Sociocultural Approaches to Language and Literacy: An Interactionist Perspective

by Vera John-Steiner, Larry W. Smith, Carolyn P. Panofsky

Overview

One of the most crucial areas of education—the acquisition of literacy—is examined here with an effective combination of theory and practice. The sociocultural perspective is illustrated through descriptions of learning by populations usually neglected in treatments of literacy—American Sign Language users, second-language speakers, and minority students. The book covers a broad range of ages, ethnic backgrounds, locations, and literacy concerns from preschool to law school. Although the populations and literacy issues are diverse, the book's unity is provided by a broadly shared theoretical framework.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521089760
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/06/2008
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the Volume; Part I. Context: 2. Introduction to the Section; 3. An interactionist approach to the analysis of similarities and differences between spoken and written language Larry Smith; 4. Repair in spontaneous speech: A window on second language development Hanery Shonerd; 5. Struggling for a voice: An interactionist view of language and literacy in Deaf Education Sherman Wilcox; Part II. Mediation: 6. Introduction to the Section; 7. Nonverbal factors in the interpsychic to intrpsychic internalisation of objects David McNeill Karl-Erik McCullough and Martha Tyrone: 8. An ecological approach to the emergence of the lexicon: Socializing attention Patricia Goldring Zukow and Kelly R. Duncan: 9. Learning how to explain: the effects of mother's language on the child Maria Silvia Barbieri and Liliana Landolfi; 10. Developing the representational functions of language: the role of parent-child book reading activity Carolyn P. Panofsky; 11. The implications of Vygotskian theory for the development of home-school programs: A focus on storybook reading Patricia A. Edwards and Georgia Earnest Garcia; 12. Vygotsky in the classroom: An interactionist literacy framework in mathematics Pat Cordeiro; Part III. Functunal Systems: 13. Introduction to the Section; 14. Adults learning literacy: The role of private speech in reading comprehension Juan D. Ramirez; 15. From 'Paj Ntaub' to paragraphs: Perspectives on Hmong processes of composing Francine Filipek Colignon; 16. Toward a definition of law school readiness Michelle Minnis.

Editorial Reviews

"This is an interdisciplinary book that...effectively illustrates the impact of the sociocultural perspective proposed by Vygotsky by describing its applicability to the language learning process of a wide range of groups...The major contribution of this book is...the demonstration of the versatility and generalizability of the Vygotskian theory. The maxim that there is nothing better than a good theory is clearly proven in this book." Chieh Li and Ena Vasquez Nuttall, Contemporary Psychology

From the Publisher