Reading for Pleasure and Reading Circles for Adult Emergent Readers

Book excerpt: In the UK, the adult literacy provision has become more functional and more assessment driven over the last decade, largely due to funding requirements. However, one result of this is that the clear benefits of reading for pleasure in adult skills development have become less apparent. This book addresses the need to support teachers in the development of adults' skills through reading for pleasure, by incorporating the activity into the curriculum. It focuses on reading for pleasure for adult emergent readers - those who consider themselves non-readers, either because they feel they cannot or do not read - and it draws on the author's research with adult readers and reading circles. The book shows how to incorporate reading for pleasure into adult literacy teaching in a range of non-formal and formal settings.