Literacy Vs English Literacy

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Literacy is the ability to perceive, interpret, internalize, react to language in a fluent and automatic way. It encompasses all facets of language including speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Whereas someone might be verbally literate with a language, full literacy requires a level of fluency across the spectrum. As Cushing & Weigele point out there is a big difference between speaking and listening. And while neither presupposes nor is more important than the other, they are both necessary for full literacy. Furthermore, literacy spans the content language that at least the specific participant is required to be a part of. For native speakers literacy develops first in the home with spoken word as a baby and then is slowly but surely honed to include the reading and writing components of literacy throughout one’s schooling. Conversely, English literacy for an L2 learner does not happen so organically. In fact literacy for an L2 learner can happen eventually, despite the many challenges of language acquisition including their literacy in their L1. …show more content…

As Grabe points out, a student’s working memory is critical in language acquisition and literacy. Educators must be careful not to overload this working memory while at the same time creating educational opportunities that make salient the important processes needed in increase fluency. A constant delicate balance, educators must also address the associative component of Adaptive Control of Thought Rational (ACT-R) by giving their students repeated and extensive exposure to print while at the same time employing scaffolding and chunking methods, again not to overload the working

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