Barazangi, Nimat Hafez2007-06-262007-06-261999The Language and Literacy Spectrum. A Journal of the New York State Reading Association. ( 1999: 9; 2-16).https://hdl.handle.net/1813/7796Copyright 1999, Language and Literacy Spectrum, Journal of The New York State Reading Association. This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the edited journal Language and Literacy Spectrum, a Journal of The New York State Reading Association, following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available through The New York State Reading Association: http://www.nysreading.org/Publications/index.html. See also: http://www.eself-learning-arabic.cornell.edu/publications.htm#5We present a case-study of adult females becoming "literate." Low income female learners in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and recent immigrant learners in English as a Second Language (ESL), and their teachers in Central New York State were involved in a Participatory Action Research (PAR). The goal is to present conceptual and attitudinal issues of adult literacy in the United States (US), including ESL and feminist pedagogy. The results suggest that language literacy by itself may not lead to a sustainable autonomous individual and group development. We discuss literacy within attitudinal change about female learner's self-realization vis-a-vis her productivity and social mobility.126324 bytesapplication/pdfen-USLanguage and literacy in the USAdult female learnersSelf-realization vs. social mobilityAdult Basic EducationEnglish as a second languagearticle