that the purpose of their paper “. .. is to clarify how promoting access and
integrated support of multiple literacies at the individual level can enable our
country’s shared social, economic, and civic well-being. It aims to demonstrate
how educators, employers, nonprofit, and government leaders can drive
collective investment in multiple literacies and create thriving communities
nationwide.”</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Hopefully, this
message will provide additional advocacy leverage for getting increased funding
for and participation in the Adult Education and Literacy System of the United
States. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">References</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:white">“As
our world becomes increasingly the written word becomes the baseline for
communication</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">       Cacicio, S., Cote, P., & Bigger, K.
(2023). Investing in Multiple Literacies for Individual and</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Collective Empowerment. [White
Paper]. The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><a href="https://allinliteracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Investing-in-Multiple-Literacies-for-">https://allinliteracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Investing-in-Multiple-Literacies-for-</a></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Individual-and-Collective-Empowerment.pdf</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Cazden, C. (1972). Child Language and Education.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">New London Group.(1996). A Pedagogy
of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66,
60–92.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sticht, T. et al. (1974). Auding
and Reading: A Developmental Model. Online at: <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED097641.pdf">https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED097641.pdf</a></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sticht, T. (2011) Getting it
Right From the Start. American Educator. Fall 2011. Online at: <a href="https://www.aft">https://www.aft</a>.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">org/sites/default/files/Sticht.pdf</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sticht, T. (2022). Adult Literacy and
Basic Education in the United States. Online at: </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:rgb(42,42,42)"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1744"><span style="color:rgb(0,111,183);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in">https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1744</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><b><span style="font-size:18.5pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";color:black"> </span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 10pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p></div>