Literacy Partners of Manitoba (MOM Article)

Jun 12, 2010 | Government News

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Literacy Partners of Manitoba is committed to raising literacy and essential skills levels in the province.

  • We inform business, labour, the media, government, and the public at large, about literacy issues.
  • We offer bursaries and grants to support learners and practitioners.
  • Our resource centre has a wide variety of materials and resources related to literacy and essential skills.
  • We publish the Write On! magazine and monthly e-bulletins
  • Membership is open to individuals (over the age of 16), organizations and businesses, interested in literacy.
  • Our financial and membership year runs from September 1st to August 31st.
  • We hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), usually in November, and elect a voluntary Board of Directors.
  • Our Board of Directors develops policies according to the Bylaws and directions of the membership.
  • Our offices are in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.
  • We were founded in 1987 as the “Literacy Workers’ Alliance of Manitoba”.
  • We were incorporated as “Literacy Partners of Manitoba” in 1996.

LEARN Line:

947-5757 or 1-866-947-5757
[email protected]

The LEARN Line links adult learners and potential volunteers to literacy and adult learning programs in Manitoba.

For help or to help call the LEARN Line at 947-5757 or 1-866-947-5757.

LEARN Line facts 2008 / 2009:

  • The LEARN Line handled 569 calls from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 Learners and their family made two-thirds of the calls.
  • Twenty-seven percent of the callers learned about the LEARN Line from the Winnipeg English Language Assessment and Referral Centre (WELARC).
  • Two-thirds of the calls were about learners from the North East, North West, and Central parts of Winnipeg.
  • Fifty-seven percent of learners wanted help with reading and writing.
  • The percentage of learners identifying “entering skill training” as the main reason for upgrading increased.
  • Callers wanting to “improve their university or college studies” increased by five percent.
  • Twenty-two percent of callers had less than a grade 9 education.
  • Thirty-one percent of LEARN Line callers had partial high school; fourteen percent had a regular Canadian high school diploma.

The LEARN Line is funded by:

Plain Language Service:

Why use plain language?

Only a tiny fraction of the 290,000 adult Manitobans between 16 and 64, who read with less than grade 8 skills, attend literacy upgrading programs.

To accommodate this large segment of the province’s population, it is most effective for organizations to write in Plain Language so that target audiences can understand their messages.

Let’s state some truths about Plain Language:

  • Plain language is good style. Plain language is not “dumbing down” the message: it is making the message clear and understandable by more readers. If you use our services, we teach you to write well for your audience.
  • Second, there is no single plain language. There are levels of plain language appropriate for your audience and purpose. All plain language has this in common: it is as simple and clear as the concepts allow. Plain Language at a reading level higher than grade 10 excludes thousands of potential readers.
  • There will be some adults who will not be able to read even the simplest documents. However, if you write in plain language, you will reach more people than you will if you don’t.

Enjoy the site.

  • Look for the principles of plain language under Guide.
  • To see what we offer, click on Services.
  • Look at “before and after” examples under Resources.
  • Check out other interesting sites under Links. 

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