The concept of "preliteracy" is important for adult literacy programs. All illiterate adults can undertake their initiation into the world of letters and figures provided they are strongly motivated to do so. Experiments on motivation indicate that literacy programs must respond at least to one essential need of the future literate person. Illiterate people face a number of difficulties with regard to letters and figures. Studies have shown that they experience serious difficulties in understanding pictures and drawings if they live in an environment poor in written signs. In the case of "reading drawings," the notion of proportion and perspective must be introduced; colors facilitate the understanding of pictures; and readers must be able to identify specific sounds that are related to specific graphical symbols. In preparing adults to read, the teacher should develop exercises that teach reading sense or direction and identify problems related to similarities of the symbols used in writing. Preparation for writing should include starting with simple motor activity and continue into the reading of images. Numeracy exercises should relate the quantities of objects known to the graphical representation and then provide for the memorization of signs. (A French language version follows.) (YLB)