[Reading-hall-of-fame] teaching and learning literacy

[Ken Goodman]

Language Learning: Oral, written, sign

I was recently asked to write an introduction to a Farsi translation of one
of my books. It made me realize that the original Persian language was only
written by a few scribes and considered a rare skill known only to a chosen
few who used it on behalf of a people who had little need for literacy.

That made it seem mysterious and hard to learn. In fact, literacy was often
not in the vernacular language but in a noble or holy language which made
it seem even more mysterious and difficult.

To this day, religious texts and services are often in languages known only
to priests or sages.

But as human cultures and economies became more complex wider groups needed
to be literate and eventually in modern societies illiteracy has come to be
considered a serious problem.

Starting with the invention of the printing press the need for wide spread
literacy produced an ever-accelerating technology to facilitate its use.

Still literacy is taught as a school subject that is hard to learn and
therefore must be taught as a series of abstract skills- letter or
character recognition, word or, syllables, phonics etc. In fact, we have
taught literacy not as language but something to be mastered prior to its
use.

Yet virtually all children learn without instruction to speak (or sign in
the case of the deaf) and understand one or more languages by the time they
are two or three years old. This is no small feat since linguists have not
been fully able to describe all the features of language they learn. All
that is required for this marvelous achievement is exposure on a regular
basis to the language(s) in their homes and neighborhoods.

What we should  have understood is that  language in all its forms is
learned easily when it is accessible, needed and responded to. Reading and
writing are no less language than speaking and listening. In fact, it
should be easier to learn literacy in a language already spoken than to
learn the language orally since much of the language’s systems are already
known.

Research that ignores language learning and focuses only on methods of
teaching skills is not only not productive but can actually distract the
learners from the use of their natural ability to make sense of language.

There is plenty of evidence in miscue research to support this reality. But
I offer three current examples familiar to all us.

1.       Very young children are taking advantage of technology available
to them in the form of cell-phones, digital toys, computers or other
digital devices and becoming literate without instruction before they come
to school.

2.       Older children playing complex computer games are engaging in
complex literacy events and interactions with other participants, making
alliances, trading and otherwise. They are texting with friends and hanging
out digitally.

3.       In developing nations people believed to be pre-literate are
inventing ways of transcribing their oral language and texting each other,
conducting their business and otherwise acting as literate.

My final evidence: Some of the most ardent skill instruction researchers
 (Barbara Forman and colleagues) have made an important discovery: looking
at every instructional strategy there is only one that correlates
consistently with success in learning to read: TIME SPENT READING!!!!!
Ken Goodman
7914 South Galileo Lane
Tucson, Az 85747
520-9909612
Learning is not a Response to Instruction
Effective Iinstruction is a  Response to Learning
*READING THE GRAND iLLUSION*
*HOW AND WHY PEOPLE MAKE SENSE OF PRINT*.
https://www.routledge.com/Reading--The-Grand--
<https://www.routledge.com/Reading--The-Grand-Illusion-How-and-Why-People-Make-Sense-of-Print/Goodman-Fries-Strauss/p/book/9781138999299>
Illusion
<https://www.routledge.com/Reading--The-Grand-Illusion-How-and-Why-People-Make-Sense-of-Print/Goodman-Fries-Strauss/p/book/9781138999299>

How-and-Why-People-Make-Sense-of-Print/Goodman-Fries-Strauss/p/book/9781138999299
<https://www.routledge.com/Reading--The-Grand-Illusion-How-and-Why-People-Make-Sense-of-Print/Goodman-Fries-Strauss/p/book/9781138999299>
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