Editing Literacy (section)

==Teaching literacy==
{{Main|Reading#Teaching reading|Composition studies}}
{{globalize|section|date=April 2011}}
[[File:Brain pathways for mirror discrimination learning during literacy acquisition.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Brain areas involved in literacy acquisition]]
In school, reading and writing are often taught as separate skills. However, children show curiosity about the written word and begin to experiment with both in a process of [[emergent literacy]] and making sense of (and using) the [[writing system]] they see used around them. Every new piece of writing draws on previous reading through a process of [[intertextuality]], sometimes explicitly through [[citation]], as in [[academic writing]], and writing about reading is one of the major approaches for teaching writing in higher education.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Spivey |first1=N. N. |title=Theoretical models and processes of reading |last2=King |first2=J. R. |year=1994 |publisher=International Reading Association |isbn=978-0-872-07502-3 |editor-last=Ruddell |editor-first=Robert B. |location=Newark, DE |pages=668–694 |chapter=Readers as writers compose from sources |editor-last2=Unrau |editor-first2=Norman}}</ref> Intertextuality, however, can also be implicit through well-known, recognizable phrases from specific works or [[genre]]s or through the development of a distinct [[writing style]]. Evidence has supported the integration of reading and writing at all levels of schooling, as improvement in one area supports the other.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Graham |first=Steve |date=September 2020 |title=The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated |journal=Reading Research Quarterly |volume=55 |issue=S1 |pages=S35–S44 |doi=10.1002/rrq.332 |s2cid=225214359 |issn=0034-0553}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Graham |first1=Steve |last2=Liu |first2=Xinghua |last3=Aitken |first3=Angelique |last4=Ng |first4=Clarence |last5=Bartlett |first5=Brendan |last6=Harris |first6=Karen R. |last7=Holzapfel |first7=Jennifer |year=2018 |title=Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta-Analysis |journal=Reading Research Quarterly |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=279–304 |doi=10.1002/rrq.194|doi-access=free}}</ref> A series of metastudies have examined the effectiveness of various methods of teaching writing, revealing that attention to context, cognitive/motivational factors, and the instruction strategy, among other things, are important.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Graham |first1=S. |last2=Harris |first2=K. |last3=Santangelo |first3=T. |year=2015 |title=Research-based writing practices and the common core |journal=The Elementary School Journal |volume=115 |issue=4 |pages=498–522|doi=10.1086/681964 |s2cid=147028533}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Graham |first1=S. |title=Writing Next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescent middle and high school |last2=Perin |first2=D. |publisher=Alliance for Excellence in Education |year=2007 |location=Washington, D. C.}}</ref>

Critiques of autonomous models of literacy notwithstanding, the belief that [[reading (process)|reading]] development is key to literacy remains dominant, at least in the United States, where it is understood as the progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words and culminates in the deep understanding of the text. Reading development involves a range of complex language underpinnings, including awareness of speech sounds ([[phonology]]), spelling patterns ([[orthography]]), word meaning ([[semantics]]), [[syntax]], and patterns of word formation ([[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]), all of which provide a necessary platform for reading fluency and comprehension. Once these skills are acquired, it is believed a reader can attain full language literacy, which includes the abilities to apply to printed material [[critical thinking|critical analysis]], inference, and synthesis; to write with accuracy and coherence; and to use information and insights from text as the basis for informed decisions and creative thought.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

For this reason, teaching English reading literacy in the United States is dominated by a focus on a set of discrete decoding skills. From this perspective, literacy—or rather, reading—comprises a number of sub-skills that can be taught to students. These sub-skills include [[phonological awareness]], [[phonics]] decoding, fluency, [[Reading comprehension|comprehension]], and [[vocabulary]]. Mastering each of these sub-skills is necessary for students to become proficient readers.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=National Reading Panel (U.S.) |title=Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction: Reports of the Subgroups |last2=National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) |publisher=National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health |year=2000 |location=Washington, D. C. |oclc=47848860}}</ref>

From this same perspective, readers of [[alphabetic language]]s must understand the [[alphabetic principle]] to master basic reading skills. For this purpose, a writing system is "alphabetic" if it uses symbols to represent [[phoneme]]s (individual language sounds),<ref name="Sedlorg-2008">{{Cite web |date=23 April 2008 |title=Glossary of Reading Terms - The Cognitive Foundations of Learning to Read: A Framework |url=http://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/glossary.html |access-date=23 November 2011 |publisher=Sedl.org}}</ref> though the degree of correspondence between letters and sounds varies between alphabetic languages. [[Syllabary|Syllabic writing systems]] (such as [[Japanese writing system|Japanese]] [[kana]]) use a symbol to represent a single syllable, and [[logogram|logographic writing systems]] (such as [[Written Chinese|Chinese]]) use a symbol to represent a [[morpheme]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paul Halsall |title=Chinese Cultural Studies: Chinese Logographic Writing |url=http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/chinlng4.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927232215/http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/chinlng4.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=23 November 2011 |publisher=Acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu}}</ref>

There are a number of approaches to [[Reading#Teaching reading|teaching reading]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001257/125767eb.pdf |title=New approaches to literacy learning: A guide for teacher educators |last=Carter |first=V. Elaine |date=November 2000 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> Each is shaped by its assumptions about what literacy is and how it is best learned by students. [[Phonics]] instruction, for example, focuses on reading at the level of letters or symbols and their sounds (i.e., [[Dual-route hypothesis to reading aloud#Nonlexical or Sublexical|sublexical]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ktori |first1=M. |last2=Mousikou |first2=P. |last3=Rastle |first3=K. |year=2018 |title=Sublexical: the parts of a word (i.e. letters, phonemes & graphemes), Cues to Stress Assignment in Reading Aloud, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2018 |journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology. General |volume=147 |issue=1 |pages=36–61 |doi=10.1037/xge0000380 |pmc=5765884 |pmid=29309196}}</ref> It teaches readers to decode the letters, or groups of letters, that make up a word. A common method of teaching phonics is [[synthetic phonics]], in which a novice reader pronounces each individual sound and blends them to pronounce the whole word. Another approach is embedded phonics instruction, used more often in [[whole language]] reading instruction, in which novice readers learn about the individual letters in words on a just-in-time, just-in-place basis that is tailored to meet each student's reading and writing learning needs.<ref name="Sedlorg-2008" /> That is, teachers provide phonics instruction opportunistically, within the context of stories or student writing that feature repeat instances of a particular letter or group of letters. Embedded instruction combines letter-sound knowledge with the use of meaningful context to read new and difficult words.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glossary |url=http://www.ldonline.org/glossary#E |access-date=23 November 2011 |publisher=LD OnLine}}</ref> Techniques such as [[directed listening and thinking activity|directed listening and thinking activities]] can be used to aid children in learning how to read and in [[reading comprehension]]. For students at both primary and secondary levels, writing about what they read as they are learning to write has been found to also be effective in improving their reading skills.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Graham |first1=S. |title=Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading. A Carnegie Corporation Time to Act Report |last2=Hebert |first2=M. A. |publisher=Alliance for Excellent Education |year=2010 |location=Washington, D. C.}}</ref>

The two most commonly used approaches to reading instruction are [[Reading#Teaching reading|structured literacy instruction]] and [[balanced literacy]] instruction. The structured literacy approach explicitly and systematically focuses on phonological awareness, word recognition, phonics, decoding, spelling, and syntax at both the sentence and paragraph levels.<ref name="An-Explanation-of-Structured-Literacy">{{Cite web |title=An Explanation of Structured Literacy, and a Comparison to Balanced Literacy |publisher=Iowa Reading Research Center |url=https://iowareadingresearch.org/blog/structured-and-balanced-literacy |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=iowareadingresearch.org}}</ref> The balanced literacy approach, as the name suggests, balances emphasis on phonics and decoding; shared, guided, and independent reading; and [[grapheme]] representations with context and imagery.<ref name="An-Explanation-of-Structured-Literacy" /> Both approaches have their critics—those who oppose structured literacy claim that by restricting students to phonemes, their fluency development is limited; critics of balanced literacy claim that if phonics and decoding instruction are neglected, students will have to rely on compensatory strategies when confronted with unfamiliar text.<ref name="An-Explanation-of-Structured-Literacy" />{{efn|Compensatory strategies include memorizing words, using context to guess words, and even skipping ones they do not know.{{refn|{{Cite web |last=Hanford |first=Emily |title=How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers |url=https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-reading |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=www.apmreports.org}}}}}}

These strategies are taught to students as part of the balanced literacy approach based on a theory about reading development called the [[Reading#Three cueing system (Searchlights model)|three-cueing system]]. As the name suggests, the three-cueing system uses three cues to determine the meaning of words: grapho-phonetic cues (letter-sound relationships); syntactic cues (grammatical structure); and semantic cues (a word making sense in context).{{cn|date=May 2024}} However, cognitive neuroscientist Mark Seidenberg and professor Timothy Shanahan do not support the theory. They say the three-cueing system's value in reading instruction "is a magnificent work of the imagination", and it developed not because teachers lack integrity, commitment, motivation, sincerity, or intelligence, but because they "were poorly trained and advised" about [[Reading#Science of reading|the science of reading]]. In England, the simple view of reading and synthetic phonics are intended to replace "the searchlights multi-cueing model".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shanahan |first=Timothy |date=2019-04-01 |title=Is It a Good Idea to Teach the Three Cueing Systems in Reading |url=https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/it-good-idea-teach-three-cueing-systems-reading}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Seidenberg |first=Mark |title=Language at the speed of light |year=2017 |publisher=Basic |isbn=978-0-465-08065-6 |pages=300–304}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hempenstall |first=Kerry |date=29 October 2017 |title=The three-cueing system in reading: Will it ever go away |url=https://www.nifdi.org/resources/hempenstall-blog/402-the-three-cueing-system-in-reading-will-it-ever-go-away |access-date=5 February 2023 |publisher=National Institute for Direct Instruction}}</ref>{{Specify |reason=Which source(s) do the quotes come from? |date=September 2023}}

In his 2009 book ''Reading in the Brain'', cognitive neuroscientist [[Stanislas Dehaene]] said "cognitive psychology directly refutes any notion of teaching via a 'global' or 'whole language' method." He goes on to talk about "the myth of whole-word reading", saying it has been refuted by recent{{when|date=September 2023}} experiments. "We do not recognize a printed word through a holistic grasping of its contours, because our brain breaks it down into letters and graphemes."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dehaene |first=Stanislas |title=Reading in the Brain |date=2010-10-26 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-143-11805-3 |pages=222–228}}</ref>

However, a 2012 hypothesis proposed that reading might be acquired naturally, in the same manner as spoken language, if print is constantly available at an early age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Massaro |first=D. W. |year=2012 |title=Acquiring Literacy Naturally: Behavioral science and technology could empower preschool children to learn to read naturally without instruction |url=https://www.americanscientist.org/article/acquiring-literacy-naturally |journal=American Scientist |volume=100 |issue=4 |pages=324–333 |doi=10.1511/2012.97.324}}</ref> According to this theory, if an appropriate form of written text is made available before formal schooling begins, reading should be learned inductively, emerge naturally, and have no significant negative consequences. This proposal challenges the commonly held belief that written language requires formal instruction and schooling; thus, its success would change current views of literacy and schooling. Using developments in behavioral science and technology, Technology-Assisted Reading Acquisition (TARA), an interactive system, would enable young pre-literate children to accurately perceive and learn the properties of written language through simple exposure to the written form.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

In Australia, a number of state governments have introduced Reading Challenges to improve literacy. The Premier's Reading Challenge in South Australia, launched by [[Mike Rann|Premier Mike Rann]], has one of the highest participation rates in the world for reading challenges. It has been embraced by more than 95% of public, private, and religious schools.<ref>Center for National Policy, Washington DC, What States Can Do, 2 May 2012</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=September 2023}}

===Post-conflict settings===

Programs have been implemented in regions that have an ongoing conflict or are in a post-conflict stage. The Norwegian Refugee Council Pack program has been used in 13 post-conflict countries since 2003. The program organizers believe that daily routines and otherwise predictable activities help ease the transition from war to peace. Learners can select one area of vocational training for a year-long period; they also complete required courses in agriculture, life skills, literacy, and numeracy. Results have shown that active participation and management of the members of the program are important to the success of the program. These programs share the use of integrated basic education, e.g., literacy, numeracy, scientific knowledge, local history and culture, native and mainstream language skills, and apprenticeships.<ref name="Bernhardt-2014" />

===Teaching migrant, immigrant, and non-native users===
Although there is considerable awareness that language deficiencies, including a lack of proficiency, are disadvantageous to immigrants settling into a new country, there is a lack of [[pedagogical]] approaches to teaching literacy to migrant English-language learners (ELLs). Harvard scholar Catherine Snow called for the gap to be addressed: "The TESOL field needs a concerted research effort to inform literacy instruction for such children—to determine when to start literacy instruction and how to adapt it to the LS reader's needs."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Snow |first=Catherine |date=Winter 2001 |title=Learning to Read in an L2 |journal=TESOL Quarterly |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=599–601 |doi=10.2307/3588432 |jstor=3588432}}</ref> Recent developments to address the gap in teaching literacy to foreign language learners{{efn|See also: [[ESL]]}} have been ongoing, with promising results seen with a curricular framework from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which integrates Teaching for Understanding.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Pearson |last2=Pellerine |year=2010 |title=Teaching for Understanding in Higher Education: A Framework for Developing Literacy within a TESOL Context |url=http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/2010/100 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085359/http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/2010/100 |archive-date=22 October 2017}}</ref>

A series of pilot projects have been carried out in the Middle East and Africa,<ref name="Patl-2016">{{Cite web |title=How an educator from Nova Scotia uses cameras to teach English in Ethiopia |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-teacher-literacy-visual-arts-1.3635661|last=Patl|first=Anjuli|date= June 15, 2016}}</ref> and significant interest from the learners has been seen in the use of visual arts as springboards for literacy-oriented instruction. In one project, migrant women were provided with cameras and took the instructor on a walking tour of their village. There, they photographed places and activities that would later be used for writings about their daily lives—in essence, a narrative of life. Other primers for writing activities include painting, sketching, and other craft projects.

[[File:Sample sketch of milestone.jpg|thumb|right|Sample milestone sketch]]

In another series of pilot studies, alternatives to instructing literacy to migrant [[English-language learner]]s were investigated,<ref name="Pellerine">{{Cite web |last=Pellerine |first=Stephen |title=Alternative Literacy |url=http://stephenpellerin4.wixsite.com/altlit}}</ref> starting with simple trials aiming to test the effects of teaching photography to participants with no prior photography background and then painting and sketching activities that could later be integrated into a larger pedagogical initiative. In efforts to develop alternative approaches for literacy instruction utilizing visual arts, work was carried out with Afghan laborers, Bangladeshi tailors, Emirati media students, internal Ethiopian migrants (both laborers and university students), and a street child.<ref name="Patl-2016" /><ref name="Pellerine" /><ref name="Perez">{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Andrea |title=Why every picture tells a story |url=http://www.elgazette.com/item/296-why-every-picture-tells-a-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135001/http://www.elgazette.com/item/296-why-every-picture-tells-a-story.html |archive-date=13 September 2017 |access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Migrant Woman Reviewing Photography, Making Seletions for Writing.jpeg|thumb|left|Reviewing photos after a photowalk]]

It should be pointed out that in these challenging contexts, sometimes the teaching of literacy may have unforeseen barriers. The ''EL Gazette'' reported that in the trials carried out in Ethiopia, for example, it was found that all ten of the participants had problems with vision.<ref name="Perez" /> In order to overcome this or avoid such challenges, preliminary health checks can help inform pre-teaching in order to better assist in the teaching and learning of literacy.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Using a visual arts approach to literacy instruction can provide benefits by incorporating a traditional literacy approach (reading and writing) while also addressing 21st-century digital literacy through the use of digital cameras and posting images onto the web. Many scholars, such as Hutchison and Woodward, feel that it is necessary to include digital literacy under the traditional umbrella of literacy instruction, specifically when engaging second language learners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hutchison |last2=Woodward |date=March 2014 |title=A Planning Cycle for Integrating Digital Technology Into Literacy Instruction |journal=TOC |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=455–464}}</ref>

A visual arts approach to literary instruction for migrant populations can also be blended with core curricular goals.
[[File:Integrating Content for Language Instruction to MELLs.jpg|thumb|right|Integrating Common Core content into language training with MELL]]

A pressing challenge in education is the instruction of literacy to migrant English-language learners (MELLs), a term coined by Pellerine and not limited to English. "Due to the growing share of immigrants in many Western societies, there has been increasing concern for the degree to which immigrants acquire language that is spoken in the destination country".<ref>{{Citation |last=Tubergen |first=F. |title=Immigrant Integration: A Cross National Study |year=2006 |publisher=Scholarly Publishing}}</ref>

While learning literacy in one's first language can be challenging, the challenge becomes even more cognitively demanding when learning a second language. The task can become considerably more difficult when confronted by a migrant who has made a sudden change by immigrating and requires the second language immediately upon arrival. In most instances, a migrant will not have the opportunity to start school again in grade one and acquire the language naturally; instead, alternative interventions need to take place. In these cases, a visual arts approach can be helpful—taking a photo, sketching an event, or painting an image have been seen as effective ways to understand the intention of the learner as they can incorporate [[orality]].<ref>Carre, Ingrid W. [https://www.proquest.com/openview/c5d89ddd6766117ebcaf9dd0243ae05a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y "Visual Art and the Teaching of English as a Second Language."] Order No. 1383180 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), 1996. United States -- Puerto Rico: ''ProQuest.'' Web. 25 Jan. 2024</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wirag |first1=Andreas |last2=Alfes |first2=Luisa |year=2021 |title=Using Visual Arts as a Tool to Foster the Four Language Skills |url=https://www.hltmag.co.uk/apr21/using-visual-arts |access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Including Orality.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2|Including orality]]

In the above image, from left to right:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Warschauer |first1=Mark |last2=Matuchniak |first2=Tina |date=March 2010 |title=New Technology and Digital Worlds: Analyzing Evidence of Equity in Access, Use, and Outcomes |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0091732X09349791 |journal=Review of Research in Education |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=179–225 |doi=10.3102/0091732X09349791 |s2cid=145400905 |issn=0091-732X|hdl=11059/15126 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
* An image taken during a phototour of the participant's village. This image is of the individual at her shop with one of the products she sells: dung for cooking fuel. The image helps the instructor understand the realities of the participant's daily life, and most importantly, it gives the participant the opportunity to determine what is important to them.
* An image of a student explaining to a group and elaborating on a drawn series of milestones in her life. This student had a very basic ability and, with some help, was able to write brief captions under the images. While she speaks, her story is recorded to help her understand and develop it in the new language.
* A painting created by composite in a graphics editing program. With further training, participants can learn how to blend images, thereby introducing elements of digital literacy that are beneficial in many spheres of life in the 21st century.

In a study based in Ethiopia, participants were asked to rate their preference for activity on a scale of 1–10. The survey prompt was: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate photography as an activity that helped you get inspiration for your writing activities (think of enjoyment and usefulness)?" The activities used as primers for writing were rated, in order of preference:{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* Photography: 97%
* Oral presentations/sharing your art: 92%
* Process painting: 84%
* Painting: 82%
* Sketching: 78%
* Gluing activities: 72%
* Stencil/tracing activities: 60%
More research would need to be conducted to confirm such trends.

Authorship programs have been successful in bringing student work together in book format as part of the program's culmination. These books can be used to document learning, and more importantly, to reinforce language and content goals.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

[[File:Covers for Authorship Initiatives to Promote Literacy via Visual Art with ELLs.jpg|thumb|right|Sample covers of completed authorship-created books]]

The collection of such writings into books can trigger both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Feedback by students involved in such initiatives indicates that the healthy pressures of collective and collaborative work were beneficial.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Donaldson |first1=J. P. |last2=Bucy |first2=M. |date=2016 |title=Motivation and Engagement in Authorship Learning |journal=College Teaching |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=130–138 |doi=10.1080/87567555.2015.1125842}}</ref>