Different programs have different goals, and those goals help to determine the topics and skills to be covered. The program goals should be directly connected to the goals of the adult English language learners they serve. (See Needs Assessment and Learner Self-Evaluation, and Parent Education Overview.)

Learners come to class with different backgrounds, abilities, and perceptions of what constitutes learning. They progress at different rates in each of the language skills- listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Many other factors contribute to the multilevel nature of a class. Because of these variables, planning to teach a multilevel class may be time consuming, and classroom management may be challenging. Effective teaching of a multi- level class requires learning activities and materials that address the learning styles and skill levels of each learner in the class. (See Part II, Activity Packets.)

Factors to consider in instruction include the type and extent of the learners' native language literacy; educational attainment; English language proficiency; goals for learning English; age; motivations to read and write; socio-cultural backgrounds; learning abilities or disabilities; and instructional, living, and working environments. (See English Language and Literacy Learning: Research to Practice.)

Readers need to know from 3,000-5,000 words in a language to read it independently. Teachers can employ multiple strategies and activities to enhance students' vocabularies. These range from teaching sight words to using computer programs. (See Activities to Promote Reading Development.)

A lesson plan for use with any learner identifies the skills necessary to meet the lesson objective, the materials and equipment needed, and the activities appropriate to accomplish the objective. It includes a warm- up, a review of previously taught material, an introduction to the new lesson, presentation of new information, opportunities to practice and apply the new language or information, and an eva luation of how the lesson went and what was learned. (See Lesson Planning.)

Offering well-designed and well-executed communicative activities can help make the English classroom an active, safe, and enjoyable place where literacy- and beginninglevel learners can be successful. Communicative activities may be used effectively in all class levels, but they are especially important for literacy- and beginning-level classes as vehicles to move adults from their fears and self-doubt toward independent and confident learning. (See Activities to Promote Interaction and Communication.)