The Informal Acquisition and Development of Literacy

Abstract

Teaching children to read has the highest priority in primary schools; little wonder then that so much research has been devoted to finding the surest way of achieving this. For well over a century, theories have come and gone, sometimes leading to heated debates, on the best way to ensure that children become literate. Despite the variety of methods and approaches that have slipped in and out of fashion, there are two basic assumptions which the vast majority of teachers and policymakers would probably agree on. In the first place, nearly all children need to be taught to read formally and sequentially, starting with the simplest representations of English, typically found in reading schemes. Second, basic literacy should be acquired by around the age of seven; if not, then a child is said to have a problem needing specialist attention.