What is a Church-based literacy program?

A Church-based literacy program has the local church or other religious institution as the primary institutional support system for carrying out the program.

Here are some conditions that indicate the choice of a Church-based literacy program:

• An effective church infrastructure exists to deliver the program.
• There is strong church interest in mother-tongue religious literature.
• There is church readiness to promote literacy.
• A finished or nearly finished body of religious literature has been prepared for popular use.

Here are some typical program goals of a Church-based literacy program:

• To promote literacy
• To promote access to and use of available religious literature
• To further other institutional goals of the sponsoring religious body

Here are some recommended possible strategies and activities for a Church-based literacy program:

• Concentrate on equipping church leaders

  • to take responsibility for the entire literacy program, and
  • to adapt or extend their church infrastructure to achieve the added goals and objectives.

• Concentrate on promotional activity, training church leaders

  • to implement transition to biliteracy (to add mother-tongue literacy to LWC literacy)
  • to read aloud
  • to study, and
  • to teach.
• For those who are literate in a language of wider communication (LWC), have a Transition from LWC literacy program, possibly with religious content
• For preliterates or semiliterates, have a basic Mother-tongue literacy program

• Types of literacy programs

See the following online article for more information:

• Ngbaka adult literacy program in Northwestern Zaire

• Concept module: Church-based literacy program
• In overview module: Glossary (Literacy): C
• In modular book: Glossary of literacy terms
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 27 July 1999

© 1999 SIL International