The experiences of men and women who participated in a Salvadoran adult literacy program belie the instrumentalist discourse of adult education, for they identified psychosocial benefits as the most meaningful aspects of the program. Attending literacy classes did not change their material situation as underemployed "campesinos/as," but it did help them learn new social skills--even though these were not an explicit part of the curriculum. Drawing on ethnographic, participatory research in rural El Salvador, this article examines how participants learned to communicate and interact with others in more meaningful, satisfying ways. Specifically, they lost their "pena" (shame, timidity, embarrassment) and learned respectful social practices. This article explains why learners associated illiteracy with "pena" and a lack of "educacion" (proper, respectful social behaviour), describes the changes in these domains, and identifies which aspects of the program led to these changes. Although one could interpret these new practices as a form of social control, the author argues instead that these changes fostered civility and respect in a post-war setting marked by distrust, fear, and personal animosities. The article concludes with implications for adult education theory and practice. (Contain 1 figure and 4 notes.)