Book received

Abstract

rection in which technology is leading us and because of this the book is extremely important as a prophecy. Of course Dr. Chall’s conclusions refer to developmental reading programs and young children but what about remedial work with adult illiterates? Should a decoding-emphasis be applied to adult illiterates who have not learned to read during the primary grades? Most adults who are retarded in reading do exhibit severe decoding problems. It would be very tempting to say their remedial work should emphasize &dquo;breaking the code,&dquo; yet basic to most adult reading retardation is the adult’s inability to grasp the significance of symbolization, that is, to understand that words represent meaning or reality. Furthermore, beginning readers and adult illiterates are developmentally and experientially vastly different. Usually the adults have had years of unsuccessful attempts to teach them through one or many different code-emphasis programs and have had years of frustration and failure which has to be dealt with before formal teaching can begin. It will be necessary to research the literature and interview teachers of adults in much the same way Dr. Chall did if we want to find the