Sociocultural Approaches to Language and Literacy
An Interactionist Perspective

This book deals with a major crisis in education - the achievement of literacy skills.

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

9780521089760, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 November 2008

416 pages, 19 b/w illus. 29 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.61 kg

"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

One of the most crucial areas of education - the development of oral language and 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 pre-school to law school. Although the populations and literacy issues are diverse, the book's unity is provided by a broadly shared theoretical framework. As such, Interactionist Approaches to Language and Literacy will be valuable to educators at every level and to researchers in applied linguistics, psychology, adult literacy programs, and English as a second language.

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.

Subject Areas: Educational psychology [JNC]