Monrovia Library - Welcome to Monrovia Literacy Services’ Blog !

Welcome to Monrovia Literacy Services’ Blog !

Welcome to all our tutors, learners and others interested in literacy. Please feel free to share questions about literacy, tutoring ideas, or anything else literacy-related !

Several of us attended the annual SCLLN conference last Saturday, which was great. One of my favorite workshops was Free On-line Resources. Lauren will expand the list of literacy links on our website in the next few days. What did we do before the internet? Lauren is awesome at finding on-line resources, so please feel free to post any questions for her or for me about on-line resources.

2009 SCLLN Literacy Conference - Highlights

Southern California Library Literacy Network

Literacy Conference: March 2009

Highlights - Notes - Related Information

Pharmacy Literacy, Strand 1
by Ron Scott, AVP-St Joseph Health System

-some related info & links to:

'What Everyone Needs to Know About Their Prescription Medicines'

Protecting U.S. Citizens from Inappropriate Medication Use
(excerpt from ISMP Call to Action White Paper)

An increasing number of U.S. consumers are taking medications.

2 out of every 3 patients who visit a doctor leave with at least 1 prescription for medication, leading to a record volume of nearly 3.4 billion prescriptions dispensed in 2005. This is an increase of nearly 60% since 1995.

~ 81% of adults in the U.S. take at least 1 medication during a given week and 27% take at least 5.
~ When used safely, medications contribute to better health and to a longer and greater quality of life. However, a vast number of Americans take prescription medications without being fully informed about the associated risks, contraindications, and adverse effects.
~ Misuse of medications can interfere with desired treatment and cause harmful reactions. In the year 2000, the annual costs of drug-related illness and death in ambulatory care settings alone were estimated at more than $177 billion.
~ The most common types of medication misuse include:

• Taking the incorrect dose
• Taking a dose at the wrong time
• Forgetting to take a dose
• Stopping medicine too soon




Stop — Learn — Go —
Tips for Talking with Your Pharmacist to Learn How to Use Medicines Safely
Center for Drug Evaluation & Research, FDA

Learn how to use your prescription and over-the-counter medicines safely and to increase the benefits and decrease the risks. You can also use these tips when talking with your other healthcare professionals.

Strategies To Improve Communication Between Pharmacy Staff and Patients Training Program for Pharmacy Staff - Curriculum Guide
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

designed to introduce pharmacists to the problem of low health literacy in patient populations and to identify the implications of this problem for the delivery of health care services.

Santa Barbara Library - Pronunciation Workshop

Pronunciation Workshop
SBPL Literacy Newsletter: Winter 09by Heidi J. Sinavsky

The Adult Literacy Program kicked off 2009 with a Pronunciation Workshop for tutors on January 12. Pronunciation expert Bonnie Blakley, who teaches ESL and Spanish at City College’s Adult Education division, shared knowledge about how to help your learner with their pronunciation.

If you are working with a second language learner who would like help with pronunciation, keep in mind some of the following:

~ Getting a “yes you can attitude” is essential for learning.
~ Practice pronunciation as a regular topic and when the opportunity presents itself.
~ Regular reinforcement is important !
~ Become aware of what you, the tutor, are doing with your mouth.
~ When you say words, notice how your mouth, tongue, and face move.

Bonnie also recommended a website for demonstrations and diagrams of the mouth and tongue making different sounds. These can really help your learner when trying to form words, or pronounce syllables. Bonnie also recommended these useful tips:

~ When pronouncing the “p” or the “wh” sound hold a strip of paper in front of the mouth and puff the paper out when making the sound.
~ Use a CD as a mirror to look at the mouth when saying a word.
~ Let your learner feel their lips and mouth with their hands.

~ Let them relax the muscles in lips and mouth for English intonation.
~ You can use dialogues and “jazz chants” to improve your learner’s intonation and rhythm.
~ We have jazz chants books at the Literacy office, so come and check them out !

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