Literacy Education

Literacy Educations
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(2 May, 2011)
Literacy Educations
Introduction
Literacy is the ability of using language and images in rich and varied ways to read, write, view, represent and think critically about different ideas. This helps us in sharing information; interact with others and to make meaning of what one has learned. Literacy learning is not a simple idea as it entails building of the initial knowledge, culture and experiences to ensure that new knowledge is understood deeply. It acts as a connection of an individual and communities and therefore acts as an essential tool to enhance once personal growth and active participation in a democratic society.
Previously, literacy learning introduced learning fundamental to children through reading and writing where the awareness to language and motivation to learning is nurtured. The instruction that are involved in the literacy education takes the student forward as they are engaged fully with various text technologies that ensure that they develop critical, active, responsible and a creative communication skill that is viable in this generation (Fellowes, 2010). Through literacy education, learners are capable of exploring new texts and get mews ways of understanding new texts. Through the way of learning literacy education, students are capable refining and creating texts as well as well sharing them with the technology that is there in their time. They are capable of discovering new ways of accessing resources in the current multicultural and multimedia world.
Therefore, early literacy has emerged too be very important in the success of all students and had long been recognized universally. This method has been used by most of the schools systems as a measures to ensure that evaluation and description of effectiveness of the classrooms and schools. However, there are varied level of facilities in different school population in terms of acquiring knowledge.
Language, culture and identity engagement
Literacy is related to culture. This can be seen through the texts that the children see, creates and use in their junior grades. They send a strong message about the culture of learning in their school and in Melbourne Australia. Those students who are affirmed in the classroom texts that are through experiencing identity in the engagement of the language and culture appreciate that the reading and writing are genuinely theirs. In addition, they are capable of learning diversified cultures from their peers and are capable of appreciating the diversity and rich culture of the Australia (Campbell, 2006). This ensures that the students are capable of living with respect and intellectual vigor in a multicultural world. The are also capable of increasing their higher order thinking and critically analyzing the literacy skills that make them responsible in their twenty first century.
Language traditions and language rights have brought about very impact in development of culture. English is the official language that is used in Australia. Therefore, all the children are by federal right entitled to English education. Nevertheless, due to diversification that is there especially due to globalization, there are a lot of interaction of languages in the school setting making the literacy learning has a great impact on the Australian student in the worldwide language.
English language system in schools
Most of the people in Melbourne and the whole of Australia use English in their daily life. This makes it easier for the children who attend the English language schools to have immersed language instruction in both school and on the streets and in the daily undertaking. The English environment the is created in the country provides parents and the teachers to connect the literacy with the child`s daily life experiences.
Nevertheless, there are those children who undertake English as a second language in the country. They cannot be ruled out. They should therefore be supported to ensure that they are capable of using their first language to put connection that supports literacy in the development of the language instruction. This helps the child to develop content and knowledge in all subjects.
The same approaches that are used in teaching and learning apply in all literacy programs for the entire fraternity of the students in Australia regardless of their first language. This ensures that they are capable of having a strong oral language component through amalgamating the previous knowledge of the student and their experiences. This helps them have a clear focus on the higher order thinking and critical literacy thinking and critical literacy program.
Roles of literate learner
Literacy in the current century involves more than a single skill. It comprises complex interrelationship of skills of resources that the learner get meaning from many types. According to Peter Freebody and Allan Luke, they offered four-resource model to check out this. These models can also be referred as four roles. They include the important family of practice that a student must have in literacy learning. For a student to ensure they are literate, they are required to be able to learn the meaning of a certain text, be in apposition to break the codes in the texts, use the text in a functional way as well as analyzing critically the text (Derewianka, 1998). Not all the family of these models is capable of standing alone. Students are required to integrate the four models simultaneously when they read, write, listen and speak. According to Freebody, "any program of instruction in literacy, whether kindergarten, in adult classes, in university courses or any point in between needs to confront those roles systemically, explicitly and at all developmental point." The four roles of a literacy learners are as follows.
Meaning maker; Uses prior knowledge and experiences to ensure that there is construction and communication when reading, speaking and writing.
Text user; understand that the purpose and the audience are capable of helping and determining structuring the text to, degree of formality and the sequence of the components where the knowledge to read, write and peak are acquired.
Code user; recognizes and make use of features and structures of written, spoken, visual that includes alphabet, sound in words, conventions, spelling, text organization, sentence structure, graphics and other visuals to break text code.
Text analyzer
Through this, texts are understood to be neutral as they are seen to represent particular views and perspectives that may be missing in other people views. This help the text to have a design and perspective that can be criticized and options considered.
Developing critical literacy skills
Lately student has been experiencing a constant flow of ideas and information; this through online method, in print, through electronic and media. As student graduate from the junior level grades to more senior encounters wide range of texts. Therefore, it become paramount for them to have skills to determine where to direct their attention and gain skills of interpreting messages and using them appropriately.
Through critical literacy skills offers student tools that they require in reflecting deeply over the texts that they come across or create. They offered challenges to the learner to ensure that they look beyond litera...