Literacy, ESOL and the Learners EDU1043-N

Exploring the factors influencing language and literacy acquisition, including personal and
social influences and the role of language and literacy in identity and power relations, giving
examples to support conclusions

How are Language and Literacy acquired and Learnt?

We begin learning from the moment we are born and there are many factors which influence
the development of language and literacy ranging from personal to cultural and social
development.
Culturally situated social interactions during everyday activities play a fundamental role in
the development of language and cognition in young children
( Erting, Carol J. Erting, Lynne C, Thumann-Prezioso, Car, 2009)
Children experience lots of physical changes and these are supplemented by rapid
transformations in their language development thus suggesting language acquisition is a
biologically determined process. However if language was a biologically determined process
why do children who have been deprived of normal social contact have very little language
skills and knowledge? There are recorded cases of children who have experienced extreme
social isolation who have led experts to believe both language acquisition is dependent on
appropriate linguistic input and that experience must be gained before a certain age.
Behaviourists believe that children learn to speak by imitating the language they hear where
parents automatically reinforce and correct their childs spoken language. They believe this
forms the basis for a childs knowledge of language. If a child has experienced an abnormal
social contact for instance living deaf and dumb parents their language imitation will
undoubtedly be compromised, unless specialist support is made available for families in this
situation. Word forms begin and children do not necessary use standard form from imitation
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they use their knowledge of language patterns they already have, for example swim may
become swimmed instead of swam An example of correction might come from sheep
and sheeps where the parent then corrects the plural. Nativists believe children are born with
the innate capacity for language development. They believe when the brain is exposed to
speech it will begin to receive and make sense of the language it hears.
Language acquisition is also linked to:

Physical growth: the body has to be mature enough for the child to produce
recognisable words by manipulating the speech organs effectively and consciously.

Social factors: the environment and culture in which a child grows up will influence
the kind of language input experienced

A critical age: if input and language experience occur before a certain point in a
childs physical and mental development, learning will be easy, quick, effortless and
complete.

During the first three years of life children develop a vocabulary of between 300 and 1000
words. They use language to survive and for everyday needs for example when they are
hungry, tired or need the toilet. They may use broken language which sounds like the words
they are trying to communicate. During this age the words they use may be of a holistic
nature for example if a child is tired they may use the word bed and go and kiss and
mummy. Language is developed more rapidly the closer they get to three and it is then they
begin to initiate spoken language, their imagination begins to take off when playing with
toys, they will be able to hold conversations between two dolls for instance both initiating
conversation and responding to conversation. A child begins to speak in short sentences or
phrases at this age for example

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Where is Daddy? and pointing at a toy and giving it a name,

That is my baby, pointing at her favourite doll.
When children are around one they often develop particular feelings which relate to being
secure and if a child is read to regularly by a parent at bedtime or sat on their knee they
develop a feeling of warmth and security and enjoy this feeling. This is known as emotional
attachment and it is this attachment that helps shape a childs want to read and therefore
helping them to develop their language skills.
By the age of five a child has developed a vocabulary of around 1500 words and has started
to produce sentences consisting of between five and seven words. They learn to use past
tense; (Edwards, 2006, pp. 23-26) suggested that children can only use a certain linguistic
when they understand the concept involved. For instance children will only understand the
past tense when they understand the concept of past time. This approach is known as the
cognitive approach. Children begin to tell familiar stories using pictures to help them. Their
spoken language is developed before their written language.
Written language is generally learnt when a child goes to school. It is at school where they
will begin to understand and use verbs, adjectives and nouns. They begin to understand
subjects, objects and compliments. They progress through difficultness as they progress
through school learning
When a child develops into a teenager they may begin to use language to their advantage and
begin to exclude people from conversation by speaking in particular terms, for example there
is a language of street talk and to be included you would need to be able to speak the lingo!
Mobile phones and internet socialising sites have become the norm in every teenagers life
and many will use text speak or coded letter formations to communicate so as to only include
those who are wanted. An example here is the letters PIRWTL or PIRCTN meaning Parents
In Room Will Talk Later or Parents In Room Cant Talk Now. People who speak different
languages are also able to do this by speaking a foreign language in the presence of a one
language speaker such as English. Later on when adulthood is apparent teachers may use
power relation when they speak to each other in the presence of students whose vocabulary
hasnt matured enough to understand the meaning of the words used. Politicians are also
guilty of this and many working class people will fail to understand a political partys policies

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and outcomes of national events such as the budget. This is why most news programmes will
translate the spiel into laymans terms using words and terms that the average individual or
someone who lacks professional training in the subject area making understanding easier.

Barriers to Learning Language and Literacy

There are many barriers which affect the written and spoken language development of
children and adults. These can vary in degree through a defined learning disability or simply
those that dont speak English as their first language.
A Learning disability is defined as
A disorder in the basic cognitive and psychological processes involved in using
language or performing mathematical calculations, affecting persons of normal
intelligence, and not the result of emotional disturbance or impairment of sight or
hearing.
(Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, 2003-2015)
Examples of learning disabilities include Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia and Auditory
Processing Disorder.
Dyslexic children may have difficulty in processing language which may affect the ability to
read, write, spell and speak. Children who have Dysgraphia primarily have difficulties in
writing may also lead to spelling and organisational difficulties. If a child suffers from
Dyspraxia they tend to have difficulties with fine motor skills which affect their hand eye
coordination, balance and manual dexterity. Children who suffer from Auditory Processing
Disorder will have difficulties in hearing differences between sounds which in turn will lead
to problems with reading, comprehension and language. Our eyes and ears are the primary
vehicle of delivering information to the brain. If the eyes and ears arent working properly maybe if a child has an hearing or sight impairment- language and literacy development can
become compromised leading to a greater likelihood of a developing learning disability.

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Some children may suffer from social difficulties, if a child suffers from this they may have
difficulties expressing their feelings, calming themselves down and reading non verbal pieces
of text. These can lead to difficulties in the classroom with both their classmates and their
teacher. There are other disorders which may affect children with their language and literacy
development such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism and
Aspergers syndrome. Although ADHD is not classified as a learning disability it can
certainly disrupt learning. Children who have ADHD often have problems with sitting still,
staying focused, following instructions, staying organised, and completing homework.
Children with Autism and Aspergers syndrome may have difficulties mastering academic
skills. They may find making friends difficult, they may also not be able to read body
language and communicate effectively. They will rarely make eye contact.
Students who do not speak or write English as their main language will most certainly
discover a difficulty in their language and literacy development. They need to be able to
pronounce words, listen and learn new vocabulary as well as learn how to write in a new
language learning how to use grammar and syntax correctly. This can be quite daunting as
some ESOL students and particularly those from refugee groups have high levels of academic
and professional skills acquired using another language. They not only have to learn a new
language but have to settle into the world of work. They need to access some form of
counselling and careers advice to help them in their new life.

Bibliography
Erting, Carol J. Erting, Lynne C, Thumann-Prezioso, Car, 2009. Language and
Literacy Acquisition through Parental Mediation in American Sign Language.
Language and Literacy Acquisition through Parental Mediation in American Sign
Language, Volume 9, p. 417.
Anon., 2010. Learning Disabilities. [Online]
Available at: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm
[Accessed 30 March 2010].

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Edwards, L., 2006. A Process Approach for Teachers and Children. 2006 ed.
s.l.:Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, 2003-2015. The Free Dictionary by Farlex.
[Online]
Available at: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Learning+difficulty
[Accessed 30 March 2010].
Lifelong Learning.org, 2010. ESOL. [Online]
Available at: http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/esol/r13.htm
[Accessed 30 March 2010].
Thorne, S., 2008. Mastering Advanced English Language. 2nd ed. Palgrave:
Hampshire.

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