Quick Reads essential for adults learning literacy Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 12:20

The difference Quick Reads have made to learners across the country will be demonstrated to adult learning providers and tutors at three national Skills for Life Conferences, organised by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service. The first was held in London on Tuesday 3 November and the next two will be in Leeds on 18 November and in Birmingham on 23 November.

A film - produced by Coracle Films and NIACE - featuring literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) learners from Leeds, Redbridge and Tameside will be shown to delegates at the conferences and will illustrate just how effective Quick Reads have been in helping learners overcome their fears of reading and discover the joys of books.

The next World Book Day - 4th March 2010 - will be the fifth anniversary of the Quick Reads initiative. Since its inception in March 2006, over one and a quarter million books have reached hundreds of thousands of new readers and helped to change the face of adult literacy in the UK and Ireland. It has been described as ‘one of the great success stories of the English language' by the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Gordon Brown, MP.

 Ten new Quick Reads titles have already been announced for World Book Day 2010. Bestselling authors Andy McNab, Val McDermid and Cathy Kelly, together with television personalities Rolf Harris and Alvin Hall, are among the authors who provide brand-new books for the fifth anniversary list.

 The fifth anniversary titles are:

• Last Night Another Soldier by Andy McNab (Corgi Books)
  

  [After reading Quick Reads] I found myself reading without really noticing. The more you do it, the more excited you get and the more you want to learn.

  Adult literacy learner
• The Perfect Holiday by Cathy Kelly (HarperCollins)
• The Perfect Murder by Peter James (Pan)
• Doctor Who: Code of the Krillitanes by Justin Richards (BBC Books)
• Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo (Penguin)
• Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom by Alvin Hall (Hodder)
• Traitors of the Tower by Alison Weir (Vintage)
• We Won the Lottery: Real Life Winner Stories by Danny Buckland (Accent Press)
• Life's Too Short: True Stories About Life at Work with foreword by Val McDermid (Bantam Books)
• Buster Fleabags by Rolf Harris (Corgi Books)

Richard Crabb, NIACE Team Leader Campaigns, said:

"The Quick Reads initiative has had a remarkable impact on the lives of learners and the role of tutors. We hear time and time again how Quick Reads have filled a much-needed gap in the teaching of literacy to adults. And you only have to hear the learners' stories to appreciate the astonishing effects these books have had."

Learners from Leeds, Redbridge and Tameside talked about their struggles with reading and writing and how important Quick Reads have been.

"Looking at people who could read and write, I used to think, ‘how intelligent that is', and the more I tried it never ever sunk through. When I had my own children, that's when I realised that I have to read and write. [After reading Quick Reads] I found myself reading without really noticing. The more you do it, the more excited you get and the more you want to learn. It's just like magic. I can go to the library now, can go on computers now when I was scared to before - everything's an open door."

I like reading books, I didn't used to like them at one time, but now I can't put them down.

Adult literacy learner

"I got to the point where I thought I was stupid and ‘thick' because I couldn't read and I couldn't write. I found out I was dyslexic. [Coming back to learning] I was so scared. I walked in and nearly walked back out again but I knew I had to do something. With the Quick Reads it was, as a beginner, fantastic because it's not too much to begin with and as you get better you want more of them. You just emotionally connect to some of the characters and that is something I didn't have before. For me that's a big thing. It's the best thing I ever did because it's improved everything. "

"I kept thinking, ‘why didn't I have this when I was younger?', then I could have had a lifetime of enjoying books, instead of being afraid of them."

"Before, I was reading Harry Potter, but that book was very hard. In that book there are big words. I can't understand the meaning. At first I read this Quick Read then my English really improved and then I can read really thick books, just like Harry Potter."

"I like reading books, I didn't used to like them at one time, but now I can't put them down."

Marjorie Lynette, a tutor from Leeds City College, said:

"I think the thing with the Quick Reads is, you get a story that appeals to an adult intellect, but is presented in language and a style which means it can be accessed by beginner and emerging readers. People feel pleased that they're part of a book group, there's a bit of kudos with that."