What exactly is “literacy”? Plenty of definitions are offered, but they tend to be lofty and vague.
For example:
Alberta Education defines literacy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living. Language is explained as a socially and culturally constructed system of communication.—Alberta Education (Canada)
At its simplest, literacy is the way that we interact with the world around us, how we shape it and are shaped by it. It is how we communicate with others via reading and writing, but also by speaking, listening, and creating. It is how we articulate our experience in the world and declare, “We Are Here!”—NTCE (National Council of Teachers of English)
Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. UNESCO
The American English Doctor spells out the learning steps that lead to literacy. With the help of these guidelines, parents can recognize and remedy trouble spots before they lead to reading failure.
