Читать книгу English in Elementary Schools - Anja Steinlen - Страница 8

In this section, the terms “reading” and “writing” are defined, and reading and writing skills and processes are described in relation to L1 and L2 acquisition. Note that in this section, the term “L2” subsumes both second and foreign language acquisition. Minority language students’ foreign language reading and writing skills (which often constitute their L3) will be discussed in chapter 2.4.

Literacy is traditionally defined as the ability to read and write, but this concept has evolved in meaning. The modern meaning of the term has been expanded to include the ability to use language, numbers, images, computers, and other basic means to understand, communicate, gain useful knowledge, solve mathematical problems and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture (e.g., UNESCO, 2012). However, in this book, the term “literacy” will refer only to reading and writing skills.