EDF5823 · Literacy and language

Overview

This unit explores young children’s language and literacy learning in early childhood. You will develop an understanding of how to support children's communicative intentions, confidence and capacity in literacy as a foundational skill for successful learning. This will include examining how adult interactions can support young children’s communication and language development, the influence of family and community contexts on children’s language development, and practices to support reading and writing acquisition processes. You will examine strengths-based models and strategies to support language development for diverse communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families and children who speak languages other than, or in addition to English. You will examine how to use literature to support multicultural education. The use of digital technologies as a tool to support language and literacy learning will also be taught and discussed. The unit will introduce you to evidenced-based pedagogies to build rich language and literacy programmes across diverse early childhood contexts that support the continuity of children’s literacy learning from birth to 5 years of age.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. reflect on understandings of what literacy is, what it means to be literate and ways that language develops from birth through early childhood
2. demonstrate an understanding of how early language and literacy development is shaped and enacted in various cultural and social settings and what this means for children who speak languages other than, or in addition to, English
3. demonstrate an understanding of a range of literature and other media appropriate for children of diverse backgrounds and abilities that will promote literacy learning across the continuities and transitions in literacy learning from home to school
4. develop knowledge of effective pedagogies for early literacy learning, including strategies for supporting literacy learning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
5. develop communicative competence in and across different modes, including listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing, and creating.

Workload

The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Usually, you can expect to engage with: • 24 hours* of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities; and • the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement. *Subject to variation due to professional experience requirements

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.