Lost for Words – still changing lives!

Lost for Words – still changing lives!

Last week a caller rang the Hotline seeking literacy help for his adult daughter. He had just watched Lost for Words, the landmark documentary literacy series.

Lost for Words follows two groups of Australians who struggle with reading and writing and enter a nine-week education program. The caller to the Hotline was inspired by the warmth of the teachers and the student-centred approach around real life challenges and goals. In both seasons of the documentary the programs are run by expert adult literacy teachers including Jo Medlin, current President of the Australian Council for Adult Literacy and Adam Nobilia, currently a TAFE NSW teacher.

The first season of Lost for Words aired in September 2021 and resulted in a flood of calls to the Hotline from people wanting to do courses. The program also inspired almost three hundred people to call either the Hotline or the Australian Council for Adult Literacy wanting to respond to the significant literacy and numeracy need in the community by becoming volunteer literacy and numeracy tutors or training to be teachers.

We are grateful to SBS for continuing to air the uplifting Lost for Words program and continuing to inspire callers or friends of callers to seek help to improve their literacy and numeracy.