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79 4 English Literacy Development English language development is our first and by far our most important intellectual accomplishment. English literacy development is our second. The development of English literacy is a lifelong intellectual process of gaining meaning from written language . The key to literacy in English is learning to read, a complex process that begins with through-the-air language proficiency and culminates in deep understanding and critical interpretation of written text. Learning to read and the development of reading (and writing) involves a range of complex language components including phonology , orthography, semantics, syntax, and morphology, all of which provide an essential foundation for reading fluency and comprehension. The acquisition and development of these components of language allows us to achieve English literacy. In this chapter, we discuss current empirical research on two major constructs, emergent literacy, where the roots of English literacy are first apparent, and conventional literacy, the continuation of a lifelong process of developing competence in the components of English. For each construct, we review current research on English literacy in students who are hearing (i.e., typical literacy learners) and students who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh). We also describe the similarities and differences between English literacy in these two groups of learners and assert that the basic tenets of the qualitative similarity hypothesis (QSH) are viable. The chapter concludes with a few implications for instruction (expanded in Chapter 6) and directions for further research. EMERGENT LITERACY Emergent literacy is the understanding that English literacy development begins long before children commence formal schooling. It is a widely accepted theoretical conceptualization of young children’s initial encounters with print and their early reading and writing development. There is now consensus among educators, scholars, and researchers that children engage in significant cognitive and social work in literacy during the preschool years, if provided with conceptually rich and meaningful experiences 80 Chapter 4 with print. High-quality instructional support from caretakers and early childhood educators can make a critical contribution to young children’s emergent literacy learning. Most researchers agree that supporting literacy learning in the preschool years plays a critical role in children’s long-term English literacy achievement. In fact, scholars have accumulated significant evidence of enduring stability in children’s literacy-related abilities from preschool through high school. Emergent literacy has been investigated from a number of theoretical perspectives (e.g., cognitive, sociocultural, ecological, critical) and diverse disciplines (e.g., psychology , linguistics, education, child development) that explicate the nature of emergent literacy learning, underscore its complexity, and provide important insights on how caretakers and early childhood educators can nurture its growth and development. Several strands of emergent literacy research have been examined, including emergent reading (e.g., Elster, 1994; Segel-Drori, Korat, Shamir, & Klein, 2010; Sulzby, 1985), emergent writing (e.g., Clay, 1975; Dyson, 2010; Saracho, 1990), home and school influences (e.g., Neumann, Hood, & Neuman, 2009; Smith & Dickinson, 1994; Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford, & Taggart, 2010), instructional practices (e.g., Connor, Morrison, & Slominski, 2006; Morrow & Gambrell, 2001), and emergent literacy development among diverse populations (e.g. Araujo, 2002; Travers, Higgins, Pierce, Boone, Miller, & Tandy, 2011). In addition, several core theoretical constructs have been investigated extensively, including, in particular, spoken language, phonological awareness, and alphabetic knowledge and skills. Researchers believe that these precursor abilities serve as cognitive and linguistic building blocks that shape later English literacy abilities. Spoken Language A substantial body of research among children who have typical hearing has documented the importance of spoken (i.e., through-the-air) language to emergent literacy (e.g., Dyson, 1983; Heath, 1983; Snow, 1983; Wells, 1981) as well as to later reading proficiency (e.g., Senechal, Ouellette, & Rodney, 2006; Wells, 1986). Early experience with spoken language, particularly the language of print, promotes growth in vocabulary (Farkas & Beron, 2004; Hart & Risley, 1995). Children who have more experiences with rich spoken language are provided more practice in the skills that are directly associated with English word learning (Beck & McKeown, 2007). Exposure to varied vocabulary in the context of the spoken language in use gives way to a richer stock of lexical, morphological, and syntactic cues to support fluency in understanding (Fernald & Weisleder, 2011). In general, children who have larger English speaking vocabularies and greater understanding of English spoken language (i.e., listening vocabularies) attain higher achievement in English reading. The role of shared storybook reading in supporting young children’s spoken language acquisition and early literacy development has been widely investigated for decades. Book sharing provides for...

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