Volume 3, number 6, Summer/Fall 2001
Literacy and clear language go together
This issue of Learning Together takes a look at some positive developments in the area of clear language, and how they're helping to further the aims of union-based literacy.
Clear language is about learning how to communicate so that the messages we send are understood well by our readers - our members. It is not only about what we have to say, but also about how it will be received.
Clear language involves thinking about who our audience is and consciously writing for that audience. It often includes unlearning old habits, because many of us have strong attachments to writing in our familiar inaccessible ways.
Clear language is about learning how to communicate so that the
messages we send are understood well by our readers - our members.
Clear language supports our overall literacy efforts. Clear language and literacy work hand-in-hand to provide an equal opportunity for workers from diverse backgrounds to participate in union activities and be heard. Literacy can help us reach out beyond our "activists" to members who may not yet feel connected to the union, and provide us with ways to look critically at how we carry out our work. This includes how we run our meetings, conventions, and courses, communicate orally and in print, and strive to make the union more inclusive.
One new development in clear language is a CLC resource, a Clear Language and Design screen, to help check documents for clarity (see page 5). It is the latest product of the Learning in Solidarity series of the CLC's Workplace Literacy Project, and a companion to the binder, Making It Clear: Clear Language for Union Communication. Along with a new course on clear language that was piloted at the CLC Ontario Winter School in February, 2001, it is part of an effort to develop skills and raise awareness about the benefits of communicating more clearly and effectively with our members.
We hope you will find the stories about clear language interesting and inspiring. We'd love to hear your stories too.
Learning Together is published three times a year with financial support from the National Literacy Secretariat. We welcome your articles, event notices and opinion pieces.
