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1
C H A P T E R

Theoretical introduction
to language and literacy
development

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Every waking hour of every day, we use our voices to speak, sing, curse, call, whis-
per, or explain. Yes, some even mutter in their sleep! We leave voice messages on
answering services. We send e-mails, text messages, or leave a note under a door or
on a fridge. We take class notes during lectures on a note pad or Ipad. We tweet or
meet in virtual chat rooms or real coffee shops. We talk via mobile phones, Face-
book, MySpace, Mxit and other social networks. We read books, headlines, websites,
and TV screen captions. We listen to lectures, sermons, podcasts, radio bulletins
and songs or audio books that we downloaded from the internet. We Google or
Kindle. We scroll, drop, drag and click on icons. Many of us even switch between
several languages as we interact with other people in our daily world. Most of us
take this ability to listen, speak, read and write with ease for granted.
In this chapter we shall define language as a uniquely human capability, discuss
some of its characteristics, and briefly touch on how we learn languages. We shall
also explore the importance of having language proficiency for learning and aca-
demic progress, especially in the Foundation Phase. The chapter concludes with
some thoughts on literacy and how the learner of the 21st century requires more
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

than traditional literacy skills.

1.2 WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

It is difficult to formulate a definition that would capture all the aspects of what
makes language. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 662) defines lan-
1
guage as “the system of sounds and words used by humans to express their thoughts
and feelings”. Gamble and Gamble (2006: 100) state that language is “a unified sys-
tem of signs that permits a sharing of meaning”, while Van der Walt, Evans and Kil-
foil (2009: 1) claim that language is “a set of symbols and a system of rules that

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

determine how the symbols are combined”. Owens (2012: 6) describes language as
“a socially shared code or conventional system for representing concepts through
the use of arbitrary symbols and rule-governed combinations of those symbols”.
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From these definitions we can draw the following conclusions:

1.2.1 Language is a complex, rule-governed but creative system

Language – universally – comprises sounds which, when used in the right combina-
tion, create words that those who know the code (language) will understand.
Sounds produced randomly and in isolation are generally meaningless noises until
they are used in a complex, fixed and inter-related pattern of speech. In those com-
munities where language has been formalised into a written script, the same
applies. Symbols, such as alphabet letters, raised dots, hand gestures or pictograms,
are combined according to grammatical rules, to create meaning in a written or
visual form. The Roman alphabet as learnt at school in many countries all over the
world consists of a mere 26 letters. Yet grouped together or broken down into the
correct combination with spaces in the appropriate places, an infinite number of
words and sentences are created which can be read or uttered – anything from an
SMS to a fairy tale.
Language is also creative in the sense that, although we may only know x number
of words, we are able to combine them into many different, meaningful utterances.
No one learnt every single sentence from his/her caregivers as a child. One learnt
sounds and words, and instinctively learnt how to put them altogether according to
the rules of one’s native language. One does not plan the sentences one is going to
say each time one speaks to someone? Our utterances are spontaneous expressions
of a combination of words. We are being creative when we change the ordinary The
birds sang and turn it into The tiny birds twittered excitedly. Or when we use different
greetings depending on who the person is we come across: Hoezit! Hi! Good morning!
Yes, tjommie! Hello! We turn statements into questions or negatives; we lengthen sen-
tences by adding clauses. The possibilities for expressing ourselves with the limited
number of words we know are limitless. As long as we work with words precisely and
sensibly, others who know the language should be able to understand and commu-
nicate with us in a meaningful way.
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

1.2.2 Language is a shared code

Think of spy stories: the good guys find a note written by the bad guys but it has
been written in code. In order for them to know what the bad guys are planning,
they have to decipher or crack the code. So until they have figured out what each
symbol or letter or numeral means, they will not understand the message that was
written in code. Any system of symbols that is used to convey meaning between
2
members of a speech community can be referred to as a code. So in order to under-
stand someone from outside one’s community, one would need to know their
“code”, i.e. be able to recognise the sounds or written symbols of their language.
The word “code” usually refers to the spoken and written form of a language, but

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

may include, for example, Sign Language and Braille – codes used by persons with
hearing or sight impairments. The symbols used in mathematics, sciences or a

are able to read and interpret such symbols, for example §, Ω, €, ≤, ¼, , °C, 么, ,
music score are also considered a code as they have meaning for those persons who
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•. If one is able to speak and understand several codes (languages), one would be
referred to as being multilingual.

1.2.3 Language is a social tool

In the previous section we referred to language as being a shared code. By implica-
tion, this means that as humans we have the need to interact with other humans to
exchange information or share our feelings and ideas. We use language in a variety
of modes when we interact with other humans. We speak, we listen, we write, we
draw or read. We stand closer to someone or further away. We communicate using
gestures, facial expressions and other body language signals. We even communicate
something with the brand names and designer labels we so proudly display! This
sharing of meaning in verbal and non-verbal ways is the human species’ unique
means of manifesting what they are thinking or wanting others to think. This inter-
action consists of the encoding, transmitting and decoding of messages and is an
active process in which both the sender and receiver needs to take responsibility for
making meaning.
As early as the 4th century BC, the Chinese philosopher Confucius, as well as his
Greek and Roman counterparts Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and other intellectuals,
were already formulating ideas about human communication and its importance as
a social skill. The essence of human communication, regardless of the size of the
audience, is interpersonal engagement. The communication process is on-going,
initiated by a sender and responded to when the receiver gives feedback in some
manner. This repetitive communicative action, broadly speaking, never ceases but
can be divided into various episodes and takes diverse forms, e.g. verbal and non-
verbal communication. Anything that impedes communication has been labelled as
noise. This does not only refer to actual sounds such as dogs barking, weed-eaters
whining or jet planes flying overhead, which could be distracting or may distort the
message, but also includes the aspect of semantic noise, i.e. not comprehending the
verbal code being used or even not having sufficient proficiency in that code. The
term “noise” includes sensory or external impressions as well as psychological or
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

internal noise. Whether it is a stuffy or cold classroom or whether a learner is dis-

tressed or hungry, such noise negatively influences communication and thus leads
to poor understanding (Cleary, 2003; Louw et al., 2003; Erasmus-Kritizinger,
Bowler & Goliath, 2001; Steinberg, 1995; Van Staden, Marx & Erasmus-Kritizinger,
2007).
Some cultures use words to describe a young child merely as a “thing” until it has
3
learnt to talk. This suggests that one becomes a member of a community only once
one has acquired the ability to express one’s needs and desires in speech. Further-
more, it is generally considered atypical for people to speak to themselves –
strengthening the view that language is a social tool.

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1.3 IS LANGUAGE EXCLUSIVE TO HUMANS?

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Although many children’s stories, cartoon shows and comic strips have animal char-
acters that talk, language expressed primarily in speech is a unique human feature.
All creatures possess a system of signalling to convey certain messages, e.g. mating
or warning calls. A particular sound may suggest hunger, pain, fear or cold.
Bees perform complex dances to communicate the location of nectar. Ants seem
to convey messages to almost every other ant they meet. Birds chirp. Dolphins and
other marine creatures have intricate systems of communication. Monkeys gibber
and elephants trumpet. Yet none of these whines, whistles, burps or silent greetings
constitute language. Human language is more than a signalling system as we use
language for a variety of purposes. We also have a predisposition to acquire any lan-
guage, and language as used by us has many identifiable characteristics that systems
used by other creatures do not share. Drawing on the research of several linguists
(Barber, 1972; Crystal, 2010; Owens, 2012; Yule, 2006) we now look at what makes
language as we know it, so peculiar and exclusive to the human species.

Human language
• is infinite. Creatures cannot say things in more than one way. Nor can they relay
messages that fall outside their fixed frame of reference. The repertoire of sig-
nals that creatures have is limited to that which the species has used for aeons.
Human languages have a finite set of rules but combined in the appropriate way
we can produce an infinite number of utterances that all have meaning.
• is creative yet organised. Any language can be broken up into units that are
ordered, reordered, or combined into numerous patterns that have meaning. At
a micro level we can analyse morphemes and affixes; at a macro level we can
write poems, plays, novels and screen scripts.
• allows for displacement. Creatures have no sense of the past or future. Their
communication is thus not time-related. A dog cannot remind its owner that she
has not given him a bone this month. Humans talk about things not present in
the immediate environment, such as a friend who has emigrated or abstract mat-
ters like cowardice, or angels.
• is culturally transmitted. Creatures all make the same hereditary sounds associat-
ed with their particular species very soon after birth, but none of these sounds
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

develop further to become more complicated speech. Human babies acquire a

language from those who speak to them. So, regardless of what physical features
a baby may have, it will learn to speak the language of those who speak to it the
most often, e.g. an abandoned baby found on the trash heaps of the Witwaters-
rand may be adopted by Swedish parents and will learn to speak Swedish effort-
lessly. So too, may a Chinese newborn learn to speak Xhosa or Afrikaans.
4 • is produced by intricate and specially designed speech-producing structures that
are very different from the breathing systems of other creatures.
• depends on sufficient and appropriate input. Babies all make the same sounds
for the first few months of their lives. That is why a mother does not necessarily

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

discover any hearing impairment in her child immediately. Only later it becomes
evident that there is no typical language development. Children who have grown
up in isolation or without sufficient human language input tend to be inarticu-
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late and can only mimic the sounds they have been exposed to, e.g. feral chil-
dren. If animals had the capacity for acquiring language, then why does a cat still
just meow?
• involves complex mental processes. Creatures react on instinct. They have no
cognitive ability to plan their lives or set goals or take charge of their circum-
stances. Their calls and squeaks are not articulate and are generally stimulus-
bound. When it appears as if parrots or monkeys or even whales are responding
to human speech it is, in fact, merely a conditioned response to some stimulus,
followed by a reward of some sort, and the creature has no comprehension of
what it is “saying”.
• is collaborative. This means humans need other humans to speak to so that we
can share our ideals, express an opinion or shock someone with our thoughts.
We even need another person to lie to. We usually use language publically, i.e.
with others. We may pray or worship in private but our assumption is that the
deity we are speaking to understands us and will respond accordingly. We may
believe that our pets understand us but they are reacting to our hand signal or
tone of voice. It is only members of the human species who – if they share the
same language – are able to interact meaningfully with each other.
• has a highly complex grammar system regardless of what the language is. Crea-
tures do not have ways of indicating degrees of comparison, negatives, reported
speech, adjectives or passive voice in any of their communication systems.
• can be codified into other forms, such as writing, pictograms, music, tables, dia-
grams, or numbers. Animals have no way of capturing their “speech” or sig-
nalling systems in another form; they cannot write or draw meaningfully.
• is dynamic. That implies that it is ever-changing, evolving and growing. English
has originated from Indo-European, just like Latin, with strong influences from
French, and today, certainly sounds very different to the English which Shake-
speare spoke. Who still knows what a seven single is? Or a Hula Hoop™? Think of
some of the words we use now that our parents do not understand. Just think of
how many new words the information age of the 21st century has given us.
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

And if some people are still not convinced that language is exclusive to humans –
then why would there be so many bi-/multilingual people, yet no one has ever met
an elephant that speaks “monkey”?

In conclusion, a few additional considerations related to language matters: the

brain is divided into two cognitively functioning hemispheres, the left hemisphere
5
and the right hemisphere. Each hemisphere deals with information differently. The
left side of the brain controls the rational, analytic and logical functions, while the
right side of the brain houses the intuitive, emotional and creative functions. The
left hemisphere of our brains is associated with the functions of language produc-

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Left hemisphere Right hemisphere

Corpus callosum

tion and any damage to that part of the brain results in some form of language loss
or dysfunction.
It is also interesting to note that the ability to hear sound is not a prerequisite for
learning a language. Read the story of Helen Keller who was both deaf and blind,
or speak to a parent who has a child with a severe hearing or visual impairment.
Such children can learn to sign or read Braille in the same stages and with the same
ease as hearing and sighted children acquire their spoken language. This suggests
that all languages have common, universal properties. All languages comprise com-
plex and highly developed systems; thus no single language can be classed as inferi-
or or superior to another. At times in our world history some languages were more
useful or carried more prestige than others, e.g. Latin, or English today, but this
has nothing to do with the inherent properties of the language, rather with eco-
nomic or political issues of the day. So, as we have argued in the preceding section,
if language is an exclusively human trait, what was the first language spoken by the
first humans and why are there now so many languages?

1.4 WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE?

Unlike other disciplines which can support their numerous claims with scientific
argument or evidence such as artefacts, fossils, or cave drawings, there are no man-
uscripts or recordings documenting the earliest human speech. We can thus – like
generations before us – merely speculate about the origin of language. Such theo-
Copyright @ 2015. Van Schaik Publishers.

ries necessarily give rise to much debate among the thinkers of the day. During the
19th century, the arguing about how language originated became so fierce that in
1886 the Linguistic Society of Paris banned any further discussion on the topic
(Crystal, 2010).
Many fables and religious writings try to explain how language came into being.
We ask what language Adam and Eve spoke to each other. And could they have
6
named the animals in Paradise without language? The Babylonians declared Nabu
the giver of language, while an Egyptian myth tells of Thoth as the creator of
speech and writing. Hindu tradition claims that the goddess Sarasvati, wife of Brah-
ma – creator of the universe – gave humans speech. Such theories are classed as

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

divine source theories (Yule, 2006). Linked to this school of thought is the monogenet-
ic theory which explains the reason for so many different languages spoken world-
wide. The story of the building of a tower in Babel and the confusion caused by the
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divine powers who were displeased, is well-known in many cultures (Crystal, 2010).
Many other theories exist. Some suggest that, as humans evolved and no longer
needed their arms to swing and jump from branch to branch, an elaborate gestur-
ing system evolved as part of their early communication. But because one could not
use gestures in the dark or while carrying a weapon or tool or while trying to negoti-
ate one’s way through jungle undergrowth, humans discovered their voices as
means of communicating. Some speculate that as ancient humans discovered how
to use tools, they figured out how to store food and therefore did not have to spend
so much time hunting and gathering. There were thus longer periods between
meals and thus more time to put their mouths to other uses. Some believe that peo-
ple imitated sounds they heard in their natural environment, especially animal
calls, which then developed into speech. They used the sounds they heard to name
the object which made it. Others speculate that people made instinctive sounds
caused by pain/disgust/anger or emotional pleasure. The yo-he-ho theory claims
that as people worked together, their physical efforts produced communal, rhyth-
mical grunts and groans. These sounds they made as they toiled or hunted in the
jungles came to have meaning among themselves and developed into chants and
eventually language (Barber, 1972). Think of some of the songs labourers or min-
ers sing, e.g. Shosholoza.
The physical adaptation theory claims that the physical features that humans pos-
sess, i.e. walking upright on two feet, a particular system for inhaling and exhaling
air, as well as our unique facial muscles, tongue, teeth, lips and mouth shape, make
speech possible. Humans breathe, chew, and swallow differently to other primates
that generally have long, thin tongues, a higher larynx, no pharynx and a distinctly
different vocal tract. These physical differences thus do not allow them to produce
speech (Yule 2006).
A theory which holds currency is the innateness hypothesis or the genetic source theo-
ry. This theorem postulates that human speech came about as a result of genetic
capacity – a language gene that only humans have in their DNA.
As far back as the 7th century BC, kings and emperors were trying to establish
how language originated or what the first language was. Many “research” experi-
ments – which would be considered highly unethical in today’s academic world –
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were performed. Newborns were given foster mothers who were instructed only to
care for them and not to speak to them at all. The babies were monitored closely
with the view to discovering what language they would produce when they first
spoke. James IV of Scotland (1473–1513) took a woman who was mute and left two
children in her care. The aim was also to discover what language the children
would speak if they had never heard any language. Similar experiments were done
7
with babies who were placed among goats, completely isolated from any human lin-
guistic input (Crystal, 2010).
Readers may recall the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who allegedly
were cared for by a she-wolf. Tarzan and Mowgli are fictitious boy-child characters

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who also grew up with wild animals as their only companions. Since time immemo-
rial, there have been reports about humans being found living with animals and
behaving and sounding like them. Such children who have grown up in the wild,
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isolated from any human contact, are called feral children. They usually had been
abandoned by their parents for some reason. The earliest recorded case of such a
child dates back to 1344 in Germany. Other cases that raised much interest were
Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron (1798), who grew up in a forest on his own and had
never learnt to speak; Kamala and Amala (1920) were looked after by wolves in
Bengal; and more recently in 1973, John, the ape boy of Burundi, was found walk-
ing on all fours and making ape-like movements when confronted. In 2000, a young
wild boy was found wandering in the hills of KwaZulu-Natal.
The discovery of what is termed “attic children” regularly shocks the world.
These children are abused and deprived in several ways by unfit adults. They are
usually kept hidden in small, dark places such cupboards, holes in the ground or
even chicken coups or barns. Some indirect evidence regarding inadequate lan-
guage acquisition exists from the research done by observing children who have
grown up with insufficient human language input or persons with speech defects.
So finally, researchers are still not in agreement about the origin of human lan-
guage. They have, however, over the generations systematically identified similari-
ties and differences between various languages and established commonalities. This
has helped them show the relationship between languages and how they can be
grouped into language families. For example, French, Spanish and Italian belong
to the Romance language family and have evolved from Latin as an original source.
Today there is sufficient evidence to support the supposition that a parent language
once existed: Proto-Indo-European. It is thought that this language already existed
before 3000 BC. Languages belonging to this family have been spoken throughout
Europe and many parts of southern Asia for many centuries. Both English and
Afrikaans have Germanic roots and would fall into the Indo-European language
family, while the other nine official South African languages belong to the Bantu
language family.
For more detail on the theories described in this section, read up on the work of
Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist.

1.5 THE LANGUAGE LABEL DEBATE

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When discussing language development, we need to distinguish among various

labels used to describe the very first language a child masters. This language is gen-
erally passed down from one generation to another and is commonly used in the
closer community in which the child will grow up. Furthermore, there is also gener-
ally a strong ethno-linguistic identity and cultural heritage linked to this language.
8
An interesting debate has arisen during the past years as to the term used for the
language a child is first exposed to. What would be an appropriate label? First lan-
guage? Or does this imply that a second language is inferior? What about native lan-
guage? Would some people be offended by this label? Is the term “mother tongue”

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

sexist? Why exclude the father’s role in language development? To be technically
correct, we should in fact use the label, “caregiver language”, as often it is not the
parents who are providing the bulk of the linguistic input. In homes where two lan-
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guages are spoken, a child is exposed to two codes. One parent may use a particular
language while the other uses another. This means the child ought to acquire both
languages simultaneously. So what do we call each language?
Most linguists use the label “first language”, and “second language”, suggesting
the sequence in which languages are learnt. A first language implies the language
to which a child was exposed to most frequently during the first two years of his or
her life. A second language is any language that is learnt after the first one has been
mastered fully. In a multilingual society such as South Africa, we are aware that
many young children are exposed to more than one language at a time and thus
the term “additional language” is more appropriate. A foreign language is consid-
ered one that hales from outside the borders of a particular country, e.g. Cantonese
is not understood or used widely in South Africa.

1.6 FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

It is amazing how children start speaking the language they are first exposed to.
Language and language acquisition are phenomena that have intrigued philoso-
phers, theorists, linguists, psychologists, parents and teachers for centuries. Plato
and Aristotle pondered on how children, early in life, could actually possess knowl-
edge of language despite their very limited experience. The theories about how lan-
guage is acquired are complex and controversial. Over the generations, many inter-
esting studies and experiments have been done on how human beings learn or
acquire a language, and the following are some interesting observations:
• Language acquisition cannot take place in isolation. Language is about commu-
nication, and the richer the input from the environment in which the young
child interacts, the greater will be his or her communicative competence.
• Children learn to construct and produce unique utterances each time they
speak. They also understand sentences they have never heard before.
• Words are stored in the brain in a jumbled fashion but are strung together
coherently in sentences.
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• Children learn the social use of language appropriate to their culture, e.g. taboo
words, greetings, and polite forms.
• Language rules are never taught. Children seem to be equipped with a perfect
theory of language that matures over a period of time.
• It is virtually impossible for deaf children to learn to speak naturally. 9
• At each age, children can understand much more than they can say.
• Language and thought are intertwined.
• All languages involve the production of vowels and consonants.

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• Being able to speak one language seems to provide the foundation for learning
additional languages.
• The way in which additional languages are learnt differs significantly from the
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way a first language is acquired.

• There is a critical period for acquisition (Lenneberg’s hypothesis – see Crystal,
2010: 273).

The word “acquire” is used specifically when referring to the way in which someone
“picks up” the language naturally, without any formal instruction. This usually hap-
pens at a young age and in a social context. Leonard Bloomfield, an American lin-
guist, summarised the acquisition of language as “doubtless{ly} the greatest intellec-
tual feat any one of us is ever required to perform” (Bloomfield, 1933: 29). So, do
children learn to speak by imitating the sounds they hear? Or do they acquire the
language because they hear the same sounds so often? Have babies born to Zulu-
speaking parents simply inherited the ability to speak Zulu? Theories of language
acquisition include the behaviourist, the nativist and the cognitivist theory (Crystal,
2010; Landsberg et al., 2011).

1.6.1 Behaviourist theory

According to the behaviourist theory, all learning, including learning a language,
results from positive reinforcement of desirable behaviour and non-reinforcement
of what is not wanted. Thus, a babbling infant is rewarded for making certain
sounds rather than others. Those around the child respond positively when he or
she produces an utterance close to something recognisable in the home language.
The stimuli and reinforcement provided encourage children to make the effort,
and to experiment, until they master the system necessary to function successfully
in their environment.
The behaviourist theory treats language learning as imitation and repetition
guided by external events.

1.6.2 Nativist theory

The innateness hypothesis of Noam Chomsky (1986), an influential linguist of
recent times, posits that humans are genetically predisposed to acquire language
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naturally, without instruction. This theory claims that all humans are born with a set
of rules about language in their heads called “Universal Grammar”. This specific
ability for acquiring language (also referred to as the language acquisition device
(LAD)) is activated by the language environment of the newborn. Many nativists
also currently emphasise the interaction between the child and adults. Adults do
everything possible to help the child understand how sounds relate to meanings
10
and how to construct and organise utterances. The nature of this interaction is not
merely verbal as facial expressions and touching are also involved. The greater and
richer the language input from those who interact with the baby, the faster lan-
guage develops.

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

1.6.3 Cognitivist theory

This theory links language acquisition to the cognitive processes of thinking. It
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emphasises the development of basic thought structures prior to the development

of corresponding linguistic structures, implying that thought is at least initially
independent of language. For the cognitive theorist, it is no coincidence that chil-
dren’s first words and first steps occur around 12 months. To these theorists, lan-
guage and mobility are closely linked because being able to crawl and eventually
walk independently allows toddlers to explore and thus gain a greater understand-
ing of their environment. They now require new words to map onto the new discov-
eries they make and so their language development is ensured. By implication,
young children cannot voice concepts that are totally unknown to them. They learn
about the world first, and then map language onto their prior experience, e.g. a
toddler sees a candle flame. She knows that it moves, is a bright orange, painfully
hot and can be blown out. She must first experience all this before she can map the
word “candle” onto the concept of a long, thin piece of wax with a wick. The work
of Vygotsky deals with the concept of inner speech and the relationship between
language and thought.

1.7 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT STAGES

All mentally-able children without hearing impairments master the grammatical sys-
tem of their first language before they go to school, which means that they are able
to communicate and understand what is being conveyed to them. They can respond
to requests and are also able to communicate their needs and desires as well as take
part in conversation. This gradual development of language ability suggests that chil-
dren acquire language in stages. According to Bloom, a 20th century educationist,
language acquisition begins at birth, if not in the womb, and children only a few days
old can recognise the sounds of their parent language, distinguishing them from
sounds of another language. Language development generally corresponds univer-
sally to a particular age although there are great individual variations.
When we discuss early language development, we distinguish between receptive
skills (the ability to understand sounds and words) and expressive skills (the ability
to use speech and gestures to communicate meaning). Receptive language skills
develop first. Expressive skills start developing soon after birth. Speech progresses
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from isolated sounds to simple words. The speed with which language develops in a
young child is dependent on the input provided by other speaking persons in its
environment. Babies respond to words and sounds produced by people who inter-
act with them; not merely to any sound they hear. Let’s take a simplistic look at the
three stages into which language acquisition is divided:
11
1.7.1 Prelinguistic communication – in utero to 12 months
Another human wonder is that language development starts in the womb. A foe-
tus’s ears begin to form at ± 8 weeks. By week 18, the bones of the inner ear and the

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

nerve endings from the brain have developed sufficiently for the unborn baby to
hear sounds such as its mother’s heartbeat and blood moving through the umbili-
cal cord. At ± 24 weeks, the ears are structurally complete and the foetus can hear
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external noises, and recognise voices. It may even be startled by a door slamming or
a loud hooter! This suggests that, while still in the womb, an unborn baby begins
picking up elements of what will be its first language. When the newborn cries at
birth, it is starting the developmental process which will strengthen all the vocal
organs required to produce speech. As MacNeilage (1998) points out, the act of
chewing, licking and sucking are all behaviours commonly performed by mammals
that have obvious similarities with speech, and are said to be the experimental
stages of speech production. The squeals, gurgles and other reflexive sounds made
in the first few months of a baby’s life are classed as cooing. At this stage babies dis-
criminate sounds based on their intensity, duration and frequency. The babbling
stage occurs between 6 and 12 months and consists of a jumble of almost unlimited
sounds with plenty of repetition, until the baby is able to eliminate those not often
used around it. They then vocalise those sounds belonging to a particular language.
At 8 months, intonation patterns are evident, e.g. questioning or exclamation. A
baby can also recognise its own name and understand “No!” by then. At 12 months,
babies start using sounds in a functional manner, showing their developing social
and emotional awareness. This is called the holophrastic stage – a stage when a baby
can utter single words such as “mamma” or any word starting with a consonant fol-
lowed by a vowel.

1.7.2 Proto-linguistic development – 12 to 20 months

This is also known as the walk-talk stage. In this stage, babies move from vocalisation
in unison with adults to imitation of adult sounds to echoing what adults have said.
They know and can produce about 30 words and react to simple sentences, e.g.
“Show me your eyes”. From 18 to 20 months babies enter the telegraphic phase in
which they produce two-/three-word utterances to communicate complex
thoughts. There is usually a rapid increase in the child’s vocabulary, and although
not grammatically correct, these utterances have meaning.

1.7.3 Linguistic development – 2 to 7 years

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Children first acquire receptive language before they start using expressive lan-
guage. First they hear and listen, and then they start speaking. In most South
African schools they are taught to read and write simultaneously. If a child has
received sufficient and appropriate input, it is expected that by the time he starts
attending school he has the necessary language skills to start a scholastic career.
12

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

At 2:
A toddler has ± 200–300 words and understands that names represent things. At
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first toddlers use nouns, and then verbs and later adjectives. Soon they are able to
use language creatively and form sentences of varying length. They are able to cor-
rectly pronounce all vowels (a, e, i, o, u).

At 3:
At this age, children typically have a vocabulary of 800–1000 words, the past tense
verb appears and the child is able to start using questions and negative forms. More
adjectives, adverbs and pronouns are used and prepositions are introduced.

At 4:
Young children are now able to use full sentences and can share a connected
account of some recent experience e.g. what happened when another child fell off
the swing. They can successfully carry out a sequence of instructions and their lan-
guage becomes more abstract as they master more grammar rules. They know
about 1200–2500 words.

At 5:
A child can now hold conversations with others. They can be understood success-
fully although at times their thoughts forge ahead of their words and they may
appear to stutter. They can produce a sentence of between six and eight words and
there is progressive refinement and sensitivity towards the social function of lan-
guage. The child has a basic understanding of grammar.

At 6:
At this age children ought to have mastered the sounds and structures that are
characteristic of the language(s) that they have heard most often. They understand
about 6000 words and know 3000 words and probably add about 1000 words every
year thereafter. Language is initially used to satisfy egocentric, self-expressive pur-
poses, e.g. “Give me, I want ...”, later gaining a social function, e.g. “Will you play
with me?” Finally children learn that there is a symbolical relationship between the
physical world and the words they know.

At 7:
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By now many children would be on their way to school. They have gained a large
listening and speaking vocabulary and can produce complex sentences. They have
begun to master reading and writing (written code). After the age of seven, howev-
er, language acquisition becomes more difficult for various reasons, one of which is
increased self-awareness.

13

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

So what do native speakers know about their language once they have acquired it?
A first language speaker will know (without knowing that he or she knows!) how to
combine sounds into recognisable, meaningful words in that particular language,
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i.e. how to pronounce the words correctly. He or she will also use stress and intona-
tion patterns accurately. This is called the phonology of a language. A speaker will
also know the meaning of words and word combinations, have a sizable vocabulary
and understand idiomatic usage. This aspect is called semantics. Knowledge of syntax
refers to the grammatical rules that govern a particular language, especially the
construction of sentences. The speaker will be able to change sentences into ques-
tions or negatives correctly. For example, a child speaking Afrikaans will know to
use a double negative (nie ... nie). They will also know what function a word has, e.g.
what a noun or preposition or adjective can do. The practical side of linguistic
interaction between people is called pragmatics. Here a first language speaker will
know how to take turns, when to interrupt, what gestures are permitted, what tone
of voice suggests politeness or annoyance, how loudly he or she may speak in cer-
tain contexts and what is appropriate, e.g. that it is polite to address an adult or
stranger as “u” in Afrikaans. A final intangible knowing relates to the cultural heritage
that a child acquires from being exposed to a particular language. Here we refer to
the many nursery rhymes, chants, dances, songs, and stories that the child has expe-
rienced and which may help define his or her identity.

1.8 LANGUAGE FOR LEARNING

Cummins (1980) makes an important distinction between language children use

for personal and social purposes and a special kind of language proficiency that
learners need in order to perform school learning tasks.

1.8.1 Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

BICS are language skills needed for social interactions, i.e. tasks not directly related
to learning academic content. The language required is not specialised and is used
in context-rich environments. It is not cognitively demanding and is commonly
considered “everyday language” used in meaningful, social encounters. Examples
of situations requiring BICS to varying degrees are face-to-face conversations, fol-
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lowing oral or written directions, laughing at jokes, informal interactions, transac-

tions in a shop, telephone conversations, writing short notes or reading a newspa-
per.
BICS are acquired readily through daily living in both the primary and addition-
al languages, although not all contexts are equally rich. Situations that are context-
rich are embedded by interpersonal cues such as gestures, facial expressions and
14
intonation or other paralinguistic features, thereby facilitating understanding and
effective communication. Depending on the frequency of exposure to the domi-
nant language and the quality of the input, it can take from six months to two years
to develop conversational fluency and other BICS skills in another language.

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

1.8.2 Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)

CALP is a sophisticated, cognitively demanding language proficiency developed in
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formal academic settings, where demonstrations, calculations, explanations and

experimentation all form part of the content being taught. This language proficiency
is very different to that heard on the playgrounds, at taxi ranks, or even in the media.
Academic language acquisition does not merely imply an understanding of the
content area vocabulary but includes skills such as comparing, classifying, synthesiz-
ing, evaluating and inferring. Academic language tasks are generally context
reduced.
The ability to carry out such tasks successfully is a requirement to perform well in
learning tasks, especially those that have to be solved independently without help
from the context. Examples of situations requiring CALP to varying degrees: writing
exams (especially standardised tests), listening to a teacher’s explanation (especially
where little visual support material is used), taking notes or summarising academic
texts, reading academic journals, or processing technical jargon and concepts.
Other classroom activities include role-play, problem solving, reaching consensus,
the completion of information gaps; group work; taking down a telephonic message;
any task that learners will encounter outside the classroom), prepared speeches and
projects, discussion groups; taking notes during a lecture; extended higher-order
discourse; defining words/concepts.
The ability to put knowledge into words in an ordered way and elaborate on con-
cepts is required even in the early years of schooling. The development of CALP
becomes more problematic when the language of instruction is not the language a
learner has mastered fully, e.g. English in many urban schools in South Africa. Not
only does the English need to be processed but new ideas and concepts are simulta-
neously presented, often for the first time. Even trying to understand the numeracy
concept “addition” or the spatial relationship of “up” or “under” in the Foundation
Phase may prove challenging. Research (Cummins, 1980) has found that if a child
has no prior schooling or has no support in native language development, it may
take seven to ten years for English language learners to develop fully in the language
of instruction. Learners generally need support to become proficient and peer-
equivalent to their English-speaking peers. Specific kinds of tests are required to
measure CALP. Failure to recognise the difference between BICS and CALP devel-
opment and to offer appropriate support could result in learners showing below
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average levels of academic performance and becoming demotivated. Cummins also

theorised that there is a common underlying proficiency (CUP) between two lan-
guages. This means that if there is a solid first language foundation, skills and con-
cepts learnt in the first language are transferred more successfully to the second lan-
guage.

15
1.9 LEARNING ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES

Young children often acquire other languages informally too, from playmates or
caregivers. Some children have parents or relatives who speak to them in a different

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

language to the one they hear every day. Later, once their world is extended
beyond the home and especially when they start attending school, they start to
learn another language formally. The current South African curriculum mandates
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learning more than one language. One generally learns rather than acquires a sec-
ond language because the context like a school classroom is formal and structured.
Usually only one person (teacher) provides input, practice and correction (feed-
back). The language is generally being taught for a specific purpose beyond the
classroom. Because it is often compulsory to learn another language, motivation
may not be high and affective factors will influence learning negatively. On the
other hand, someone may take a conscious decision to learn an additional lan-
guage and be highly motivated and thus take serious steps to progress. Learning a
language in order to achieve a high level of proficiency requires intensive training
or many years of dedication. So why do some persons wish to learn another lan-
guage? They may have moved to another country or community and may require it
for social or career purposes. Some persons learn another language as part of their
religious practices, e.g. Arabic or Hebrew. Some persons try to maintain a heritage
language for ideological or patriotic reasons.
There are several factors that influence the success with which someone learns a
language (Van der Walt et al., 2009). Firstly, a learner who wants to become part of
a community or needs the language in order to get a (better) job would be highly
motivated to spend a great deal of time learning and practising the target language.
Personality also seems to play a role in the speed and ease with which someone
learns another language. Shy, nervous learners are not keen to engage with others,
while relaxed, outgoing personality types initiate conversations and do not mind
being corrected. Aptitude and learning styles also seem to be factors which facilitate
language learning. The age at which one starts to learn another language has a sig-
nificant effect on the ease with which a language is learnt. Lenneberg’s critical age
hypothesis claims that around puberty the brain has lateralised to such an extent
that it is more difficult to learn another language (Crystal, 2010: 273). It is there-
fore common to hear teachers and parents suggesting that additional languages be
learnt as early as possible. A language that is closer in distance in terms of linguistic
relatedness to the home language will be learnt more readily. For example, a
Tswana speaker will learn Northern Sotho more readily. If there are shared struc-
tures or vocabulary, e.g. between Tswana and Northern Sotho, it is easier to learn it.
Xhosa and Japanese do not belong to the same language family and there are no
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similarities in pronunciation, words or even written text. The status that a language
has in a particular community will influence the learner’s desire to be able to speak
it fluently. English is currently one of the global languages with prestige, especially
in the business and academic worlds. Several external factors all play a role in how
well and easily a person can master the new language. For example, can the learner
pay for extra lessons? How much exposure is there to the target language in the
16
learner’s world? It is very difficult to learn Mandarin if one never hears or sees it.
How many hours per day can be spent studying the language? And finally, are the
teaching methods effective and is the teacher well-qualified to help and guide the
learner?

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

There are many different methods or approaches to learning a language at an
early age, but there is no single best method. Any method that focuses on listening
and speaking in authentic situations and allows for enjoyment should be encour-
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aged, e.g. methods where mimes, songs, dances, storytelling with pictures or pup-
pets are used. No grammar rules should be taught until much later in the child’s
academic programme. The Total Physical Response method is an appropriate one
for the Foundation Phase learner: language items are presented in the target lan-
guage as orders, commands and instructions which require a physical response
from the learner, e.g. the Simon says game. The Grammar Translation method is
not suitable as it requires a high level of sophisticated grammatical knowledge in
two languages – something young learners will not yet have reached. Some teachers
believe that one should only use the target language (immersion), while others con-
sider the Whole Language approach to be suitable.

1.10 BI- AND MULTILINGUALISM

South Africa is a country rich in cultural diversity, with many groups speaking differ-
ent languages. Some of these languages are indigenous and belong to the same lan-
guage family because they have similar language systems. On the other hand, some
originated in Europe, India and in the Middle East and were brought to South
Africa over the centuries by immigrant settlers. Then, in addition to the eleven offi-
cial languages, we still have minority groups using their mother tongue (Greek, Por-
tuguese, German, Chinese, and even French speakers from other parts of Africa).
Several foreign languages are spoken on our mines and in the larger industrial cen-
tres. These have helped create a multilingual and multicultural society. The most
recent census figures (Census 2011) (Stats SA, 2012) indicate that only 9.6% of the
entire population speaks English as a first language, while IsiZulu accounts for
22.7% speakers, followed by IsiXhosa (16.0%), Afrikaans (13.5%), Sepedi (9.1%),
Setswana (8.0%) and Sesotho (7.6%), with the other languages having about 7.5%
speakers altogether. Although South Africa is not unique with regard to the diversity
of languages spoken within its borders, it is unique because its linguistic diversity is
entrenched in the Constitution. By declaring eleven languages as official languages,
the language rights of South Africans are protected by law.
Most South African learners speak at least two languages. This ability is called
bilingualism. Some would be called simultaneous bilinguals having learnt two lan-
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guages from different sources at exactly the same time, while most would be called
consecutive bilinguals, having learnt a primary language and then an additional one.
The current language-in-education policies call for an additive bilingual approach in
the classroom. This means that teachers should introduce another language other
than the home language (usually English) alongside the learner’s first language,
which must be maintained and supported. When the language of instruction is 17
intended to replace the learner’s first language it is called subtractive bilingualism.
With regard to education, the Constitution states that any person can insist on being
taught in his or her language of choice, wherever this is feasible. Many schoolgoing
children in South Africa are currently not being instructed in their primary lan-

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

guage. Apart from logistical and financial constraints, other reasons include parental
perceptions of increased economic opportunity in English. The insistence by some
parent communities on English as a medium of instruction has created many aca-
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demic difficulties for bi-/multilingual learners. Few have had a solid grounding in
their primary language and thus merely have BICS. These learners are then enrolled
in schools where they do not have a full understanding of the medium of instruction
and often encounter serious academic hurdles that cannot all be blamed on poor
quality education. What is misleading, however, is that these learners sound fluent
and do not struggle to express themselves since they have developed sufficient BICS
in the language of instruction. They appear to understand everything the teacher
says because receptive skills are the easiest to develop. However, when required to
use the written form to express their thoughts, it is evident that their vocabulary is
limited and their sense of grammatical structure is seriously lacking. Extended writ-
ten passages are generally poorly structured and incoherent. It is thus erroneous to
assume that attaining fluency in spoken English implies the ability to function opti-
mally in an academic environment. A young learner requires a level of mastery in
the language of instruction that will enable him to engage in sophisticated language
functions and to deal with language in abstract, context-reduced forms – a language
through which he is able to study and achieve his potential. However, demonstrating
good social language skills does not presuppose the well-developed language skills
essential for learners to succeed academically.

1.11 WHAT IS LITERACY?

Usually, being literate simply means being able to read and write in at least one lan-
guage which one can speak. This traditional form of literacy is encouraged from an
exceptionally early age in industrialised and technologically advanced communi-
ties.
It is unthinkable in the developed world that children are not taught to read and
write, often even before they officially go to school, as literacy is considered by such
societies to be the key to knowledge, power and economic prosperity of various
kinds.
Illiterate persons, by this view, are generally believed to be unfortunate, unso-
phisticated and unemployable. Yet there are many communities worldwide that
function very successfully using only two literacy skills, namely listening and speak-
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ing. These persons are able to interact socially using an intricate system of oral com-
munication. They ask for things, express their dissatisfaction or fears and are able
to discuss complex and abstract ideas, without having acquired the traditional liter-
acy skills. These communities are, however, not subject to the demands of an ever-
changing environment, especially one in which good academic qualifications are
much sought after. We cannot, however, deny that such communities have other
18
highly refined literacy skills that enable them to cope with their particular environ-
ment. Think of hunter-gatherers reading the clouds or animal tracks while foraging
in the desert sands of the Kalahari or the Inuit being able to stay warm by insulating
their igloos with the appropriate type of snow.

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

In its broader sense, being literate is far more than a cognitive process of learn-
ing to read, write and calculate, i.e. decoding text. It suggests the degree of access
one has to one’s world and to the knowledge required to function in it at an appro-
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priate and expected level. It entails the development of several human abilities to
make sense of the environment in which one must live and interact with all mem-
bers of one’s community. Literacy centred on reading and writing is limiting and
tends to be prescriptive by permitting only standard ways of using language. The
view of literacy used in the plural suggests that there are many different and accept-
able ways of using language. Multiple literacies and multimodal literacies enable us
to express ourselves by various means and media. There are four key concepts relat-
ed to the new literacy skills required by the 21st century learner.

1.11.1 Change
Firstly, the primary reason why there has been a move away from the traditional def-
inition of literacy as the sole form of literacy is change. The world has changed so
rapidly and no longer functions exclusively on language-based literacy. Our chang-
ing world demands different modes of making meaning and especially technologi-
cal advancements shape how we use language and for what to use it. Many different
literacy practices have evolved during the last few decades and the digitised world
of many young learners has become a foreign one to adults. Furthermore, in recent
decades, globalisation and inter-continental migration have enriched many com-
munities on every continent. This has also changed the classroom composition in
terms of cultural and linguistic variables (Farr, Seloni & Song, 2010). In South
Africa, political changes since 1994 have further amplified this increase in class-
room diversity. These new contexts call for new literacies which we need to master
in order to negotiate the changes. The most common types of literacy required
today are:
• Civic literacy
• Critical literacy
• Cultural literacy
• Environmental literacy
• Information literacy
• Media literacy
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• Musical literacy
• Numerical literacy
• Spiritual literacy
• Technological literacy
• Visual literacy
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1.11.2 Context
In the different homes and communities where children live, reading and writing
form part of the social and cultural needs of the adults around them, and these lit-

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LITERACY IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

eracy skills are used in different ways and for different purposes. Children from
rural communities, where the spoken word is used far more than the written word,
may have well-developed storytelling skills because they have many stories told to
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them. They may not grow up in a print-rich world but may have strong oral skills.
Their experience of the written code may be in a language different from the one
they speak every day. If the adults around them do not read or write, they will not
yet understand that reading and writing can involve useful and often enjoyable
activities.
Children from urban environments would have seen people read and write for
different reasons. For instance, families may use a religious text like the Qu’ran or
Bible, read newspapers, type e-mails, write shopping lists, read train timetables,
leaflets, street signs, recipes and other environmental print. Because of their differ-
ent experiences with print, the ways they try to make sense of written language will
vary from child to child. As with learning oral language, it is important that the lit-
eracies taught are those the child will need in order to operate and make sense of
his or her context. The most powerful example of context is what Prensky (2001)
calls the “digital natives”, i.e. the younger generation who engage with electronic
texts more often and with greater ease than with conventional texts. Their parents
and teachers, on the other hand, are classed as “digital immigrants”, as they are less
comfortable and skilled in the new multimodal textual practices currently not
encouraged or acknowledged in the classrooms.

1.11.3 Continuum
No single person can be fully literate in all the various modes. Some will be excep-
tionally skilled in some modes, e.g. a young child who is technologically highly
advanced and can build sophisticated PowerPoint presentations with ease or do
internet searches within minutes. Yet the same child may struggle to read a simple
class reader. (Teachers should think about their own ability to function in the vari-
ous literacies mentioned above.)

Fully literate Semi-literate Illiterate

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1.11.4 Combination
In the same way as reading and writing are closely related, so too various literacies
are used in combination to achieve a particular outcome, e.g. if one is able to read
an investment brochure critically and one is financially literate, one would be able
to judge clearly whether one ought to put one’s savings into that particular hedge
20 fund. One may also decide to first consult one’s financial adviser for advice via
Skype. Being technologically literate will also enable one to securely transfer the
funds online.

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THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT 1

1.12 CONCLUSION
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Research evidence clearly shows that language is the foundation for learning. The
current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document requires
that 10–11 hours per week of Foundation Phase teaching time are dedicated to the
development of language and literacies. It is imperative that teachers have ade-
quate proficiency in the language of learning, so that learners will understand the
content of all subjects and have access to further education and eventually global
participation. There is also an indisputable link between mother tongue instruction
and academic progress. Currently in South Africa, many learners are not taught in
their primary language, for reasons that include the increased economic and career
opportunities provided by English. In many city schools, the medium of instruction
is generally exclusively English or Afrikaans. This has created academic difficulties
for bi-/multilingual learners who have not had a solid grounding in their first lan-
guage A child uses language for more than superficial social interaction. It is thus
vital that teachers and parents realise the importance of providing a solid ground-
ing in the first language as well as developing learners’ cognitive academic lan-
guage proficiency (CALP) fully in the language of learning, if they wish to have
their charges progress academically.
In this chapter we have offered a theoretical overview of what language is and
how it is acquired as a first language. We have made brief reference to bilingualism
and multilingualism by explaining how and why some people learn additional lan-
guages. We trust that the teacher now has a better understanding of why developing
good language and literacy skills is vital for learning and academic success. In the
chapters that follow we look at the practical issues related to language teaching and
how to support young learners in their language development in the Foundation
Phase so that they may become confident learners and competent communicators
in at least two languages, as required by current policy.
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21

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