The Role of Literacy and Reading - Research Paper Example

The importance of literacy The last few decades have been marked with increased attention toward orality and the oral representation of language. Unfortunately, literacy is not paid so much attention, especially with the appearance of computers and grammar check in Microsoft Word. Moreover, the role of literacy and reading is underestimated and children prefer to play computer games instead of reading books. Such problem is reflected in the business activity as employees usually do not understand the importance of literacy. The link between orality and literacy became the issue of the major scholarly concern, and employees must realize that the success of their work heavily depends on how well they recognize, understand, analyze, and apply their knowledge of orality and literacy in practice. It is essential to determine how the first language acquisition and orality set the stage for the successful transition children from preschool to school environments; to understand and evaluate the changes that occur to literacy and orality in children in school environments; the impact of literate communities on the development of orality and literacy in individuals, including children; to evaluate the impact of family and social surrounding on how children treat language (Minami, 2002). That the first language acquisition and the development of orality in children sets the stage for the subsequent development of written language is difficult to deny, and the students in this module should be able to assess and discuss the changes that occur to orality and literacy in children’s transition from home to preschool. Here, the role of family is determining and even crucial, for it is in families that cultural socialization of preschool children takes place. Thus, students must realize that as soon as the child is sent to school, the emphasis of cultural socialization shifts from family to school environments and the latter become the major sources of language development and make children reshape their experiences and language patterns (Minami, 2002). Few employees possess knowledge and skills necessary to distinguish between orality and literacy and to explain conditions necessary for literacy to develop and sustain. Obviously, “whenever human beings exist they have a language, and in every instance a language that exists basically as spoken and heard, in the world of sound” (Ong, 2002), but even the richness of gesture cannot disrupt the link between literacy and oral speech language – even sign languages used by the deaf heavily rely on orality. For this reason, employees should not only realize the close interdependence of orality and literacy and their place in the system of linguistic tools, but they should also be able to provide the basic characteristics of the orality-literacy divide and, more importantly, to reconsider the topic of orality and literacy from a new, unexpected angle. For example, employees must realize that orality is a metalinguistic activity, where language comprises the four different levels of activity, including language describing the world of objects, oral language that uses world as its object, writing that uses oral language as its object, and, finally, an oral metalanguage that takes any part of text or writing as its object (Olson & Torrance, 1991). In the context of language learning and acquisition, employees can be offered an opportunity to reconsider the benefits of orality and literacy – by positioning literacy as a form of oppression, this module will set the stage for reconsidering and exploring the topic of orality and literacy in different social contexts and as related to different social aspects, including gender, ethnicity, and social status. In order to improve the level of literacy with employees, it is necessary to begin with school and university students, who should be explained the real importance of literacy in business. Students should also recognize and analyze the parallels between children’s transition from home to school and between their simultaneous transition from orality (or oral speech) to literacy (reading/ writing texts) – school is the place where children finally leave the emotionally charged oral world of their family and are put into a logical and structured language environment, where language acquisition is context-free, logical, and message-focused (Minami, 2002). Does that mean that children who are sent to school and have to change their language environments have no other choice but to discard their previous language experiences and to engage in a completely new language processes? Not necessarily; rather, and students in this module must also understand, that children will seek to adopt, resist, and stretch available words to make them fit into the new, school-based contexts (MacArthur, Graham & Fitzgerald, 2008). As a result, language activity and the transition from orality to literacy in different contexts is a conscious activity, in which children choose to negotiate their language patterns and construct new meanings, trying to find an agreement between what they learnt at home and what they are required from at school. The link between orality and literacy became the issue of the major concern, and employees must realize that the success of their work heavily depends on how well they recognize, understand, analyze, and apply their knowledge of orality and literacy in practice. The value of writing skills and literacy should not be underestimated. It is important to redefine the traditional structure of language courses and will propose a modified approach to studying orality and literacy in classroom settings. In the context of language learning and acquisition, learners can be offered an opportunity to reconsider the benefits of orality and literacy – by positioning literacy as a form of oppression, this module will set the stage for reconsidering and exploring the topic of orality and literacy in different social contexts and as related to different social aspects, including gender, ethnicity, and social status. It is essential to address the most important aspect of language learning and acquisition and will lay the foundation for a better understanding of orality and literacy and their place in language. England is a good source of knowledge about multiculturalism and bilingualism – the complexity of cultural connections that always characterized England is difficult to underestimate. Ultimately, self-education and reading is just another means for students to improve their knowledge of language and their literacy. References MacArthur, C.A., Graham, S. & Fitzgerald, J. (2008). Handbook of Writing Research. Guilford Press. Minami, M. (2002). Culture-specific Language Styles: The Development of Oral Narrative and Literacy. Multilingual Matters. Olson, D.R. & Torrance, N. (1991). Literacy and Orality. Cambridge University Press. Ong, W.J. (2002). Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the World. Routledge. Read More