The ALRP research indicates there are diverse and multiple motivations for learners to 'take-up' or 'become engaged' in adult literacy education or training. An overarching finding is that individuals engage when they see a purpose for the learning and they feel that the learning environment is respectful of not only their learning needs and style but also their broader cultural identity.

Several groups of reports deal with specific learner group needs:

Crina Virgona and Peter Waterhouse produced a series of reports looking at learners who manage successfully without highly developed literacy skills due to their highly adaptive and resilient personalities and their ability to 'capitalise on their strengths and to work with their weaknesses'.

Contradicting the stereotype digital stories CD-ROM

Contradicting the stereotype: case studies of success despite literacy difficulties

A criticism of adult literacy practice is that it comes from a deficit model of what the student 'cannot do'. The researchers examined the 'strength based' practice of the welfare sector and produced a practical resource for teachers, Working from strengths: venturing towards strength-based adult education (Waterhouse & Virgona, 2008).

In her first work for ALRP, A fair go: factors impacting on vocational education and training participation and completion in selected ethnic communities (2004), Judith Miralles identified a number of key factors that needed to be present if students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds were to engage with the VET sector.

She found enrolment in vocational education and training is strengthened in programs that:

• Provide clear pathways into employment
• Provide language support
• Acknowledge and address cultural issues
• Have trainers who understand issues faced by trainees (cultural, language and settlement)
• Acknowledge trainees' existing vocational skills
• Include work experience in their training.

In more recent research, Creating learning spaces for refugees: the role of multicultural organisations in Australia (2008), Miralles and colleagues examine, through the experiences of refugees from Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan, the role multicultural community organisations play in creating important informal networks and learning spaces that connect people from refugee backgrounds to the wider Australian community.

The research examined the factors and mechanisms that can promote or inhibit opportunities for developing English language, literacy and employability skills for each of these groups. It identified the specific practices adopted by multicultural community organisations to support informal skills transfer and examined how these might be applicable to the wider vocational and adult education sectors.

The 'list of Organisational practices enhancing refuguee literacy, language and employability' starting on page 35 of this research offers a series of practical and effective strategies that could have transfer into other settings.

Many refugees do not and cannot access vocational education and training in Australia because they do not have the requisite foundational literacy to cope in either a formal classroom or a workplace. This is particularly the case for Sudanese refugees who have little or no experience of formal learning and who come from a highly oral language culture, with most having no experience with written forms of language.

Classroom management strategies to address the needs of Sudanese refugee learners (2007), by Ursula Burgoyne and Oksana Hull, examined the problem areas in delivery of effective LLN programmes to this learner cohort and the PD initiatives that need to be put into place so that teachers can address their specific needs.

A follow up guide Teaching learners from highly oral cultural backgrounds: good practice guide, provides a set of 'good practice' strategies for designing effective English language, literacy and numeracy programs for all adult learners from highly oral cultural backgrounds.

An early ALRP report by Inge Kral and Ian Falk, What is all that learning for? Indigenous adult English literacy practices, training, community capacity and health (2004), points out the cultural faux pas of imposing English literacies onto Indigenous learners without a useful imperative and understanding of cultural paradigms. The report found that Western literacy is more ilkely to be adopted by Indigenous communities if it is linked to cultural and religious activities, and community responsibilities and where it helps to build the 'social capital' of the community as a whole.

Key research by Narelle McGlusky and Lenora Thaker examined the reasons why more Indigenous students in vocational education and training are studying for low-level qualifications in non-award or enabling courses. Their contention is that Indigenous students could tackle high-level qualifications if effective literacy support practices and funding arrangements were put into place. Their report, Literacy support for Indigenous people: current systems and practices in Queensland (2006), reports on current support practices and their subsequent report, Literacy support for Indigenous VET students: good practice guide, provides a set of practical recommendations and tips for effective LLN support for Indigenous students. These include:

• Access a number of resources developed specifically for Indigenous students via the DEEWR Literacynet page
• Check out the excellent range of Indigenous resources available through the Indigenous Lead Centre at the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE
• Of particular relevance is One way street, a language and literacy cultural awareness documentary and discussion guide. Through the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this resource explores the compelexities of Indigenous language and literacy.
   This professional development video highlights the difficulties faced every day by adults and children whose first language is not English. It is divided into six sections, which look at the value of literacy and its relationship with language, land and cultural identity. The accompanying discussion guide examines in detail the video's many themes and provides a bank of questions to assist trainers and facilitators.

A number of resources for CALD and NESB learners are available on the DEEWR Literacynet site. Of particular interest is Culture at work by Judith Miralles and Associates (2004). The resource includes strategies to use to aid 'culturally inclusive' practice, an overview of intercultural communication, and a range of activities. This resource will assist trainers and assessors to work more effectively with people from a background other than English.

Into learning, AMES 2006: a professional development resource for teachers and trainers of adult literacy ESL learners from aural/oral learning cultures. This DVD/CD kit presents film sequences from five classrooms, each of which can be used as the basis of a PD session. Printable materials on the data CD support and extend the activities and strategies demonstrated on the DVD. A practical self access PD tool for both individuals and groups, Into learning provides a starting point for reflection and dialogue on how best to facilitate the acquisition of second language literacy.