1. TSLB 3243 Children and
literacy

2. TSLB 3243 Language and Literacy
Amongst ESL learners
Definition of language
literacy
Emergent literacy, blended
literacy, current trends in
literacy

3. Hello there!
What is language?
What is literacy?
With a partner, try to
come up with a
definition of what
language is!

4. Sapir: “a purely human and non-instinctive
method of communicating ideas, emotions and
desires by means of voluntarily produced
symbols.”
Bloch & Trager: “a system of arbitrary vocal
symbols by means of which a social group
cooperates.”
Hall: “the institution whereby humans
communicate and interact with each other by
means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary
symbols.”
Chomsky: “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences,
each finite in length and constructed out of a
finite set of elements.”

5. Traditionally
understood as the
ability to read and
write.
the ability to use
language, numbers,
images and other
means to understand
and use the dominant
symbol systems of a
culture.
Get to Know Me:Literacy

6. Facts About L
“Language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols
used for human
communication.” • I like
this one: • A system that
uses some physical sign
(sound, gesture, mark) to
express meaning.
Language is not identical
with communication •
There are many other
communicative tools
such as – Turn-taking –
Intonation – Gesture
(body language) – Eye
gaze control – Touch –
Displays: external

7. Sign language
Language of music
Language of love •
Body language •
Spoken language •
Written language •
Computer language
Are these really
languages?

8. Where does
language
come from?
Old Theories: • 1. Bow-Wow Theory:
Speech arose through imitation of
environmental sounds, such an
animal calls. • Evidence: Use of
onomatopoeic words like “hiss”,
“knock knock”, “cuckoo”, “wuff” etc.
2. Pooh-Pooh Theory:
Speech arose through
people making instinctive
cries, such as those caused
by pain or other emotions. •
Evidence: Universal use of
sounds as interjections.

9. Old Theories: • 3. Ding-Dong
Theory: Speech arose because
people reacted to stimuli in the
world around them,
spontaneously producing sounds
(“oral gestures”) in response to
them. • Eg: mama or some
similar-sounding word referring to
mother; sound of [m] could result
from approximation of lips while
nursing.

10. 4. Yo-he-ho Theory:
Hypothesizes that when
people work together, their
physical efforts promote
communal rhythmic grunts,
leading to chants, leading
to language. • Evidence:
Universal use of prosodic
features in language, esp.
rhythm (like stress or
accent).

11. Speech-Based Theory • Evolution led to restructuring
of vocal tract • Big change: descent of the larynx
(larynx much higher in other animals), which
produces a larger throat cavity • Larger throat cavity
useful in making a wide variety of vowel sounds •
Note: Some studies have found that mammalian
larynx placement is much lower during vocalizations
(“dynamic descent of the larynx”), yet non-human
mammals still can’t produce the variety of sounds
that humans can. • Some animals have immense
vocal range (cf. birds, esp. parrots), but still cannot
speak

12. 2. Intelligence-Based Theory • Increased brain size led to increased ability for symbolic thought •
Symbolic thought led to symbolic communication • Symbolic communication endows humans
with decided survival advantage (cooperation, planning, etc.)

13. .
3. Protolanguage theory • The first linguistic
systems were extremely rudimentary, gradually
developed greater complexity • Protolanguage:
Basically limited to nouns (“object-names”) and
verbs (“action-names”); supported by some simple
ordering requirements. • Essentially no grammar.

14. .
4. The Cognitive Theory • The ability to understand the
world well enough to figure out ways of manipulating it
to outsmart other plants and animals. Several things
evolved at the same time to support this way of life. • a)
Cause-and-effect intelligence: E.g. How do sticks
break, how do rocks roll, how do things fly through the
air? • b) Social intelligence: How do I coordinate my
behavior with other people so that we can bring about
effects that one person acting alone could never have
done? • c) Language: If I learn something, I don't get
the benefit of it alone, but I can share it with my friends
and relatives, I can exchange it for other kinds of
commodities, I can negotiate deals, I can gossip to
make sure that I don't get exploited.

15. Words –morphology •
Word order-syntax •
Meaning- semantics •
Interpretation of
situations –pragmatics •
How much of the above
do you need to know in
order to be able to
learn a language?

16. They don’t necessarily “learn
languages” • Many linguists can only
speak their native language. • They
are often interested in the structure
of languages. They might •
specialize in one language, or a
group of languages • compare
different languages • study features
shared by all languages • Many
linguists study speech sounds, and
grammar

17. Anyone who can read and
write their name. • Anyone
who can read and write. •
Anyone who can read at the
grade level that corresponds
to their age. • Anyone who
went to college • Anyone who
understands James
Joyce…Jane
Austen…eecummings…Stieg
Larssen • Lit majors • Anyone
who reads the New York
Times

18. Emergent Literacy is the process of children
developing literacy and using it in
unconventional ways, gradually moving
towards more conventional definitions of
being literate.
18

19. Emergent Literacy….
•Develops from birth to 1st Grade
–All students will be at different levels of emerging literacy when they
come to kindergarten.
–Some students will come in being able to “read” the book through
the pictures.
–Others will read and write some words.
–Some students will be able to retell stories with much detail, others
will only give a few details.
–Some students will scribble to write, others will write random
letters, a few may write words.
Teachers should accept all these stages of emergent literacy and
plan appropriate activities for students to continue to progress.

20. Emergent Literacy….
Provides exposure to lots of different kinds of literacy
Big Books (show concepts of print, encourage retelling and word,
letter and sound identification)
File folder games (allows students to explore and practice concepts
and skills they are developing in a fun, social way)
Centers (provide practice of literacy through play)
(These are just a few examples. What examples do you have in your
classroom)

21. Includes all parts of reading, not just
decoding (comprehension,
predicting, retelling, etc)
•Literacy includes reading, writing,
speaking and listening.

22. Is child centered and developmentally appropriate for the
child. Includes things like puzzles, sorting cards, literacy
games, appropriate books, books on tape
•Piaget has shown that a child is an “active constructor of
knowledge and is capable of observing and theorizing
about his environment (Mason & Sinha p 140).

23. Involves teachers working with students in their zone of
proximal development, providing plenty of scaffolding and
acting as the facilitator. Working in students ZPD helps
students acquire new knowledge of literacy
Some students will need more scaffolding than others.

24. Develops in a social environment. Students should have
plenty of opportunities to practise literacy with their
peers.

25. Is not a wait and see approach.
•Does not use direct instruction as the only method of
teaching
•Is not skill based
•It is not decoding
•Is not using whole group instruction as the primary
teaching method

26. What does Emergent Literacy look like in Kindergarten?
In writing, students may use pictures, scribbles, random
letters, or beginning sounds to convey a message.
In reading, students may “read” the pictures in order to
“read” the words on the page. Students will gradually
learn more concepts about print and word and eventually
read in a more conventional way.
In oral language, students’ conversations gradually get more
sophisticated through having many opportunities to
practice oral language.

27. Activities Teachers and Students should do every day to progress
through Emergent Literacy
Participate in read alouds
Look at environmental print around the classroom and around the school
Be engaged in students’ learning and provide scaffolding when needed
Play outside and in centers
Participate in literacy stations
Talk with each other
Write every day and be allowed to use invented spelling
Interact with letters, sounds, and words
Interact with books
Participate in songs, poetry, and rhyming games
Participate in language experience charts
HAVE FUN

28. What questions should I ask myself when planning activities to
support my students’ emergent literacy?
Is my activity engaging to students?
Is it student centered?
Does it relate and build on what students already know?
Does it provide instruction for all levels of learners?

29. Theories behind Emergent Literacy
Linguistics-emergent literacy is a process
Psycholinguistics-classrooms have quality literature, students are
active participants in their learning, literacy is not just
reading, also includes writing, listening, and speaking.
Information Processing-teachers use students’ prior knowledge
to help build new literacy knowledge.
Sociolinguistics- emergent literacy is a social process and
students learn from each other.
Engaged learning- students move through the stages of emergent
literacy by having hands on experience that motivates them

30. Blended literacy
-Integrating technology into classroom by putting content online
and extend learning beyond the four walls and beyond the
school day
-In a blended literacy classroom students are sharing their writing,
participating in literature circles, creating multimedia projects
in small groups, and providing feedback to each other.
-Physical space+digital space
-computing and ICT literacy, media literacy

31. References
Alexander, P. A., & Fox, E. (2004) A historical perspective on reading research and
practice. In R. B. Ruddell & N.J. Unrau (Eds.) Theoretical models and processes in
reading (5th edition) (p 33-68). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Morrow, L. M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and
write. Sixth Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Mason, J. M., & Sinha, S. (1993). Emerging literacy in the early childhood years: Applying a
Vygotskian model of learning and development. In B. Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of
research on the education of young children, (pp. 137-150). New York: Macmillan.
National Association for Education of Young Children (1998). Learning to Read and Write:
Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. A joint position
statement of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National
Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Young Children, 30-46.

32. Thank you
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34. Strengths
What are you doing
well? What sets you
apart? What are
your good qualities?
Weaknesses
Where do you need
to improve? Are
resources adequate?
What do others do
better than you?
Opportunities
What are your goals?
Are demands shifting?
How can it be
improved?
Threats
What are the blockers
you're facing? What
are factors outside of
your control?

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