ADULT ILLITERACY RESULTS FROM POVERTY, AND, MANY TIMES, SUPPRESSION. ILLITERACY IS SELF-MAINTAINING BECAUSE ILLITERATES CANNOT GAIN NEW KNOWLEDGE OR FULLY PARTICIPATE IN ECONOMIC, CULTURAL OR POLITICAL LIFE OF THEIR SOCIETY. THE PROJECT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION TO THE TEACHING OF READING TO ADULT ILLITERATES. THE TARGET POPULATION AREA WAS A NEGRO RURAL REGION OF MISSISSIPPI IN WHICH 91 PERCENT OF THE ADULTS WERE ILLITERATE. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMED MATERIALS WERE TO ENABLE THE SUBJECT TO RECOGNIZE A WORD BY SIGHT AND TO READ ALOUD A NUMBER OF WORDS WITHOUT PICTORIAL OR CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT, AND TO DEVELOP OTHER BEGINNING READING SKILLS SUCH AS PHONETICS AND ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE UN FAMILIAR WORDS FROM CONTEXT. THE MATERIALS DEVELOPED THUS FAR SEEK TO PROVIDE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF WORDS--WORDS ALREADY IN THE LEARNER'S SPOKEN VOCABULARY--AS RECOGNITION VOCABULARY TO BE USED, IN TURN, AS MODELS FOR EXERCISES IN STRUCTURAL AND PHONETIC ANALYSIS. THE MATERIAL IS PRESENTED IN A DOUBLE TRACK PROGRAM. ONE TRACK PROVIDES THE BASIC FORMAT OF THE BOOKS. TO PROVIDE AUDITORY STIMULI, SUPPLY DIRECTIONS, ASSESS ORAL RESPONSES AND PROVIDE ORAL REINFORCEMENT, A SECOND TRACK RUNS PARALLEL TO THE FIRST. IT UTILIZES A HELPER WHO MUST BE A LITERATE ADULT. INITIAL WORDS WERE ALL COMMON NOUNS, CHOSEN FOR THEIR CONFIGURATION AND PHONETIC EASE, THEIR INCIDENCE IN THE VOCABULARY OF THE TARGET POPULATION, AND THEIR RELEVANCE AS MODELS FOR LATER LESSONS. THE WORDS WERE SUPPORTED BY PICTURES AND THE NAME SPOKEN BY THE HELPER. THROUGH A SERIES OF DISCRIMINATIONS, THESE CUES WERE FADED, AND THE TERMINAL FRAME FOR THE SEQUENCE ASKED THE STUDENT HIMSELF TO READ THE ISOLATED WORD ALOUD.