Language: the Key to Literacy
Language and Reading
Have a Unique Relationship
Spoken Speech is often different
from written language
 Emergent readers need to match speech to
print.
 Children might not understand that words
are distinct units.
 Rebus is a good technique to overcome this
problem. The girl is :)
Construct meaning:
 Knowing language structures: letters,
words, sentences, paragraphs.
 Monitor comprehension
 Understand writer intention.
Oral language
 Listening and speaking are related to
reading and writing.
 Oral level of language must be at a high
level of proficiency before written language
develops.
 Oral language helps children understand
written language. Environmental print. On
and off. Stop. Color words on the crayon.
Logo graphics
 Frith 1985 Stage of reading development
when children learn words as whole.
 Logos for McDonald’s
 Later the child learn sound/symbol
relationships. Stage 2 Chall Reading
Difficult text
 Language that is more complex than the
child’s oral language.
 Language or terms they have heard before is
difficult.
Using oral language to unlock
print.
 Developmental
 Younger students depend on oral language
to unlock text.
 Older student depend on experiences to
unlock print.
Reciprocal relationship
 Between reading and oral language.
 Need direct experiences with print.
 Word recognition skills develop at the same
time the children are understanding about
print functions, the nature of stories, and
other clues that help them anticipate words
and understand them.
Language awareness comes from
reading and writing.
 Gaining knowledge from phonemens,
words, sentences, story structure and
communication of meaning.
 Helps students understand syntax and
semantic and builds their vocabularies.
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Context clues:
 Example with oral language: facial
expressions and gestures aren’t available
with phone messages.
 The same is true with print. Context clues
might be missing.
Decontextualized language:
 New information for reader.
 Needs background information.
 Words and syntax must supply these clues
to background knowledge.
Using contextualized print for
clues.
 Connect the new print to words with
meaning. I love M&Ms.
 Don’t stress the separateness of
sound/symbol relationship and forget the
meaning of the print.
 Language meaning features must be
stressed when teaching writing, as well.
Only direct involvement in actual
reading and writing. . .
 Will help children develop literacy
capabilities that complement and extend
their language development.
 About 6th grade the students actually learn
new vocabulary from reading instead of
hearing it.
 Students come to school knowing about
8,000 words. They learn more words
literacy activities.
Students who have been read to:
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Connect oral and written words earlier.
They recognize whole words,
Connect pictures with the story, and
Know the features of a book.
Print that is different from what
they’ve heard.
 Dialect is hard to read for 2nd graders.
 They can’t write better than they can speak.
 Children’s experiences both in and out of
school should be bound together with
language and communication.
Structure of Language
 Phoneme: Smallest unit of sound /t/, /p/.
 Grapheme: Symbol to represent a sound.
Top has 3 graphemes. Chop also has three
graphemes. Why? Ch represents one
sound.
 Grapheme-Phoneme Relationship:
letter/sound correspondence.
 Phonics: Teaching approaches and strategies
used to learn sound/symbol relationships
Meaning of Language
 Semantics- meaning of words and their
interrelationships. Vocabulary acquisition is
known as semantic acquisition.
 Morpheme: the smallest unit of meaningful
language. Free and bound: dog is free and
can be used with any other morpheme.
Dog(s) is bound and must be used with the
dog. Dogs has 2 morphemes.
Structural Features of Language
 Syntax- The patterns or grammar of the
language.
 Children must learn the relationship
between word spelling and pronunciations
to become good readers. (Chall 1996,Stahl
1996, Adams, 1990)
Over emphasizing words:
 Might inhibit the developmental abilities in
using syntax and semantic clues to arrive at
meaning. If a student is reading orally and
stumbles on a word, give the child the word
quickly so that meaning is not interrupted.
Phonics is suppose to become automatic.
This helps it become automatic.
Regional dialect.
 Language the student first encounters.
 Standard English might be foreign to him.
 If English is a 2nd language, this is more
evident.
 Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Learners have difficulty with Standard
English.
Linguistically diverse students
have some language
 But lack vital parts of the language needto
learn English rapidly.
 Lack phonology (inventory of meaningful
sounds.) Vietnamese children may lack
sounds of s, es, t, d at the end of words.
 They may lack syntax or semantic to learn
English automatically. Eskimo have several
different words for snow. Navajo have
several different words for rough.
Different Social Pragmatics
 Navajo quietly wait their turn to speak
while digesting every nuance of the speech
patterns. It is considered very rude to
‘chime in’ with an idea while someone else
is speaking.
Reading is linking to strengths
and weakness of oral language.
 Help students gain informational
background. This promotes their success in
both reading and writing.
 The interactive process of reading and
writing shares similar components.
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Readers compose meaning as they record their
thoughts on paper.
Writers compose meaning as they process text
Both operate at separate levels.
 Using word recognition strategies
 Using and understanding language
structure,
 Organizing ideas,
 Applying background knowledge
 Monitoring the composition of the meaning
process.
 Generally students are better readers than
writers.
What makes a successful reader
and writer?
 1. Prepare by tapping background
knowledge
 2. Predict what you will read or write
 3. Determine the purpose for writing
 4. Select topics you will write about
Compose a 1st Draft
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1. Monitor the understanding of the text
2. Monitor the reactions to the text
3. Relate new information to old
4. Expand vocabularies by reading and
writing.
 Know where to go for help.
 Filter important ideas from details.