Learn with NALA

What Learn with NALA is

Learn with NALA is the free online learning service of the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), a registered charity with its office in Ranelagh, Dublin. It is built for adults who want to improve everyday skills: the home page headline is "Learn for free" with "Reading, writing, maths, computers and more" underneath. The site sums up its offer in five words under "Why Learn with NALA?": "Free", "No exams", "QQI accredited", "Award winning" and "Tutor support". The footer links to a page about a UNESCO award, which is where the award claim comes from.

Two kinds of learning sit side by side. Online courses take a learner from Level 1 to Level 3 on Ireland's National Framework of Qualifications, with an assessment at the end that leads to an award from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). A tutoring service lets a learner work with a tutor by phone instead. That second strand is why the site belongs among tutoring services as well as online course providers.

The online courses

Levels

The level guide explains: "We offer courses between levels 1 to 3 based on Ireland's National Framework of Qualifications." Each level is described in plain terms:

• Level 1: "Learn to spell, use numbers and start using technology."
• Level 2: "Learn to read and write short sentences and develop basic maths and computer skills."
• Level 3 Preparation: "Brush up on level 2 before starting level 3."
• Level 3: "Develop personal and work-related skills in communications, maths and computers."

Learners who do not know their level are pointed to a video or to the free phone line for help choosing.

Subjects and course types

The catalog filters by subject (reading, writing, math, computers, communications, personal development, health and safety, and finance), by level and by course type. There are two course types. A short course is "based on one subject area"; a major award "has six subjects related to the overall course title."

Level 1 short courses cover computer skills, data handling, listening and speaking, pattern and relationship, personal decision making, problem solving, quantity and number, reading, setting learning goals, shape and space, using technology and writing. Their descriptions are concrete: the shape and space course helps learners recognize "basic shapes in everyday life", and the quantity and number course covers "recognising and adding numbers and counting and comparing things." Level 2 repeats many of those subjects at the next step and adds quantitative problem solving. The Level 2 writing course includes "a task in the portfolio section where you practice handwriting sentences", and learners submit a handwriting portfolio as part of applying for the award.

Level 3 moves toward work. Short courses include application of number, career preparation, communications, computer literacy, digital media, functional mathematics, health and safety awareness, internet skills, managing personal finances, mathematics, personal and interpersonal skills and personal effectiveness. The finance course covers saving and spending plans, social welfare payments, different kinds of financial institutions and tax, a practical course for everyday adult life.

Major awards

The major awards bundle six subjects into one certificate:

• Level 2 Certificate in General Learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking, pattern and relationship, using technology and personal decision making.
• Level 3 Certificate in Employability Skills: mathematics, computer literacy, personal and interpersonal skills, communications, career preparation and managing personal finances, aimed at getting "ready for working life".
• Level 3 Certificate in General Learning: communications, self advocacy, mathematics, computer literacy, internet skills and personal effectiveness.
• Level 3 Certificate in Information and Communication Technologies: mathematics, computer literacy, internet skills, communications, personal effectiveness and digital media.

Each subject completed earns a QQI Minor Award, and finishing all six earns the QQI Major Award at that level.

Certificates and assessment

The course pages spell out what a learner receives. A typical Level 1 entry reads: "When you are finish this course, you can take an assessment to achieve a Level 1 Minor Award Certificate in Computer Skills from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)." The course guide also describes a NALA award, under which a learner receives a NALA Certificate on finishing a course. Alongside the "No exams" promise on the home page, the QQI awards do involve an assessment that the learner takes at the end of the course.

Entry requirements are modest and stated per level. Level 1 courses need "some basic computer skills", such as using a computer, going online and logging in to websites. For Level 2, learners "should have a Level 1 Certificate or equivalent qualifications and/or relevant life skills and work experience", and Level 3 asks for a Level 2 certificate on the same terms, so life and work experience count alongside formal qualifications.

Tutoring by phone

For learners who would rather not study alone online, the home page offers: "Want a different way to learn? Try learning by phone!" and "Learn for free on the phone with one of our friendly tutors. You decide what, where and when you want to learn." The online courses page makes the same link: "You can work on your own or if you need help we have tutors on the phone."

Support and resources

Help is free by phone on 1 800 20 20 80 or by email to learn@nala.ie; the site says "Our friendly staff are here to answer your questions." A Listen button sits at the top of each page. The learner menu adds an online library, frequently asked questions, downloadable workbooks, a monthly worksheet and a learner charter.

NALA also serves the people who teach adult literacy. A section for learning centers lets a center register and gives it support videos plus extra worksheets, workbooks and videos, and a Professional Development section offers online courses, a guide to getting started as a literacy tutor, the NALA Tutor Information Hub and NALA's literacy and numeracy workbooks.

Two learners quoted on the home page describe the experience. Maria Riordan from Cork: "There's no exams or pressure. I improved my spelling and am now learning maths for work." Sean Power from Laois: "I've done a few courses and got a qualification".

Who it suits

Learn with NALA suits adults in Ireland who want to improve reading, writing, math or computer skills at their own speed and come away with a recognized QQI award, without paying and without sitting a formal exam. Someone returning to learning can start at Level 1, while someone preparing for work can aim straight at the Level 3 employability or ICT certificates. Learners who struggle with online study can use the phone tutoring service or call for help choosing a level, and literacy centers and tutors get their own resources.

It is not built for advanced study. The ceiling is Level 3 on the national framework, so a learner after university-level subjects or professional certification will need to move on once they finish here. The courses also assume basic computer use from the start, which the phone line and tutoring service are there to bridge.