Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t hide your face.
So you don’t know what literacy means? You are not alone. Here is a basic easy definition for you to remember.
Literacy has been commonly defined as the ability to read and write at an adequate level of proficiency that is necessary for communication.
Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.
Keep in mind the importance of literacy. An increase in literate adults means an increase in individuals campaigning for education as a fundamental human right.
Let me guess…
You also have no idea of the different literacy terms. A quick lesson to help you out.
Emergent Literacy – A view that literacy learning begins at birth and is encouraged by having children participate early in a range of literacy and language activities. Activities formerly identified as “pretend reading” and/or “scribble writing” are now recognized as valid, systematic, important developmental steps through which children move on the way to correct or conventional reading and writing.
Adolescent Literacy – Undergoing a renewal of interest as a focus for research and instruction. This renewal is due in large part to continued failures to close the achievement gap between privileged and not-so-privileged high school students. Educational researchers have proposed and tested a number of solutions to this problem. Many recommendations address the students’ need for better literacy instruction. Studies have identified areas where further research and development are needed. Private and public organizations have also tackled the problem from a variety of angles and perspectives.
Critical literacy – Analytic habits of thinking, reading, writing, speaking or discussing, which go beneath surface impressions. The ability to comment on the text, the author’s viewpoint and the wider context. Transferring what has been read outside the text to new situations. The ability to analyze, reflect and act on a text’s knowledge or information.
Functional literacy – To be able to read and write only at a sufficient level to cope with the minimal demands of daily life. Literacy is seen as a set of discrete skills that are acquired regardless of language or applied context, and measured by use in particular tasks.
Embedded literacy – Literacy activities that are central to task fulfillment but are not stated explicitly. An example would be the literacy skills needed for driving a car.
Integrated literacy – The development of specific literacy skills along with the development of skills and knowledge in another area such as literacy within vocational training.
Share your knowledge with a friend and spread the good word of literacy!
