What is emergent literacy?

Emergent literacy refers to competencies and literary skills in early childhood.

Emergent or emerging means that children are always in the process of

becoming literate, probably, since, they are just a few months old (Teale, 1987).
Sulzby (1991) defines literacy as the reading and writing behaviors of young
children that precede and develop into conversational literacy.

Transitions on the Perspective of Emergent Literacy:

1. Basic literacy which emphasizes the reading and writing of young learners to
construct meaning for themselves;

2. Socio-cultural literacy which emphasizes the importance of social interaction of

children to construct cultural- specific meanings and to demonstrate literacy
practices as social events and cultural phenomena; and

3. Functional literacy which emphasizes the use of technology for instruction and
literacy, and the young learner’s use of technology to produce meaning.

Learning Theories that support Early Literacy Development

1. Jean- Jacques Rousseau (1962)

Emphasis: Child’s learning unfolds naturally; learning through curiosity.

Strategies: Child’s readiness to learn; little adult intervention

Activities: Allowing children to grow and learn with the freedom to be themselves.

Skills: natural development of skills, individual ways of learning, curiosity

2. Maria Montessori (1965)

Emphasis: children need early, orderly, systematic training in mastering one skill
after another; auto-education
Strategies: specific concepts meeting specific objectives; learning materials are self-
correcting; learning during “sensitive period”, designing activities and experiences
for learning.

Activities: allowing children to use manipulative toys; working with carefully

designed and specific materials for specific skills; work instead of play; activities for
skill mastery

Skills: specific concepts, self-correction, independent learning and mastery of one

skill after another.

3. John Dewey (1966)

Emphasis: early childhood learning is child centered; is built around the interest of
the child; child learns best through play because of social interaction.

Strategies: allowing time for play and learning; providing a relaxed atmosphere;
informal activities for learning

Activities: manipulative toys, arts, music, story reading, free and outdoor play,
snack, rest, circle time, informal reading and writing.

Skills: social skills, emotional and physical development, informal reading and
writing.

4. Jean Piaget (1969)

Emphasis: children at certain stages are capable of only certain types of intellectual
endeavors; acquire knowledge by interacting with the world; active participants in
their own learning.

Strategies: providing real-life setting and materials, opportunity to play, explore

and experiment and allowing kids to use their curiosity, inquisitiveness and
spontaneity, inquisitiveness and spontaneity to help themselves to learn.

Activities: Natural problem solving situations, playing, exploring and

experimenting, planning one’s own activities and cooperating with teachers and
peers in planning evaluating learning.
Skills: active construction of his learning, problem solving, playing, exploration,
experimentation and curiosity, inquisitiveness and spontaneity decision-making,
social interaction.

5. Friedrich Froebel (1974)

Emphasis: the adult is responsible for the education of the child needs to be
concerned with the child’s natural unfolding; emphasis on the fullest benefits of
playing to learn; requires adult guidance and direction and a planned environment.

Strategies: providing adult guidance and a planned environment, guided – play,

providing manipulative materials to learn concepts, allowing “ circle-time” which is
an opportunity to sing and to learn new ideas thru discussion.

Activities: teacher-facilitated activities, guided-play, manipulative for learning

certain concepts and providing opportunity for circle-time for singing.

Skills: psychomotor skills, shapes, colors and size recognition, guided-play, singing,
obedience and discipline.

6. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1979)

Emphasis: natural learning with informal instruction, natural potential of a child

develops through senses.

Strategies: proving informal instruction, providing manipulative experiences and

learning about them through the use of senses.

Activities: informal activities that eventually lead to learning, manipulating objects

and learning about them through touch and smell.

Skills: shapes, colors and size recognition, language skills.

7. Lev Vygotsky (1981)

Emphasis: mental functions are acquired through social relationship; learning takes
place when the child interacts with peers and adults in social setting as they act
upon the environment; children learn by internalizing activities conducted in the
world around them; they emulate behaviors and incorporate them into their
existing structures of knowledge when they are exposed to new situations in which
they can actually interact with others.

Strategies: providing meaningful and interactive activities, providing activities that

allow a child to internalize, exposing a child to new situations to actively interact
with others, engaging in functional and interesting learning experiences.

Activities: story reading, story retelling, directed listening – thinking activities,

shared book experiences, dialogues, conversations, social functions of reading and
writing activities, communicative functions of language.

Skills: communication skills, reading and writing skills, oral language skills, social
skills, internalization of skills.