Learning to be Literate: The Development of Spoken and Written Language

by Chris Pratt (Contributor), Chris Pratt (Contributor), Alison F. Garton (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  1998

  $52.02

  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.

• Used

  Paperback
  1989

  $3.25

  This book describes and explains the development of children's spoken and written language skills. Tracing the process from birth to about eight years of age, the authors stresses the importance of early experiences of language for the later development of literacy and emphasize the connections between learning to talk and learning to write and read. Early chapters explore the processes of language development and theoretical explanations put forward to account for them. Garton and Pratt describe children's developing knowledge of the form and structure of language and their increasing skills in communicating both at home and at school. Later chapters consider how children learn to read and write and how those abilities may be fostered. The authors chart the development of literacy topic by topic rather than by following a chronological sequence by age. By doing so they highlight the continuities of learning from home to school and the inter-relationship between the skills of speech and writing and reading. Throughout they emphasize the importance of the context in which the skills of literacy are learned and the child's active involvement in this considerable achievement.