Visible Language Learning: A Case Study

• Main Author: Rhodes, Lynn K
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.1979
• Subjects: Case Studies; Child Development; Child Language; Concept Formation; Developmental Stages; Early Experience; Early Reading; Language Acquisition; Letters (Alphabet); Reading Readiness; Reading Research; Written Language

Reading can be defined as a meaningful interaction with a print setting. Interactive models of reading assume that lower level and higher level processing occurs simultaneously, interacting with each other. The familiarity of the book, the context in which a sign occurs, and the illustrations of a book are all examples of print setting cues that some young children use in order to interact with a print setting. In a case study of a young girl's written language development between the ages of two and five, two questions were addressed: (1) How had the child been learning about written language? and (2) What had the child been learning about written language prior to formal instruction? In response to the first question, it was observed that the child determined the content, timing, and structure for her written language. In response to the second question, it was obvious that the child expected written language to be meaningful and personally relevant. She also learned that written language differed from oral language, and until the age of five, she paid little attention to the print in print settings. From the observations it was clear that the ability to label letters was not a necessary prerequisite to learning to discriminate between words or to recognize or produce words. (HOD)