Language and Literacy

In the essay ‘What is literacy?’, James Paul Gee, presents to us a very detailed examination, of concepts that are rather deemed to be similar by most. He explores the definition and meaning of “literacy” by taking into account other related ideas such as “learning”, “discourse” and “acquisition”.

The definition of Literacy to me was being able to simply read and write English. Growing up I had to go through different international schools which made the definition of language very clear to me. Language was how people of the same culture communicated verbally and in text. Both literacy and language are embed and intertwined in our daily lives. In this essay, I am going to analyse my assumptions of literacy and language through skill sets such as the four resource model, understanding dialects, discourse and multiliteracies and how these practices will help me to maximise my students literacy development.

The learning provisions for development in literacy are extremely important and can be reached by using their language skills. They learn to communicate with others through three main ways: they are Speaking, Reading and Writing. These three areas interact with each other and develop the Childs self-expression and imagination. They must be given the opportunity within all different subject areas to use and extend their language so that their thinking skills progress to a higher level.

Literature is at the heart of the Australia English Curriculum and is integral to the teaching of language and literacy. Discuss how the children’s literature can be used to develop an understanding of the components of the language?

In “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction,” James Paul Gee introduces a new approach for thinking about Literacy. Rather than think of literacy in terms of language (grammar), Gee suggests that we think of it in terms of social practice (5). Gee claims that this approach has important and interesting consequences.

Learning provision for literacy development is important for pupils for several reasons. When pupils are developing their language skills they are learning to communicate with others in a variety of ways through speaking reading and writing. The three areas of language interact with each other to promote the child’s self expression and imagination. Children need to be given opportunity’s to use and extend their language in all subject areas so they can develop higher level thinking. [ Louise burnham, Brenda Baker,2010,pg206]

Literacy, literacies and multiliteracies bears various meanings to different people. Some believe that literacy is developed by cultures, while others believe that literacy and cultures developed an individual. There are single and multiple definitions of literacy, literacies and multi-literacies. Based on research, literacy is very important and continues to be developed through our rapidly changing world. Throughout this essay, we will focus on views of literacy, literacies, and multiliteracies and how their different meanings affect our approach to teaching literacy.

Literacy cannot be learned through multiple lessons taught solely in isolation. Instead, it must be learned in a comprehensive manner, in which various literacy skills are fully-integrated. Vygotsky (1987) is the theorist who appears to have had the greatest influence on literacy researchers working from a social constructivist perspective. Vygotsky’s approach to learning was holistic in nature, and he advocated the study of higher mental functions with all their complexity (Moll, 1990). Research on school literacy learning conducted from a social constructivist perspective suggests that students need to engage in authentic and relevant literacy activities, as opposed to rote memorization or repetitive worksheets contrived for practice (Au, 1998).

Literacy is fundamental to all areas of learning from an early age, as it unlocks access to the wider curriculum. Being literate increases opportunities for pupils in all aspects of life and lays the foundations for lifelong learning and work.

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

“Literacy” is a word that can having different meanings to different people. Upon hearing the word, I think of the ability to read and write. If you can read and speak a language, you are literate in it. However, I believe that there are different types of literacies. First, there is the obvious English literacy- knowing how to read and write. But there are also other kinds of topics that I am literate in thanks to my culture and upbringing. I also begin to think about what constitutes literacy? Spanning many heated discussions from multiple classes, for the sake of this autobiography, I am defining literacy as the ability to communicate within a topic. Using this definition, one can be literate in many, many things. I think the true test of

Literacy affects child development. Children have a very time sensitive window of opportunity in which learning comes most easily. This opportunity in a child 's life is caused by the overproduction of neurons and “synapses” (connections in neural cells) of the brain. “Scientists believe that language is acquired most easily during the first ten years of life.

With the reference to the curriculum, at grade 3-4, the learners have to comprehend the visual, spoken and written forms of the language as divergent forms of communication. Moreover, they have to understand that the choice of features of a language varies dependent on the cultural background, context and the audience. The learners have to understand that knowledge changes when people assume different roles in classroom and social interactions (Doering, Beach & O 'Brien, 2007). With regard to reading, the learners are supposed to be able to read texts that have different sentence structures with divergent punctuation marks. They should also interact with different images accompanied with information. Pertaining to writing, the learners are supposed to utilize writings and images to express and develop

Children need to master academic skills in order to move from one grade to another. Each skill a child learns helps and encourages the child to learn another new skill. Oral language development is the foundation of reading and writing. One core skill a child should master is language and speech. Simple language and speech skills need to be learned before a child can learn more complex language and speech skills such as academic language. According to Dudley-Marling & Lucas (2009), Children’s language plays a crucial role in school success…and school failure”. To succeed in school, children must learn the formal language of schooling.”(p.368). This statement tells us that proficiency in academic language is critical and absolutely necessary for a child’s overall success in school.

The last forty years have brought sweeping changes in literacy education with constant new information available on how children learn language and become literate (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). But the grounding for all progression, as asserted by Browne (2001) is that ‘learning to read and write are founded upon children’s oral language…pupils learning depends on growing competence in language modes (read and write) which grow out of their ability to speak and listen’. This is also advocated by Fricke et al (2013:280) stating that the promotion of oral language skills are a secure foundation to build on for literacy. The quality of the child’s language is determined by the stimuli of experiences and interests, from both outside and inside the school, which can be used by the teacher to support the child’s involvement with literacy by providing those interests with meaning and purpose, and by explicitly linking them ‘between spoken and written language in order to effect the bridge that is so powerful for literacy development’ (Reid, 1993 cited Riley, 1996).