Learning to be Literate The Development of Spoken and Written Language

by Garton, Alison F.; Pratt, Chris

• ISBN13: 9780631193173
• ISBN10: 0631193170
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-06-08
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The second edition of this successful book describes and explains the development of children's spoken and written language. Drawing on both classical and recent research studies, the processes whereby literacy is achieved during the period from infancy to about 8 years of age are traced. The authors emphasize the importance of early experiences with language in relation to later developments of literacy, highlighting the connections between learning to talk and learning to read and write.Garton and Pratt argue that the social contexts within which talking, reading and writing are learned are essential for the development of literacy. Theoretical positions and research studies that support the argument are discussed, to provide a broad contextual framework. Early chapters describe the processes of spoken language development and the theoretical explanations put forward to account for them. Subsequent chapters discuss the development of reading and writing, as well as theoretical connections between spoken and written language development.

Author Biography

Alison F. Garton is Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. She is the author of Learning to be Literate (Blackwell Publishing, Second Edition, 1998) and Social Interaction and the Development of Language and Cognition (1992), and the editor of Systems of Representation in Children (1993).

Table of Contents

Preface	viii	(2)
Preface to the First Edition	x	(2)
Note on Phonemes	xii
1 Literacy: The Spoken and Written Language	1	(15)
What is Literacy?	1	(1)
The Study of Spoken and Written Language	2	(2)
Differences between Spoken and Written Language	4	(3)
The Continuity of Literacy	7	(1)
Consequences of Not Being Literate	8	(3)
Methodological Issues in the Study of Literacy Development	11	(2)
Structure and Scope of This Book	13	(3)
2 Explanations of Spoken Language Development	16	(24)
Learning Theory of Language Development	17	(3)
Nativist Theory of Language Acquisition	20	(4)
Theoretical Advances	24	(3)
Shortcomings of the Learning and Nativist Theories	27	(1)
Are There Specifiable Acquisition Processes?	28	(3)
The Correlation of Parental Speech with Children's Language Development	31	(4)
The Motherese Hypothesis	35	(3)
Social Considerations in Language Learning	38	(2)
3 Social Interaction and the Development of Language	40	(30)
Vygotsky's Theory	40	(10)
Bruner's Theory of Cognitive Growth	50	(7)
Philosophical Theories of Language Development	57	(1)
Adult Assistance to Children Learning Language	58	(1)
Processes of Acquiring Literacy	59	(5)
Individual and Social Differences in Influences on Language Development	64	(2)
Implications of Early Spoken and Written Language Development	66	(1)
A Theoretical Overview	67	(3)
4 Learning Spoken Language: From Precursors to First Word Combinations	70	(27)
Phonological Development	71	(5)
The Transition to Speech: Functional Prerequisites	76	(1)
One-word Stage	77	(1)
Acquisition of Single Words	78	(10)
Beyond Single Words	88	(7)
Individual Differences in Early Language Development	95	(2)
5 Learning Spoken Language: Further Accomplishments	97	(23)
Later Syntactic Development	98	(9)
Later Semantic Development	107	(3)
The Role of the Child in Later Language Development	110	(8)
Synthesis and Implications	118	(2)
6 Communicating with Language	120	(29)
Early Communication	122	(15)
Understanding the Processes of Communication	137	(12)
7 Reflecting on Language	149	(33)
The Concept of Metalinguistic Awareness	150	(1)
The Development of Metalinguistic Awareness	151	(8)
Phonological Awareness	159	(7)
Word Awareness	166	(5)
Syntactic Awareness	171	(3)
Pragmatic Awareness	174	(3)
Metalinguistic Awareness, Reading and Literacy	177	(5)
8 Learning to Write	182	(35)
Approaches to Writing	182	(2)
Print in the Environment	184	(2)
Discovering the Writing Process	186	(2)
What Do Children Learn about Writing?	188	(24)
Beyond Writing Speech	212	(2)
Individual Differences, the School and Writing	214	(3)
9 Learning to Read	217	(42)
Early Skills and Understandings	218	(4)
Concepts about Print	222	(6)
Developing Access to the Message in the Printed Word	228	(20)
Reading Comprehension	248	(9)
Individual Differences, the School and Reading	257	(2)
10 The Accomplishment of Literacy	259	(9)
The Processes of Becoming Literate	259	(5)
The Consequences of Achieving Literacy	264	(4)
References	268	(23)
Name Index	291	(5)
Subject Index	296