Literacy Development in Young Children
by Diana Masny
Literacy is central to academic achievement and life-long learning. The formal setting for the development of literacy has most often been grade 1. However, studies on emerging literacy show that children develop literate behaviour at a much younger age. This article begins by focusing on the meaning of literacy and its characteristics and moves on to consider the contribution of the preschool years to the development of literacy. Then, it examines the notion that the development of literacy is linked to oral language and considers ways in which day care centres can promote oral language that is part of literate behaviour. Finally, it looks at socio-cultural aspects of literacy and their implications for children in day care centres in general and in particular, for francophone children living in a minority context.
What Is Literacy?
Literacy is traditionally defined as the ability to read and write. It is usually considered an individual process: each child develops psychological and linguistic elements critical to the acts of reading and writing, such as constructing meaning and developing sound-to-letter correspondence. Increasingly, however, literacy is defined more broadly and is being viewed as a social phenomenon. Thus, what it means to be literate varies according to socio-cultural groups. The term "literacies" is used in the plural to indicate that an individual can acquire several types of literacy, such as those practised at school (reading textbooks), at home (writing letters to family), in religious practices (reciting prayers) and during daily activities (writing a shopping list). Individuals use different literate behaviours in different contexts.
In our present technological society, much of the information presented is complex. In order to convey such information orally, many features of the written code have become part of oral language (e.g. use of precise vocabulary, exploiting varied syntactic resources, etc.). Literate ability, in this context, becomes a means of accessing and conveying information in meaningful acts of communication, not only in the written, but also in the oral mode. These means of communication include television, film, personal narratives in class, written reports and faxes.
According to UNESCO's Declaration at Persepolis (1975), literacy contributes to a person's well-being. Accordingly, literacy goes beyond the ability to read and write conventional texts at specific ages. It refers to ways of thinking, talking, writing, reading and valuing that reflect how children act. While interacting with "text" (used in a very broad sense to include all forms of media), children attempt to make sense of their world. The development of literacy should ultimately lead children to change their view of the world. It can also be a means to help children conceive of and participate in projects that act on and transform society. Through reflection and action, literacy contributes to authentic human development. Literacy in this context can be seen as an attempt to make sense of one's experiences as learners interacting with the world (Freire & Macedo, 1987).
The Role Of Preschool Years In Literacy Development
Certain types of language skills are related to the development of literacy. In preschoolers, language skills most apt to develop literacy are those related to print and oral skills that support emergent literacy (namely, letter-sound correspondence, rhyming, using language to talk about language, and contact with print). Moreover, there are some language skills associated with written language that need to be developed at this stage in order to support reading and writing at a later stage. I am referring to decontextualized language use. This means that children learn to use language in more complex and abstract ways embedded in a context that is increasingly removed from the here-and-now. They rely on the words alone to convey meaning, to describe or narrate experiences, to create fantasy worlds, and to convey novel information to audiences who are at a distance and who may share only limited amounts of background knowledge with the speaker. An example of decontextualized language use is a five-year-old child who discusses a recently completed race with someone who was not present at the event. In another example, a three- or four-year-old child talks about an object without its being physically present.
The Role Of Symbolic Play
Young children do not learn in the same way as older children. Play is a central feature for child growth. When it comes to language development in preschoolers, symbolic play has often been proposed as an important way to develop literate behaviour. By the age of three, children can be involved in symbolic play, which develops the ability to use an object as a representation of something else (such as using a doll to represent a child, or a broom to represent a horse). Children can also be involved in symbolic transformations independent of objects. For example, they may use a corner of the classroom to represent an office. Jean Piaget maintained that symbolic play leads to increased performance on problem-solving and divergent thinking. L.V. Vygotsky (1934/1978) proposed that the development of symbolic thinking, oral language and literate behaviour occur together and that the development of written language is related to oral language in symbolic play. Accordingly, Vygotsky suggested that early childhood educators provide writing experiences during the preschool years that are relevant to children's lives, and meaningful for children. Writing should be taught naturally in ongoing social interaction in the course of children's play. Writing in this context refers to the developmental stages of writing, from inventive to more conventional forms.
Promoting Literate Behaviour In Day Care Centres
In play centres that promote literate behaviour, children tend to rely heavily on language to communicate with others. In developing play centres, it is important for educators to use familiar contexts such as a house, post office, library or office. It is equally important for educators to be aware of gender bias when children are role-playing as teachers, police officers, office workers or librarians. Educators should interact with the children in ways that promote equity, regardless of the children's ages. Small play areas encourage interactive and sustained play activity. Since young children seem to play best about what they know, literacy-enriched settings should be created that reflect real-life literacy situations for these children (such as a post office, supermarket or fast food restaurant play-centre). Items in the children's play environment should be labelled in ways that resemble real-world print culture. They can use literacy objects to engage in a variety of literate behaviours. For example, instead of using crayons to experiment with colors, they can use markers to write birthday cards, record library rules, write directions and label objects. The more familiar the children are with play contexts and their corresponding objects, the more they tend to play in increasingly complex ways and use elaborate language, thereby supporting uses of decontextualized language.
From a developmental perspective, children may be at varying points of maturity. If children do not perform well, it may be because they have not been exposed to the rules of the activity, which require a certain type of literacy. Children need support and guidance from an early childhood educator, parent or sibling, regardless of the language or type of literacies (e.g. home, community or religious) that the person uses. Children seem to learn the rules of literate events through guided participation. Once a child engages in a literate activity, it is important for the educator to let the child introduce the topics. Guidance is also provided through scaffolding -- building on what the child has said, going beyond the immediate context and relating what was said to other non-present events, thus facilitating decontextualized uses of language. Expository texts (such as alphabet books) convey information; they are particularly useful to the extent that they maximize joint participation. While narratives are an important aspect of language development, expository texts and texts designed to persuade the audience (such as commericals) elicit much more interaction than narratives.
The Importance Of The Socio-Cultural Context For Literacy Development
When viewing literacies as a socio-cultural phenomenon, it is important to look at home languages and the role of the family environment in early literate development. Knowing which literate materials exist in children's homes and encouraging children to bring in samples of these items are two ways to validate the literate behaviours from the home culture. For example, preschoolers can bring in food labels, magazines, favourite videos and books in different languages. They can also prepare their own shopping lists, write notes, create bills and keep lists of things to do.
Literate behaviours vary according to context; hence, the importance of making the rules for the different literate behaviours in new tasks explicit to early childhood educators, parents and children. Developing literate competence in preschoolers requires that they learn new rules. For example, creating shopping lists taps literate behaviours that are different from narrating or persuading. Although it is expected that children entering grade 1 will already have acquired the cultural and linguistic practices that are part of the school culture, many of these children have yet to develop them. Some children experience contextual similarities of literacy events between home and school. The many children who do not experience these similarities need to be socialized in patterns of language use related to school cultures.
Areas Of Preschooler Literacy Knowledge
To help children whose literacy practices at home differ from those used at school, early childhood educators should intially use "texts" with which the children are familiar. When educators interact with children around familiar "texts," they can use strategies that maximally involve the children in constructing meaning. Moreover, the interaction around oral and written "texts" can help foster oral and written language in preschoolers that is critical to the development of literate behaviour. The following example illustrates how interaction through a reading event can facilitate the development of oral and written literate behaviour. In the first instance, children are read to and children and reader discuss the contents orally. The following interactions with reading materials promote oral literate behaviour:
In the next interaction, the child is asked:
While the preceding activities can be done orally, children can also interact with reading materials to promote written literate behaviour. The following are five strategies that children use to actively construct knowledge about writing and develop written literate behaviour:
Developing literate abilities at the preschool level sets the foundation for supporting literate behaviour up to the middle grades and beyond. Preschoolers' knowledge about literacies stems from an interaction between oral and written language.
Implications For The Francophone Minority Context
Franco Ontarians, representing 5.4 per cent of the population, are an established minority with historic educational rights. In Canada, French is recognized as one of the two official languages. In Ontario, French is recognized as an official language in education and in its courts. In this particular minority context, it becomes important for francophones in Ontario to establish more day care centres in French schools so that children can benefit from their increased contact with the French language and develop a sense of membership in French communities. In fact, children who have been in French day care centres have been known to improve their language proficiency in French. Moreover, children from junior kindergarten to grade 4 who experience both the day care centre and schooling in the same building benefit from links established between the early childhood educators and the teachers. For example, thematic projects undertaken in the school classroom can be linked to activities that the children are participating in at the day care centre. A close partnership between the educational agents creates an ideal climate for assessing the development of each child.
Children may come to a French day care centre speaking some French or being highly fluent. Some of the children come from ethnic-minority backgrounds. Many may be bilingual or trilingual. While the French language day care centres must facilitate children's proficiency in the French language so that they can ease into French language schools, it is also important that the histories and identities of the children from non-French backgrounds be validated at the day care centre. Books brought from home in the languages of the children (such as French, Vietnamese, Somali and Arabic) should be present. English books should also be included, even though English has an overwhelming presence in society. In this way, children who have an anglophone parent will develop a sense of security about their identity and history. However, because French is a minority language in Ontario, a greater voice is given to French "texts." French is the language of communication in the day care centre. Since other languages are also valued, children develop an awareness of different languages and cultures, thereby enriching their understanding of the world. Awareness of language plays a significant role in the development of the written language and decontextualized uses of language. These are significant elements in the development of understanding and using language for success in school.
When educators focus on language development, it is necessary for them to tap their knowledge base concerning developmental stages in language acquistion. Educators must also develop a conscious awareness of the relationship between gender, race, religion and language. This will have an impact on how educators use language, materials and themes/activities at the day care centre. Even children as young as three years old are socialized in "reading the world" based on their surrounding environments (e.g. violence in the media, gender stereotyping in nursery stories and fairy tales). By helping children develop a sensitivity to language in their understanding of the world (e.g. by providing books written by or about people of different nationalities), educators foster a sense of gender, racial, religious and linguistic equity. Issues surrounding equity are especially important to children living in a minority context. They quickly understand that languages are not given equal status/access in society. However, children in French day care centres will develop a sense of positive self-worth when their milieu validates their different identities.
Developing a high level of competence in French is an important element in feeling secure about one's identity and in developing a sense of community membership. The day care centre and the home can contribute in a number of ways. For example, it is important:
Conclusion
Day care centres can provide the linguistic enrichment that children need in order to develop literate behaviour. At the same time, centres validate literate practices that are part of the home setting and prepare children to meet their needs in a complex technological society. Accordingly, it is important to establish a partnership between educators and families. They should share information about the kinds of literacy activities and situations that naturally occur outside the early childhood program. In addition, educators need to rework play centres to include familiar literacy objects and routines. Existing centres also need to be modififed or enhanced to include more literacy events that are appropriate, authentic and useful.
Diana Masny, Ph.D, is associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. She
has been on sabbatical leave as a visiting scholar at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
and at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
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This article first appeared in Interaction published by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Spring, 1995. |
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