This research investigates the amount of metalinguistic knowledge one can assume when teaching an adult to read. In addition, it questions the source of this awareness and whether it relates to general cognitive development, to schooling, or specifically to the act of learning to read. The subjects were sixty monolingual adults enrolled in a learning center. Primary interest is focused on those adults who read below the fourth grade level. Data collected through individual structured oral interviews provides insight into segmentation abilities--specifically, segmental awareness. It was found that adults do make errors of segmental awareness and that the number of errors is a function of literacy level. (JK)