Literacy Learning Research Articles

A key to literacy? Exploring Bliss words combined with traditional orthography as a teaching strategy for language and literacy learning for learners with learning disabilities

AbstractFor decades, Blissymbolics (Bliss) has been used as a communicative symbol system for persons with complex communication needs. The linguistic features of Bliss words offer the potential for use with learners with learning disabilities to acquire literacy; however, no formal documentation of this is available. This qualitative study aims to describe how Bliss words, as a bridge to teaching and learning literacy for speaking learners with learning disabilities with diverse first languages, is perceived by learners, caregivers, and teachers at a South African school for learners with special educational needs. The study will further report on observations of learners' behaviours since Bliss was introduced. Semi‐structured online interviews were conducted with learners (n = 16) (aged 13–18), teachers (n = 14) as well as caregivers (n = 2). The reflexive thematic analysis developed three primary themes with 10 subthemes. Findings indicate that Bliss was perceived as a useful and enjoyable tool in teaching learners with learning disabilities who have different first languages. Furthermore, it was reported to improve learners' literacy and language skills as well as their psychosocial behaviour. Further studies are proposed to support these findings.

Deepening Explorations of Racial and Linguistic Representation in Picturebooks through Critical Translingual Literacies

AbstractAmplifying the racial, linguistic, ethnic, and broader sociocultural resources of Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities remains an urgent endeavor during these precarious times in literacy education. In the wake of continued global and U.S. racial reckoning movements and legislation that narrows early literacy curriculum to isolated skills and texts in standardizing English print, foregrounding the linguistic savvy of racialized linguistically diverse communities' experiences becomes imperative. Drawing on data from a 2‐year long teacher and researcher collaborative inquiry and recent scholarship on critical translingual literacies, we feature a linguistically diverse picturebook read‐aloud planning guide designed to support educators' commitments to amplifying the lives, languages, and literacies of Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities. Picturebooks have a long history as a tool for literacy learning, yet the artful and sociopolitical features of these texts are too often sacrificed at the expense of skills‐focused instruction. The practice of “using” picture books solely to teach skills becomes more alarming as picturebooks that feature diverse racial, linguistic, or ethnic communities are “plugged” into scripted curriculum without opportunities for students to respond to the sociocultural and linguistic resources featured. As diverse picturebooks slowly flood our classrooms, guidance regarding the relevant commitments, conditions, collaborations, and classroom practices are needed to ensure that their aesthetic and sociopolitical features are not only considered but deepened. The featured picturebook guide is specifically designed to support teachers as critical picturebook curators who design read‐alouds that build upon the translingual literacies of Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities and affirms the brilliance and beauty of racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity. This humanizing and liberatory approach to language and literature study resists the replication of singular language forms (standardizing English print) and centers language(s) as system(s) that thrive in the daily lives of real people.

The Students’ Perception of Using Visual Literacy in English Language Learning: A Descriptive Study

English as a global lingua franca presents challenges for students in understanding the language in Indonesia, where English is taught as a foreign language. This study aims to explore students' perceptions of the use of visual literacy in English language learning. The use of visual literacy, such as images and videos, has been shown to help improve students' comprehension and engagement in the learning process. The research method used is a descriptive qualitative approach involving seventh-grade students at a middle school in Jember, Indonesia. Data were collected through observations and interviews. The results showed that visual literacy has a positive impact on students' understanding of English language material. Students find it easier to grasp concepts when supported by visual media. Additionally, the use of visual literacy also increases students' motivation and interest in learning, making the learning process more interactive and enjoyable. In the independent curriculum, English language learning encompasses six skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, reflecting, and presenting, all of which can be supported by the use of visual literacy. Visual literacy not only facilitates the understanding of vocabulary but also encourages students to think critically and creatively through visual interpretation. This creates a more dynamic learning environment and fosters active participation from students. The conclusion of this study is that visual literacy can be an effective tool in enhancing the quality of English language learning, particularly in helping students to understand or remember vocabulary and enhancing students’ English language skills.

Emergent Bilingual Children Love reading… if We Let Them

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explored the shifting landscape of literacy learning and instruction in an early childhood program in an agricultural community in the U.S. Midwest. The author traces the impact of deficit thinking and English-only curriculum on the literacy education of young Spanish/English emergent bilinguals, and describes the economic, health, and linguistic inequalities lived by immigrant and migrant farmworker families in the program. Data were collected over twelve months and consisted of weekly participant and non-participant observations of classroom instruction; reading bilingual books with children; interviews with teachers and administrators; informal conversations with parents; and field-notes from teacher workshops. Through examination of the developing literacy of two emergent bi/multilingual (im)migrant children, the study shows how early childhood teachers with limited formal training created a learning environment that allowed children to demonstrate rich language and literacy abilities in two languages. The author argues that an abrupt change from a bilingual, play-based literacy curriculum to English monolingual, skills-based instruction aimed at promoting “kindergarten readiness” reduced children’s opportunities to love reading and develop biliteracy.

Learning digital health literacy in school: results of arepresentative survey of pupils in Germany

Digital information sources provide adolescents with quick access to health-related information. Schools are ideal for promoting digital health literacy and enabling students to handle such information safely. The aim of this paper is to present initial results from arepresentative study on learning digital health literacy in schools, with afocus on sociodemographic and socioeconomic differences. The cross-sectional study was conducted in Germany with 1448 students (aged9 to 18years) as part of the DURCHBLICKT! Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine differences and relationships in the learning of digital health literacy in school and gender, age, migration background, and subjective social status. Approximately 50% of students reported that they had not (or only to alimited extent) learned digital health literacy in school. The chi-square test reveals significant differences in terms of gender, age, migration background, and social status. Regression analyses indicate that age and subjective social status are significant factors for acquiring digital health literacy. The high number of students who do not learn digital health literacy in school is concerning, especially given their often low levels of digital health literacy. The results highlight the need for targeted educational strategies-especially those tailored to gender and socioeconomic status-to promote digital health literacy and reduce social inequalities.

Gender Gaps In Financial Literacy: A Study Of English Literature Students

Financial literacy encompasses the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed financial decisions and is critical to individual and societal well-being. The gender gap in financial literacy is widespread and persistent. Using Chen and Volpe’s (1998) framework, this study aims to examine the level of financial literacy of English Literature study program students from a gender perspective. This study used a quantitative descriptive method, with data collected from 77 seventh-semester students through a validated questionnaire. The results showed an overall moderate level of financial literacy, with an average correct answer rate of 73.2%. Personal financial planning emerged as the most vital domain, while debt management was the weakest domain. Analysis from a gender perspective showed that female students had a higher average score (73.94%) than male students (69.8%), although there was more significant variability in scores among female students. These results suggest that female students generally have better financial literacy. Women are more engaged in financial literacy learning when the material is relevant to their personal or social needs, such as household budget planning and future financial security.

Exploring the correlation of self-perception on the use of digital literacy in learning

Exploring the correlation of self-perception on the use of digital literacy in learning

Online Learning Beliefs, Literacy, and Engagement Among Chinese University Students

The rapid adoption of online learning platforms in Chinese universities necessitates a comprehensive understanding of student experiences. This study explores online learning beliefs, literacy, and engagement among Chinese university students. We examine their attitudes, perceptions of effectiveness, and online learning skill development. Additionally, the study investigates factors influencing student motivation and participation in online environments. The findings highlight a general consensus among students regarding online learning: its accessibility, the learning environment it fosters, and the level of social engagement it facilitates. Interestingly, student profiles (gender, year of study, major) did not significantly influence these beliefs. However, a crucial positive relationship was identified between the three core variables – beliefs, literacy, and engagement. This suggests that stronger positive beliefs about online learning translate to better online learning literacy and a higher level of engagement with online learning platforms.

Exploring translanguaging practices in synchronous and asynchronous online-instructed first-year academic literacy interventions

While studies in translanguaging pedagogy – intermixing languages fluidly for meaning-making to learn and teach – have focused on understanding its efficacy and viability in promoting learning success in multilingual contexts worldwide, learning through online platforms is becoming increasingly popular. However, little information exists on creating translanguaging spaces for multilingual students in digitally mediated literacy learning in English-monolingual-oriented African university settings. The current study investigates how online resources can be harnessed for first-year translanguaging literacy pedagogy interventions using linguistically fluid, online methods to develop academic reading-for-writing in a university in South Africa, where multilingualism is a norm, but English dominates. The study investigated the productive use and efficacy of translanguaging practices online by adopting a mixed-methods approach with a test design to explore digital-based translingual literacy pedagogy. The quasi-experimental research draws on sociocultural, connectivism and translanguaging fluidity frameworks. Results show that translanguaging in digitalised literacy education, which involves the added flexibility of connectivism in online learning, is effective and improves academic literacy performance. Findings affirm that online translanguaging can enhance the understanding, summarising and paraphrasing of complex theoretical concepts from academic English texts, and is a valuable asset that can help students in online multilingual classrooms develop academic literacy.

Critical Religious Literacies and Opportunities for Alterity across YA Literature

This critical content analysis draws on a dataset of contemporary young adult texts receiving awards between 2012 and 2023 to examine opportunities for religiously informed alterity for readers, which we argue can be a productive experience for building critical religious literacy in young adult readers. We argue that young adult literature can serve as models of critical religious literacies when authors, characters, and historical figures engage in conflicted meaning-making as they experience slippages between their lived experiences and their religious and secular beliefs. The study aims to develop a framework for developing religious literacy that draws specifically on identity-laden and critical theories of literacy common within the English language arts. Furthermore, this study provides literacy scholars and practitioners with a robust set of textual resources that can be employed to support critical religious literacies.

Bringing Theory Into Action: Justice‐Oriented Practices for the Classroom

ABSTRACTLike other postsecondary educators, community college faculty face challenges from conservative politicians seeking to eliminate equity perspectives in college teaching and educational stakeholders who overapply the label of equity, rendering it devoid of meaning. Through a content analysis of literacy class‐focused equity practices from recent works we ground recommended practices in the larger body of community college and university literacy scholarship. In so doing, we seek to amplify practitioner‐scholar expertise and present four stages of an equity‐to‐justice praxis; awakening, making informed policy and practice changes, enacting culturally sustaining and responsive pedagogy. We offer concrete strategies for action and ultimately to reconceptualize the work of community colleges as liberation.

Literacy in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

AbstractThe latest mutation of Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, is more than anything a technology of writing. It is a machine that can write. In a world‐historical frame, the significance of this cannot be understated. This is a technology in which the unnatural language of code tangles with the natural language of everyday life. Its form of writing, moreover, is multimodal, able not only to write text as conventionally understood, but also to “read” images by matching textual labels and to “write” images from textual prompts. Within the scope of this peculiarly mechanical manufacturing of writing are mathematics, actionable software procedure, and algorithm. This paper explores the consequences of Generative AI for literacy teaching and learning. In its first part, we speak theoretically and historically, suggesting that this development is perhaps as momentous for society and education as Pi Sheng's invention of moveable type and Gutenberg's printing press—and in its peculiar ways just as problematic. In the paper's second part, we go on to propose that literacy in the time of AI requires a new way to speak about itself, a revised “grammar” of sorts. In a third part, we discuss an experimental application we have developed that puts Generative AI to work in support of literacy and learning. We end with some findings and implications for literacy education and with a proposal for what we will call cyber‐social literacy learning.

Empowering Young Writers: A Multimodal Case Study of Emergent Writing in Urban Preschool Classrooms

AbstractWith a view of children as social negotiators, this study explored how preschool children’s voices were nurtured through the implementation of an early-writing/applied phonics approach called Kid Writing (KW). The approach encouraged children to compose writing from their lives as they were guided by an adult who scaffolded the writing process. An analysis of classroom observations, focus groups, and children’s work samples revealed the extent to which preschool children’s voices, motivation, and writing capabilities were supported. Imperative to children’s success as writers in this study was the expansion of preschool teachers’ views of what counts as writing. By legitimizing the full developmental continuum of children’s early writing attempts, including scribbling, mark-making, drawing, and early letter formation, the results of this study documented what young children are capable of when they are empowered to self-express through their joy of writing. The findings disrupt the notion that preschool children are not ready to write. Rather, children’s overall literacy learning is supported by providing opportunities for preschoolers to write from their lived experiences.

The Impact of Project Literacy Learning on Creative Thinking Skills and Student Writing Literacy

Creative thinking skills and writing literacy of students in Indonesia are still in the low category. It is necessary to apply an appropriate learning model. This study aims to determine the impact of project literacy learning (lipro) on creative thinking skills and literacy of students. Lipro learning is a learning model that integrates project-based learning with literacy. The subjects of the study were 58 prospective physics teacher students. Creative thinking skills were assessed through video story telling products, while writing literacy skills were assessed through real action articles created by students. The results showed that creative thinking skills increased from 73.09 to 85.78. Writing literacy skills increased from 71.5 to 84.33. Based on the results of the paired sample T test, it was shown that students' creative thinking skills and writing literacy before and after lipro learning increased significantly.

연구사적 관점에서의 발생적 문식성 개념 검토: Marie M. Clay의 이론을 중심으로

Objectives This study aims to examine the concepts and issues related to the stage before early literacy, referred to as emergent literacy. Methods To this end, the concept of emergent literacy was analyzed from a historical perspective, with a focus on the theories of Marie M. Clay. Results The emergent literacy of learners from birth through nursery and kindergarten is of great scholarly interest, because it underpins the development of reading and writing skills and shapes attitudes toward these skills as children progress into elementary school. Conclusions An in-depth understanding of emergent literacy, along with early literacy concepts, is essential as it provides a theoretical foundation for sophisticated diagnoses in primary reading and writing classrooms and research. Moreover, it is closely linked to educational practice and raises numerous research questions that require further exploration. This concept can help inform effective, targeted interventions and policies for schools and communities.

Application of Digital Literacy Using Mapalus Techniques in Learning in North Sulawesi

Entering the era of the fourth world industrial revolution in this case information technology has become the basis of human life. In this era almost all life effects utilize digital, including in learning, one of which is digital literacy. Along with technological advances and the increasing individualism of society due to globalization, for this reason this study collaborates digital literacy and local culture, namely mapalus which means cooperation in learning in North Sulawesi. The purpose of the study is to determine the process of implementing digital literacy with the mapalus technique and to evaluate the effects of implementing digital literacy with the mapalus technique in learning. This research is a descriptive qualitative type of research. The data collection techniques used are observation, interviews and documentation. The results of the study show that the application of digital literacy in learning facilitates easy access for students to materials and assignments given by educators. This also increases students' interest in using technology in the learning process and by using the malapus technique which makes students work together and work together to complete the tasks given in learning.

“Close to my Heart”: Teacher Educators Building Racial Literacies

Although building preservice teachers’ racial literacy is a key goal to reducing racial inequity in K-12 settings, little attention has been paid to how literacy teacher educators are prepared to conduct this work. This is unsurprising given the neoliberal logic underpinning universities today. In this multiduo autoethnographic study, six literacy teacher educators utilized reflection on critical incidents to examine their own racial literacy development. By forming cross-racial pairs and utilizing a combination of writing and dialogue, these six participant/researchers interrogated their own views and experiences of race and racism. Findings suggest that the examination of critical incidents can support teacher educators’ racial literacy growth. Specifically, participants reflected on the vulnerability necessary to support preservice teachers’ racial literacy development and utilized ethnographic methods to build the practice of sharing about their own racial literacy learning. They also used critical incidents to come to a deeper understanding of the construct of racial literacy itself. These results imply that for professional organizations such as the Literacy Research Association to deliver on their espoused commitments to addressing ongoing institutional racism, they must intentionally create professional spaces for coreflection and dialog about racial literacy. Further, we consider the implications of this work for literacy doctoral programs and teacher educator preparation within contexts of college and university-based teacher education programs.

Student Literacy Through Library Visits and Gemini AI Programs at SD Negeri Potrobangsan 2

People often say that literacy is the foundation for a person's lifelong education. Improving students' literacy skills is one of the main focuses in today's education world. Literacy, which includes reading, writing, and understanding information well, is an essential foundation in the learning process at all levels of education. Good literacy skills help students succeed academically and equip them with the critical and analytical thinking skills needed in everyday life. We need to consider literacy development because it is a fundamental ability that every individual must possess to navigate life in the future. This study aims to develop a strategy to improve the literacy of fifth-grade students at SD Negeri Potrobangsan 2 through a combination of library visits and the Gemini AI program. We expect library visits to cultivate students' interest in reading physical books, while the Gemini AI program serves as an interactive digital literacy medium to enhance students' learning experiences. This research approach uses a qualitative method with observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD) as the primary instruments for data collection. The study results indicate that integrating traditional literacy learning with digital technology can improve students' literacy skills holistically. Students showed increased reading comprehension, higher involvement in literacy activities, and mastery of digital literacy skills. Implementing this strategy also increased motivation among students to read and utilize the library optimally. Therefore, elementary schools can apply this strategy as an effective literacy learning model.

Correlation of The Application of Teaching At The Right Level (Tarl) With Students' Basic Literacy Outcomes

This study aims to identify the correlation between the implementation of the TaRL (Teaching at the Right Level) approach and the improvement of grade I students' basic literacy learning outcomes. Using a quantitative correlational method, the study involved 25 students grouped into four ability levels: Special Intervention, Basic, Proficient and Advanced. The test results showed that 17 students were at the Special Intervention level, 1 student at the Basic level, 7 students at the Advanced level and none at the Proficient level. Meanwhile, to get data on learning outcomes, students were given multiple choice questions to measure their abilities. Data analysis using the Pearson Product Moment test showed a correlation value of 0.812, which is higher than the critical value of 0.396 at the 5% significance level. This indicates a very strong correlation between the application of TaRL and the improvement of basic literacy learning outcomes based on correlation interpretation. Thus, the null hypothesis (H0: no correlation) is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (H1 : correlation) is accepted. In conclusion, the application of the TaRL approach is positively related to the improvement of students' basic literacy learning outcomes, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in literacy learning.

Word work: Practical tools to empower language and literacy learning in the high school classroom By Amber M.Simmons, Chanpaign, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. 2023. pp. 233. $39.99 (Paperback version). ISBN: 978‐0‐8141‐0131‐5

Word work: Practical tools to empower language and literacy learning in the high school classroom By Amber M.Simmons, Chanpaign, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. 2023. pp. 233. $39.99 (Paperback version). ISBN: 978‐0‐8141‐0131‐5