Oral language acquisition is a precursor to written language acquisition. In English, one learns the ways of the language in speech before it is learned in writing. Some argue that is is because humans have an innate sense of learning language, others argue that it is our environment that produces such language. Whatever it be, one can understand the "rules" of a language without ever having learned to read it. "Communicative competence" and "generative grammar" are the aspects of knowing a language by the ways one speaks (Freeman & Freeman, 2004).
On the other hand, learning to read a language might take a different shape. Reading is a cognitive process whereas as oral language acquisition seems to be innate. Reading is not an innate skill set therefore one has to be explicitly taught the rules governing the written language: usage, vocabulary, grammar, sound symbols set etc.
References
Freeman, D.E., & Freeman, Y.S. (2004). Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting to think about the processes used to acquire language and learning to read. Both skills are necessary and interdependent, but these skills are learned in very different ways. Language development, for the most part, is a natural process that is developed by immersion while learning to read requires linguistic gymnastics. Considering all the processes children need to master to read a book, it is amazing that most children can read at all.