Many adults choose to join adult literacy programs simply because they do not want to be termed illiterate. They are embarrassed or wish to avoid the stigma associated with illiteracy (poverty, learning disabled, etc.) Therefore essentially, the reason these individuals choose to join the literacy programs is to improve their social standing or status. They do not want the world to judge why they were illiterate in the first place, and so they decide that the best way to do this is to eliminate the illiteracy.
Another reason why adults join literacy programs is for instrumental reasons. They have a desire to perform a certain task and literacy is needed to accomplish it. This task could be anything from reading the Bible, a magazine or a newspaper. Additionally, some even take literacy classes as a means to write. While literacy classes primarily focus on reading, writing often comes as a bi-product. Therefore the individual may wish to write a letter and choose to enroll in an adult literacy program to help him accomplish the task.
A great deal of adults enroll in literacy programs for the opportunities that learning to read will create for them. In many cases this is job related, whether it be obtaining a new job or receiving a promotion, as it is essential in many jobs to have the ability to read. However, it may also be needed to perform other tasks such as getting a driver's license or obtaining a loan.
Still other adults enroll in literacy programs as a means to provide them access to other areas of learning. For instance if an adult decides she wants to attend college, she will have to be able to prove that she has the ability to read before being accepted. Therefore first, she will attend adult literacy classes, in the hopes of furthering her education in another way.