This question is posed in two parts. First, do you think it is possible to categorize literacy as learning stages? In development, there are so many facets of one’s life that are broken down into milestones which should be met in other to prove normal progression. Do you believe that learning to be literate has milestones such as these? Do children develop literacy skills or is each new skill separate from one another. Secondly, if you believe there are stages, what do you find the most crucial to be. Do stages allow for one to decide if someone is literate or not?
Thank you!
I definitely think literacy comes in stages. I would any type of literacy starts with familiarization. For languages, this is the ability to recognize the language out of context, and perhaps learn the meanings of a few crucial words. In technology, I would say learning basic functions like turning a machine on and off and having some understanding of its function to be sufficient.
After familiarization, I would think the next phase would be a broken or pidgin use. This would be the 2-4 year old stage where children can communicate, but with a mixture of English and their own made-up words. For a skill such as skating, we’ll say, this is the ability to skate, but not necessarily in the widely accepted manner. For ice skating especially, this would be using a walker or the wall to help circle the rink.
After that, I would say average mastery would be the next step. This would be the ability to talk, but with some limitations. For a child learning to use their legs, this would be the stage at which they learn to run.
Next, the ability to perform complex functions in the skill or language. For English, this would be near perfect speaking or writing, but perhaps with a little simplicity, or semi-frequent grammar mistakes. Additionally, the ability to experiment comfortably and anticipate patterns or rules not yet brought to their attention would develop. So, maybe recognizing sentences should not end with a preposition without having the rule directly explained. This also might be the stage where someone is comfortable enough to learn a new dialect, or for example, make the transition from informal to formal writing. Or, for computers, this might be the stage where someone begins writing and implementing their own code. (I am not a computer expert, so I can only guess.)
Finally, I would say there’s a threshold of mastery where one is considered to be in some top percent of speakers or performers. This might be a professor of the subject, someone who creates rules implemented by all users (those who write dictionaries, or perhaps regulate industries).
I would like to think there is a space for content creators here (those who can create original works or develop new advances), but I honestly believe that can come at most stages, although possibly they’re more likely in the mid-high range. That may just be my own learned bias speaking, however!
These are somewhat hastily constructed and not necessarily accurate in every field, but I feel as though it is fitting enough for literacy. There are a lot of smaller developments and stages that can’t necessarily be ranked. Off the top of my head, it’s hard to separate learning to speak a language and learning to write it, since they overlap a lot, and the experience is different between a natural speaker and an adult learner.
Throughout my experiences of working with young children, I think you have described the literary milestones very well! I loved how you mixed in an ice skating reference – I figure skated for 15 years and I have been part-time coaching skating lessons to young hockey and figure skaters for about 6 years. In this process, along with my babysitting experience, I have watched children grow and develop from a state of not being able to talk to being proficient in speaking, writing, and reading skills.
In my experience, when children begin talking they do so by repeating everything you say along with a mix of words they have made up. If they make grammar mistakes, you don’t correct them – instead you just respond back in the same way you would to someone who did not many any mistakes. This is because eventually the child will learn that they are saying it wrong and fix it themselves. In the kids I have had experience with, this is roughly the age ranges 2-5.
Once they get into preschool, they begin learning the alphabet and how to correctly pronounce and write the letters. In some cases, this doesn’t begin until kindergarten – I guess it depends on the institution. From there, they learn how to write words such as their name, and more basic things like “cat” and “dog”. I think this is where the literary “growth-spurt” in development comes. Once they move on from kindergarten, roughly age 6-7, they are usually very proficient in speaking with little to no error, and they are able to write. In first grade is when most children learn to read. With technology, like the Leap Pad by Leap Frog and other educational devices, that might come about a little sooner.
From second grade onward, I think literacy development revolves more around solidifying the skills you have developed and making them stronger and better so that you can expand your knowledge and level of proficiency. This is done though speaking, reading, and writing – as we all know from experience we do not get better at something without practicing it. I agree with the comment you made about how those who create original works or develop new advances cannot do so until they are highly developed.
I also agree that literacy comes in stages! Children must start somewhere in their literacy development. I would imagine that from first hearing sounds to being able to communicate through non-verbal movements and/or crying are important first steps. Once those are reached and the child develops more, there are more obvious signs of literacy such as learning the alphabet, learning to speak, learning to read and learning to write. Once a child gets older, the interpretation of reading and language become important as well.
To answer your second question, I would have to argue that the most crucial step in literacy development has got to be those first non-verbal methods of communication in addition to crying. It is not only a means for survival (crying gets you to take care of the needs of the baby) but also the first stepping stones to realizing that language (verbal and non-verbal) has meaning and significance. Without knowing that such movements and cries lead to attention and care, the child would have a much harder time that there is a way that he/she can communicate with the world that exists beyond his/herself. Without this step, the use of the alphabet or analysis of language may never be possible. To communicate, one must first learn the significance of communication.
In order to use these stages to distinguish between the literate an illiterate, however, seems to be a more difficult task. As we discussed, there is a very blurry line between literacy and illiteracy, especially when you look at literacy in the social context of specific cultures or groups of people. In some cultures, getting to the point where one can write well does not make the individual any more literate or powerful in the society. As seen in the study of the Vai, we noticed how language proficiency and literacy had little to do with economic status or success.
Overall, very intriguing question. I love the connection between literacy stages and development.
I would both agree and disagree with the previous replies to the questions. The part I am agreeing with is that literacy definitely is developed over time. From the moment we are born to the moment we are old and dying, we are constantly learning and picking up social cues to enhance our literacy. Due to the fact that we are constantly changing and learning new literacy techniques, how are we able to put them in cut and dry stages. To me, I think learning never stops. Even though we may have a summer break from school, we are still learning. It may not be academically centered, but we are still learning something new about our society. For example, over the summers I work as a pharmacy technician at my local CVS. I am constantly taking in new information about medications, prescriptions, and insurance policies that I didn’t know beforehand. Just because I am not at a physical school or university, doesn’t mean I am not learning anything. Also, how can we confine literacy to stages, when literacy is constantly changing around us. Literacy is most definitely a relative term. 60 years ago, being literate meant you passed the fourth grade. Nowadays, that will not fit into our “definition” of literacy because we are so much more advanced. And who is not to say that in 100 years, college students like us will be deemed “illiterate” by the future mankind. Honestly, I think literacy is too complicated to put into stages simply because we do not fully understand what literacy entails today.
While I agree with everyone in that we are constantly developing and changing our literacy over time, I would not say that there are specific stages. Although we might be able to identify stages in our own lives and the lives of people we know, literacy probably develops in radically different ways for different people. It’s easy to see literacy as a linear progression, especially when we think about how we have “advanced” our own literacy skills. However, I think it’s important to decentralize our focus on a linear progression and move towards thinking of types of literacy rather than “stages.”
In class, we talked about the literacy myth and “high track” vs. “low track” English. Thinking about literacy in terms of stages creates a hierarchy and could potentially contribute to the problematic high track/low track mindset. If we try to think of literacy in terms of types (e.g. a different type of literacy to be a contractor vs. a college student) rather than stages, I think we can work towards complicating literacy and valuing all types of literacy instead of just “high track” literacy.