Literacy Experiences Research Articles

Physiotherapists' views and experiences of health literacy in clinical practice.

Using a qualitative design, this study aimed to explore the experience of physiotherapists' supporting patient health literacy in clinical practice, gain an understanding of their conceptualisation of health literacy, and make recommendations for improving health literacy support in clinical practice. Convenience sampling via social media was used to recruit eight participants who were all physiotherapists practicing in the United Kingdom. Semi-structured interviews took place on Zoom during the second Covid-19 lockdown. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analysed to uncover physiotherapists' views on health literacy, experiences of supporting patients with health literacy and opinions and recommendations for practice. Of the eight participants, five were female and the mean years of clinical experience as a qualified physiotherapist was 5.8. Four main themes were identified: physiotherapists' conceptualisation of health literacy, identification of health literacy and skills required to support patients, training and barriers to providing health literacy-sensitive care and recommendations for improvement. The findings highlighted that physiotherapists identified a patient's health literacy abilities by picking up tacit clues throughout their consultations and they pre-dominantly viewed health literacy as the ability to read, write and communicate effectively. They reported having a limited exposure to health literacy training and recommended raising awareness and education as key to improve practice.

Bilingual Home Literacy Experiences and Early Biliteracy Development among Chinese–Canadian First Graders

This study was designed to examine the role of early bilingual home literacy experiences (HLE) (including parent–child shared reading, parents’ direct teaching in Chinese and English, the availability of books in both languages, and children’s access to digital devices for bilingual learning) in the biliteracy development of 66 Chinese–Canadian first graders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive analyses reveal that overall, parents report higher engagement in English than in Chinese across the four HLE measures. Parent’s engagement in bilingual HLE differs by gender, SES, and immigration status. Pearson correlational analyses of English reading, decoding, and bilingual oral receptive vocabulary reveal that the four dimensions of HLE are not strongly related to English early literacy skills but are positively related to Chinese receptive vocabulary. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the availability of books in Chinese and parent–child shared reading in Chinese are key factors associated with Chinese receptive vocabulary score variance; the amount of time using digital devices is found to be significantly related to English reading comprehension, but not Chinese vocabulary; and parents’ direct teaching is not significant with either English early literacy skills or Chinese receptive vocabulary. These findings have important implications for parental engagement in early bilingual home literacy activities and early literacy instruction in school.

Super Smash Sisters: Critical Literacy, Gender, and Video Games in the Elementary Classroom

ABSTRACT This study investigates how young elementary children engage with conceptions of gender in connection to video gameplay in the language arts classroom. During a three-week unit on video game literacies in a multiage lab school, children learned about, played, discussed, and wrote about video games. Student writing, game reviews, and literature discussion transcripts illuminated critical thinking around gender in connection to video games when explored as texts in school. While teachers commonly value literacy experiences centred around books, this research demonstrates how video games can serve as texts for critical analysis by sharing the valuable critical literacy experiences of two focal students from the study. Recommendations for teachers who want to explore incorporating video games in the English Language Arts classrooms are provided.

Phonological and morphological literacy skills in English and Chinese: A cross-linguistic neuroimaging comparison of Chinese-English bilingual and monolingual English children.

Over the course of literacy development, children learn to recognize word sounds and meanings in print. Yet, they do so differently across alphabetic and character-based orthographies such as English and Chinese. To uncover cross-linguistic influences on children's literacy, we asked young Chinese-English simultaneous bilinguals and English monolinguals (N = 119, ages 5-10) to complete phonological and morphological awareness (MA) literacy tasks. Children completed the tasks in the auditory modality in each of their languages during functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. Cross-linguistically, comparisons between bilinguals' two languages revealed that the task that was more central to reading in a given orthography, such as phonological awareness (PA) in English and MA in Chinese, elicited less activation in the left inferior frontal and parietal regions. Group comparisons between bilinguals and monolinguals in English, their shared language of academic instruction, revealed that the left inferior frontal was less active during phonology but more active during morphology in bilinguals relative to monolinguals. MA skills are generally considered to have greater language specificity than PA skills. Bilingual literacy training in a skill that is maximally similar across languages, such as PA, may therefore yield greater automaticity for this skill, as reflected in the lower activation in bilinguals relative to monolinguals. This interpretation is supported by negative correlations between proficiency and brain activation. Together, these findings suggest that both the structural characteristics and literacy experiences with a given language can exert specific influences on bilingual and monolingual children's emerging brain networks for learning to read.

Indonesian Young EFL Learners’ Experiences in Learning Environmental Literacy through Digital Storytelling: A Case Study

Although studies on the issue of digital storytelling (DST) have been extensively conducted, the adoption of digital storytelling to promote environmental literacy is rarely reported in the literature. This study aims to explore Indonesian young EFL learners’ experiences in the creation of digital storytelling to foster their environmental literacy. Framed in a narrative case study, four young EFL learners, aged 8-12 years old, were recruited to participate. Data were garnered through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed employing thematic analysis, i.e., listening to talking data, transcribing interview data, sorting out vignettes, interpreting data, and building data credibility. Study findings showcase that the adoption of DST could encourage young EFL learners’ interest in learning environmental literacy to protect their environment. Furthermore, learning environmental literacy through DST engaged young EFL learners more actively in learning English. The empirical evidence also demonstrates the use of DST creation engaged young EFL learners in learning English, and environmental literacy and helped young EFL learners preserve their environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA LITERACY AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS BY MEANS OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN JAPAN

The research substantiates Japanese experience of media literacy and oral communication skills development by digital storytelling (DST); reveals theoretical background and current practical application of DST in higher education of Japan. DST has significant advantages as an individual- and situation-oriented tool of oral communication as well as the instrument of psychological and learning influence on society. It is continuously implemented into Japanese educational and social practice. Famous universities of Japan initiate and realize scientific and academic projects, extending communication connections of Japanese population, improving their skills of critical thinking and argumentation, developing desires and abilities to communicate freely, fluently, confidently and persuasively. At present DST shows a positive growing tendency as a teaching and learning tool in higher education of both Japan and Ukraine. This is primarily linked with the global processes of social digitalization, computerization of education and urgent transferring to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence-based studies prove the efficacy of DST as the learning and evaluation instrument of oral communication skills, i. e. in English. Moreover, the technology can be applied in different specialties, i. e. medical one. The healthcare branch was drastically influenced by quarantine restrictions, having resulted in fundamental transformations of teaching and learning approaches, implementation of e-learning and telemedicine. DST has a confirmed positive influence on public health and medical knowledge development. In higher medical education it can be used as a new type of virtual patients. DST can improve physician-patient communication skills, professional qualities, tolerance and empathy. Our research confirms the potential of DST as a powerful developmental tool of media literacy and oral communication skills, and proves the requirement for the implementation of Japanese experience into higher education of Ukraine.

Understanding the information literacy experiences of Australia’s humanitarian migrants

Every year, millions of people are forced to flee their homes to find safety. This paper investigates the information literacy experiences of people from forced migrant backgrounds as they settle into a new country during their first few years of migration. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach incorporating thematic analysis techniques, data were collected through 19 semi-structured interviews and were analysed adopting a thematic analysis approach. Participants were new arrival humanitarian migrants in Australia. The analysis uncovered five different and interconnected themes depicting the information literacy experiences among forcibly displaced people. The themes are: (1) undertaking education; (2) reaching out for help; (3) comparing and contrasting; (4) sharing stories; and (5) getting engaged. Grounded in the relational perspective on information literacy, a long-standing theoretical perspective to explore the information literacy of humanitarian migrants, the findings from this study provide an empirically derived evidence base to inform the design and delivery of services providing information, support and education to humanitarian migrants entering Australia for protection or resettlement.

Representing Identity: The Importance of Literature and the Translanguaging Space for EAL/D Early Years Literacy Learning

Quality literature is a natural fit when choosing resources to support learning in early years settings. This qualitative research reports how literary texts can be used to foster EAL/D students’ poetry writing and represent their identity. During professional learning, teachers were supported to select a range of engaging literary texts and design quality literacy experiences focused on thirdspace drama and other creative strategies. Students were afforded agency to respond to the texts and then employed Janks’ redesign cycle to craft identity text poems using their home language(s) and English. The lesson sequence generated a creative translanguaging space, and the poems highlight the richness of the students’ stories and give voice to their distinctive views of self and the world.

Digital Literacy Inherency within Narratives Subject at SMP Kristen Palangka Raya

Our intention of this research is to show the research subjects' narratives, namely teachers who teach at Palangka Raya Christian Junior High School, Central Kalimantan, when dealing with the governance and presence of digital literacy. Digital literacy has become a serious discourse in the form of important cabinet government programs (2019-2024). We used interview method as our qualitative research method by searching for data in the form of narratives to the research subjects. Narratives in audio form (smartphone recording) are then transcribed into verbatim transcripts and developed based on the reality of narratives in the field. Based on the narrative reality at field level, the author found that although digital literacy experiences obstacles in terms of facilities, there is hope that digital literacy will get room to move not only in schools, but also outside schools.

SUPPORTING TEACHER DEVELOPMENT ABOUT EARLY LITERACY IN CHILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS: AN ACTION RESEARCH IN TURKEY

Children with hearing loss show a similar development to their hearing peers in terms of the development of oral and written language. They may experience some delays in oral language skills, which is one of the sub-fields of literacy. Children with hearing loss in the preschool period in Turkey receive support education services from preschool inclusive environments and special education and rehabilitation center (SERC). Research indicates that education programs related to early literacy positively affect teachers' professional development, the characteristics, and practices of literacy environments. In addition, supporting the professional development of teachers with roles such as guidance/mentoring/coaching indirectly affects the literacy development of children indirectly. Research with teachers on early literacy development in children with hearing loss in Turkey are about teachers' reflections on their own learning-teaching processes. It is stated that teachers working with preschool children do not have sufficient knowledge about early literacy in Turkey. Research in SERCs also emphasize the importance of supporting the education of children with hearing loss through the participation of teachers in SERCs with in-service training. The study aims to examine the process with one hearing-impaired children teacher in the context of the early literacy development in-service training program. It was designed as participatory action research because it overlaps with an in-service training process that can meet the information needs of one teacher in SERC about early literacy development. The data were collected through field notes and video recording observations, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, documents, products, and a research diary. All data were analyzed inductively during the research process and at the end of the research. It is seen that the knowledge of teachers in the SERC, where support education services in Turkey, is limited on early literacy development. Teacher's needs can be listed as relating the goals with early literacy experiences, planning the lesson in accordance with the level of the child and supporting early literacy, determining the appropriate material, implementation and evaluation. A program to be developed to support teachers regarding early literacy; in addition to informing, it can be stated that the implementation and evaluation processes are supportive of the development. In the implementation of such programs, it can be emphasized that it is important to consider adult learning, to give positive and immediate feedback, and to use internal and external motivational resources.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0005/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Diverging Ideologies of Disability: A Critique of Literature on Inclusive Literacy

Although the concept of literacy has continued to evolve through the work of innovative scholars and educators, conventional understandings of literacy still abound within published scholarship. Pushing past these traditional notions of literacy, a small subset of scholars has advocated for a broadened conceptualization of literacy. Labeled inclusive literacy, this relatively new approach to literacy draws from both socially and cultural situated literacy practices (Street, 1984) and multimodal literacy practices (Kress & VanLeeuwen, 2001), as it takes into account diverse symbol systems and acknowledges literacy’s part in daily practices. Further, inclusive literacy values all literacy experiences and works to include children with disabilities, a group that is so often overlooked in regard to literacy learning (Flewitt et al., 2009). Grounded in Critical Disability Studies and language ideology theories, this literature review seeks to explore the diverging disability ideologies found in research published on inclusive literacy practices and the ways researchers position students with disabilities. Specifically, this analysis examines the myriad ways scholars take up or fail to acknowledge the term disability as a means to understand the ways that language use is connected to disability ideologies (Irvine & Gal, 2000).

Examination of Factors That Predict Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Children Who Attend Head Start Programs

Income-based childcare programs provide children access to developmentally appropriate and vocabulary-rich literacy experiences. For this study, participating Head Start Centers requested families complete a weekly home literacy log to encourage vocabulary-rich shared book reading activities in the home. Using participant characteristics, including literacy log competition, this study examined which factors adequately predicted vocabulary growth as measured by Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Fourth Edition standard scores. Results indicated that vocabulary increased significantly for children who were enrolled in participating Head Start Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) programs. Important predictors of the magnitude of vocabulary growth during an academic year included sex, language(s) spoken in the home, and completion of home literacy logs. Clinical implications of this study would warrant recommending home literacy logs as a component of holistic Head Start programming, as completion of literacy logs emerged as an important variable in predicting the magnitude of vocabulary growth second only to race and sex.

Effects of orthographic transparency on rhyme judgement.

This study investigated the influence of multiliteracy in opaque orthographies on phonological awareness. Using a visual rhyme judgement task in English, we assessed phonological processing in three multilingual and multiliterate populations who were distinguished by the transparency of the orthographies they can read in (N = 135; ages 18-40). The first group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English and a transparent Latin orthography like Malay; the second group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English and transparent orthographies like Malay and Arabic; and the third group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English, transparent orthographies, and Mandarin Chinese, an opaque orthography. Results showed that all groups had poorer performance in the two opaque conditions: rhyming pairs with different orthographic endings and non-rhyming pairs with similar orthographic endings, with the latter posing the greatest difficulty. Subjects whose languages consisted of half or more opaque orthographies performed significantly better than subjects who knew more transparent orthographies than opaque orthographies. The findings are consistent with past studies that used the visual rhyme judgement paradigm and suggest that literacy experience acquired over time relating to orthographic transparency may influence performance on phonological awareness tasks.

The Phenomenon of E-Dakwah in the New Normal Era: Digital Literacy of Virtual Da'i in Da'wah Activities

The emergence of the new normal era brought many changes in various aspects of life, including da'wah activities. Adaptation of the implementation of da'wah online or called e-da'wah is an innovation that can be done so that da'wah activities can continue to run. The phenomenon of e-da'wah in the new normal era is an important and interesting research to study. This study aims to analyze the digital literacy experience of virtual preachers in carrying out da'wah activities online in the new normal era. The research method used is qualitative with a phenomenological approach to explore the experience of digital literacy preachers, especially those related to communication and collaboration elements. Data analysis was carried out by reducing steps, presenting data and drawing conclusions. The results showed that the ability of the virtual da'i in Jintap Ponorogo Village in carrying out da'wah in the new normal era was at the basic level for use skills and communicative abilities, while critical understanding was at the medium level. This research is expected to contribute to optimizing the implementation of e-da'wah in the new normal era, especially by increasing digital literacy for virtual preachers in Jintap Village, Ponorogo.

The roots of reading for pleasure: Recollections of reading and current habits

AbstractChildren's early literacy experiences are critical, yet it remains unclear whether memories of early reading instruction continue to be associated with reading habits into adulthood. We examined the association between recollections of reading experiences and present‐day reading habits in an adult population. University students responded in writing to three open‐ended prompts asking about their memories of reading during early childhood, elementary school and high school. They also completed two questionnaires inquiring about reading enjoyment and frequency in elementary school and high school. For the concurrent measures of reading, participants described their current reading habits in an open‐ended prompt and completed an author recognition test. Results showed positive links between favourable memories of reading during elementary and high school years and present‐day reading habits. Conversely, unfavourable memories during high school were associated with unenthusiastic present‐day reading habits. We found that reading instruction in school forms long‐lasting memories, and these memories are linked in meaningful ways with print exposure during adulthood.

Early literacy experiences of two children during Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa: A semi- ethnographic study

As the world came to grips with the coronavirus diseases (COVID-19), educational institutions and the society at large faced the challenge of figuring out how to continue with teaching and learning in such a context. Many countries, including South Africa made efforts to help contain and suppress the spread of Covid-19. In the South African education sector, about 13 million learners and 440 000 teachers were released before the end of the first school term in March 2020. In addition, 30 000 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, about 100 000 teachers were also required to end their term before the official closing date. For many young learners, the lockdown period meant that they would be at home with (a) Limited access to age appropriate, fun and explicitly educational resources to play with as many shops considered resources that could be used to develop children’s sensory skills as not essential goods (b) They had limited exposure to structured learning and play as most caregivers are not qualified ECD practitioners (c) Children could not play outside, visit playgrounds and parks, yet, freedom of movement, activity and exercise is important for every child’s development and young children learn best through play and experimenting (d) Most of their curriculum content cannot be fully taught using online platforms. Given this background, through a semi-ethnographic study, the paper documents the early literacy experiences of two 3 year old children during the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa. In addition, analysis of parents or caregivers’ feedback about their experiences in providing assistance to the young learners during the lockdown is presented. Findings of the study show that in both research contexts, literacy practices were different, but not lesser. Challenging as it was for the caregivers to support the development of literacy, the home environment provided many opportunities for learning.

An Online Training for Increasing Language Teachers' Awareness of Feedback Literacy Based on the Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit (DEFT)

This study aims to identify in-service language teachers’ knowledge and experiences of feedback literacy and examine their reflections on an online training based on the Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit adapted for foreign language teaching. The study was designed as practical action research. 17 K-12 English language teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through a survey, focus group interviews, and e-journal entries. The results showed that language teachers were unfamiliar with feedback literacy and perceived themselves as partially effective feedback providers. Assessment methods were based on homework, quizzes, and projects followed by generic feedback information. Teachers reflected on the positive impact of the training on their feedback giving practices and learners’ engagement in lessons. They highlighted the points still open for improvement in personal feedback practices. The findings imply that the training can be adapted to language teacher education programs to grow feedback-literate teachers and learners.

Best Practices for Health Literacy Education for English Language Learners

Health literacy is the ability to retrieve, understand, and utilize health information. Poor health literacy is associated with diminished participation in primary and secondary disease prevention strategies, worsened mental health outcomes, and difficulties navigating the healthcare system—especially for English Language Learners (ELLs) who have language barriers. Pre-health undergraduate students at Georgetown University worked in partnership with the Alaska Literacy Program in 2021 to deliver two virtual health literacy courses titled “Health in the English Language” to 28 adult ELLs. This paper aims to detail key takeaways regarding best practices for virtual learning, teaching strategies, and the significance of health literacy experiences within pre-health education. Virtual learning increased course accessibility for students and instructors, supported the engagement of students’ family members and friends, and increased practice in digital literacy. Studying health literacy and engaging in experiential learning provides an important foundation for pre-health undergraduates to learn about how health can be influenced by one’s culture. Pre-health undergraduates gain insight into the importance of communicating with and advocating for non-native-English speaking patients. Observed success in virtual health literacy education supports developing partnerships for future implementation of health literacy courses in rural, under-resourced, and/or immigrant communities by pre-health college students.

Braiding Our Lives

Adult literacy is a pressing policy issue in Canada. Reports reveal immigrant communities as accounting for a relatively large share of the country’s population experiencing low reading, writing, numeracy, and information processing skills. This paper explores how Black immigrant women who are adult literacy learners negotiate and reconfigure their motherwork while living abroad in Toronto with their families. This article presents insights obtained from six in-depth interviews with African Caribbean mothers living in Toronto. In these interviews, participants shared stories that centre the following questions: What are the literacy experiences of Black immigrant mothers who are adult learners? How can we better support their literacy journey? Drawing on an arts-informed narrative methodology, this study compiled findings gained from interviews into the creative non-fiction story Braiding Our Lives. Braiding Our Lives captures personal narratives, shared by study participants, highlighting the central role of homeplace and cultural work in the lives of Black immigrant mothers who are literacy learners.

The Relationship between Young Children's Graphomotor Skills and Their Environment: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The current study aimed to examine the unique contribution of personal and environmental factors to explain graphomotor skills in typically developing preschoolers and first-year elementary school students. A convenience sample of 136 Israeli children aged three-seven years was recruited. Graphomotor skills were assessed using the Gilboa Functional Test (GIFT); personal and environmental factors were assessed using a demographic questionnaire and the Home Literacy Experiences Questionnaire (HLEQ). A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis revealed that home literacy and educational approach accounted for 43.1% of the variance of graphomotor skills (R2 = 40.4, p < 0.000), each providing a unique contribution to the explained variance after controlling for age, gender, and spoken language. Generally, our results supported the bioecological model, with proximal factors (home literacy and educational approach) having a greater influence on child graphomotor skills than distal factors (parental socioeconomic and immigration status). By highlighting the role of environmental factors in graphomotor development, these results can be used as a conceptual framework for developing early intervention programs.