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EMERGENT LITERACY

LIZA ISQKI BINTI RAMLI Lecturer Jabatan Ilmu Pendidikan IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas

Mommy, listen- I am going to read Little Red Riding Hood. --- Why is a three-year old Alisha so interested in reading and writing? She loves to pretend reading and scribble writing. She also always asks her mother to read for her and imitate her mother reading the story. The situation above describes emergent literacy where young children interact with books (when reading and writing) even though they could not read or write in the conventional sense. It is a gradual process that takes place over time from birth - until a child can read and write in what we consider to be a conventional sense. Machado (2010) believes that the act of printing shapes with an underlying logic and the behavior of childrens pretending to read are viewed as early forms of reading and writing. Hence, a key to the term literacy is the interrelatedness of all parts of language: speaking, listening, reading, writing, and viewing (Omrod 2010). Literacy often develops from the need in real life situations to get something done or to read so that they can learn. Therefore, literacy is not a set of isolated skills, but rather a set of processes that children see as a means to achieve goals. Children learn literacy through active engagement with books and writing opportunities. Children reconstruct their knowledge by rereading favorite books and by using invented spelling. Most children can identify common signs and logos by the age of 2-3. They will begin to experiment with written forms of communicating by scribbling long before they can read. This is because reading and writing develop at the same time and are interrelated. Children do not learn how to read first and then learn how to write. The functions of reading often promote the learning of reading.

Emergent literacy is a term first used by Marie Clay (1966) to describe the early stages in childrens development toward literacy; emergent literacy precedes the conventional reading of print. According to Omrod (2010), emergent literacy is knowledge

and skills that lay a foundation for reading and writing; typically develops in the preschool years from early experiences with written language. Early exposure to reading and writing will promote written language as the children learn through prints that has meaningful information. Machado (2010) also agrees that young learners language arts behaviours, concepts and skills that precede and can develop into a literacy that includes reading, conventional writing and a larger body of literary knowledge at later ages.

There are many ways to promote emergent literacy. Listening to books plays a very important role in the literacy development of children. Reading to children each day is one of the most beneficial ways in which a parent can promote literacy. Children develop a feel for the nature of written language at a very early age by listening to books read aloud. They begin to understand the function of reading and develop a positive attitude towards it. Children pass through the stages of emergent literacy in different ways and at different ages. These developmental stages lead to the skills needed for both reading and writing acquisition.

Therefore, parents who frequently read to their child learn to read more easily once they reach elementary school than do young children without the exposure ( Myberg & Rosen 2009; Senechal &Le Ferve, 2002; Whitehurst et.al., 1994). Based on the studies carried out by L.Baker, Scher & Mackler, 1997 and Huebner & Payne, 2010, reading to children regularly encouraged emergent literacy. Accessibility to reading and writing materials also contributes to emergent readers as parents can model reading and writing behavior, taking their children to the library and even talk about the things they have read and written. Parents may ask questions, invite responses and connect story concepts to events in childrens lives (Huebner & Payne, 2010).

In conclusion, the concept of emergent literacy helps teachers and parents see the relationship between language activities in preschool and kindergarten and formal reading programs in primary grades. Learning to read should be a natural extension of other language activities in early childhood classes. Teachers should be alert of the strengths and the level of childrens language abilities. Such awareness is important to individualize the approaches in order to teach children in line with their level of literacy readiness. Thus, it is never too early to begin reading to a child.

References Brewer,J.N (1998). Introduction To Early Chilhood Education: Preschool through Primary Grades (Third Ed.). Massachusetts: A Viacom Company. Machado, J.M (2010). Early Childhood Experiences in Language Arts: Early Literacy (Ninth Ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. McDevitt, T.M & Omrod, J.E. (2010). Child Development and Education (Fifth Ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education. Spodek,B & Saracho, O.N (1994). Right From The Start: Teaching Children Ages Three to Eight. Massachusetts: Ally &Bacon.