Mr Dylan
What do young children need to learn about the literacy practices of their communities in order to create meaning for themselves?
Literacy practices refer to how adults interact with children and vice versa in a mixture of written and spoken language, which leads children to acquire the language they need in order to develop their writing and reading skills -discussing a text-book at bedtime, a trip to the library, writing the shopping list, through questioning etc. This concept was suggested by anthropologist Brian Street: he used it to ‘emphasise the connection between an individual’s use of the written language and his or her social identity’ (Street, 1984, in Allington and Hewings, 2012, p. 47). Therefore, through their participation in the literacy practices of their communities, children are able to sense of their identity. The literacy practices may vary between different communities and countries. However, children of all backgrounds have the ability to develop writing and speaking skills regardless of the literacy practices in their communities. According to Noam Chomsky, children are born with the ability to develop a language and this ‘innate ability which is biologically determined and follows a predictable development path’ (Chomsky, 1980-86, in Mayor, 2012, p, 92).
This essay will discuss the interaction of literacy practices in communities which can influence children’s language acquisition (reading and writing), with reference to Lauren’s text ‘I wot vegetables and no cicn, Lauren setd thes mesj to yw’ (I want vegetables and no chicken, Lauren sent this message to you). She wrote this at her grandmother’s house, when asked what she wanted for dinner. Firstly, it will discuss ‘child directed speech’- CDS- and how this may have influenced Lauren’s text. Secondly, it will look at the literacy practices of three English-speaking communities. Thirdly, it will explain the complexity of writing the English language compared to another system
Literacy practices refer to how adults interact with children and vice versa in a mixture of written and spoken language, which leads children to acquire the language they need in order to develop their writing and reading skills -discussing a text-book at bedtime, a trip to the library, writing the shopping list, through questioning etc. This concept was suggested by anthropologist Brian Street: he used it to ‘emphasise the connection between an individual’s use of the written language and his or her social identity’ (Street, 1984, in Allington and Hewings, 2012, p. 47). Therefore, through their participation in the literacy practices of their communities, children are able to sense of their identity. The literacy practices may vary between different communities and countries. However, children of all backgrounds have the ability to develop writing and speaking skills regardless of the literacy practices in their communities. According to Noam Chomsky, children are born with the ability to develop a language and this ‘innate ability which is biologically determined and follows a predictable development path’ (Chomsky, 1980-86, in Mayor, 2012, p, 92).
This essay will discuss the interaction of literacy practices in communities which can influence children’s language acquisition (reading and writing), with reference to Lauren’s text ‘I wot vegetables and no cicn, Lauren setd thes mesj to yw’ (I want vegetables and no chicken, Lauren sent this message to you). She wrote this at her grandmother’s house, when asked what she wanted for dinner. Firstly, it will discuss ‘child directed speech’- CDS- and how this may have influenced Lauren’s text. Secondly, it will look at the literacy practices of three English-speaking communities. Thirdly, it will explain the complexity of writing the English language compared to another system