Despite the wide distribution of educational institutions and the availability of all kinds of information, the problem of literacy exists in these times.
Definition
Literacy is the level of knowledge and skills in a certain area, as well as the ability to apply them in practice. The degree of mastery of a particular subject determines the level of accessibility of certain information for a person.
Initially, the concept of literacy was used to determine the level of proficiency in reading and writing skills according to the norms of the native language. In the modern world, this concept has acquired a broader meaning and is now used to denote knowledge of a high degree in other areas of activity. There are such concepts as economic, legal, psychological, technological and scientific literacy.
Information Awareness
The level of literacy is one of the most urgent problems in the current educational system. It implies not only the ability to find the necessaryinformation, but also the ability to navigate in an endless information flow, analyze and synthesize the knowledge gained, benefiting and applying it in practice.
In many European secondary and higher education institutions, the education system is different from ours. The main difference lies in teaching students to use the information, and not to take notes and memorize. Of course, the development of memory is no less important. However, according to such an education system, it is important not only to assimilate the material, but also to learn how to independently draw conclusions and conclusions, find alternative solutions, see the relationship between seemingly different subjects of discussion, conduct a discussion, supporting your statements with logical arguments, and so on.
Varieties
Learning research activities include the following types of literacy:
- Reading and writing literacy.
- Possession of information media (computers and other gadgets).
- The ability to benefit from the telecommunications industry.
- Media Literacy.
- Informational.
The last point combines the previous ones and is the key one. In the 21st century, you need to be able to cope with the flow of information and have the ability to quickly find, perceive and transfer knowledge in a particular area.
Computer skills
The term was first coined by Information Industry Association President Paul Zurkowski. This concept can be described asthe ability to use a set of knowledge and computer skills to solve certain problems, plan various actions and anticipate their consequences. Since at the present time information technology is an integral part of society, the ability to use a computer has become no less important than writing and reading skills. This knowledge can significantly speed up the process of finding the necessary information in any field of science, art, culture or technology. Such technologies have greatly facilitated human interaction with a continuous information flow.
Network Literacy
This concept is closely related to the previous point. Communication via the Internet has become an integral part of social activities. This type of communication involves not only communication, but also the cognitive process. In addition to the skills of owning a personal computer and the ability to work with information correctly, it is equally important to develop critical thinking.
Cultural Level
Anyone who has ever been abroad must have noticed that knowledge of a foreign language is often not enough to fully understand the locals. This is due to the cultural and social characteristics of each country. Any language is not just a dry set of lexical units and grammatical rules, but a living system that is constantly evolving through interaction with other cultures. It is impossible to perfectly master a foreign language, knowingly excluding the history, cultural experience and social norms of the country. Formation of literacy in terms ofcultural aspect implies not only familiarity with a wide range of basic knowledge. This is the freedom to use them. Therefore, cultural literacy is a concept that includes not only communication skills according to the rules of a particular language, but also a lot of other knowledge. These are etiquette, the ability to use figurative speech (idioms, metaphors, phraseological units), knowledge of traditions and customs, folklore, moral and moral side and much more.
Psychological Literacy
This area includes all kinds of communication skills: the ability to establish contact, object, criticize, lead a discussion, convince, speak to the public. In general, this includes everything related to issues of relationships and communication skills.
How to improve spelling literacy
There is an opinion that the ability to write correctly is innate. However, contrary to popular belief, the acquisition of this skill is available to everyone. The best way is to start the intellectual development of a child from an early age. Then the cognitive process will take place easily and naturally.
The first educational activity of a child is based on imitation of the speech of others, therefore it is very important to create a favorable environment. Certain speech skills are formed thanks to parents: the ability to correctly place stresses in words, build sentences, find suitable phrases in each case and express themselves intelligibly. Therefore, it is very important to communicate with the child as much as possible, to read fairy tales and poems aloud. A little later, when he learns to read on his own, the correct spelling of words and phrases with repeated repetition will be stored in memory. In addition, there are various intellectual and logic games.
Causes of illiteracy
Compared to the recent past, it has now become much easier to search for any information. Almost everyone has the opportunity to use computer programs that track spelling errors and typos, find all kinds of textbooks, dictionaries and reference books. Nevertheless, the problem of literacy remains relevant to this day.
There are several reasons for the low level of knowledge of the native language:
- No need to read. Books are increasingly being replaced by other entertainment: watching all kinds of TV shows, series, computer games, and so on. And any information can be found on the Internet. This threatens not only with general illiteracy, but also with a decrease in the intellectual level, a deterioration in creative thinking.
- Reading low-quality literature. Over the past decades, more and more entertainment literature has begun to appear, in which, in addition to the lack of useful information, you can find a lot of spelling, grammatical and stylistic errors.
- Communication on the Internet. Slang, abbreviations and careless spelling are common in various chat rooms and forums. This style can become a habit. Unfortunately, for some people, literacy is something they can do without in their daily lives.
Intellectual games and entertainment for children
So that the educational process does not seem burdensome to the child, it is necessary to conduct training in the form of a game:
- Crosswords. Without a doubt, this kind of intellectual entertainment helps to increase vocabulary. In addition to the usual crossword puzzles with lists of verbal tasks, there are those in which the questions are presented in the form of pictures. This game will help the child learn to perceive and transmit information.
- Various word games: matching rhymes, cities, finding a word starting with a certain syllable, and so on.
- Paper games: make as many short words as possible from one long one, "Snake", where each subsequent word begins with the last letter or syllable of the previous one, "Field of Wonders", "Confusion" - a game in which you need to collect the word from mixed cards with letters.
- Board games: "Scrabble" and the Russian version of "Erudite".
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Memorizing the rules in a playful way. Thus, examples of literacy are much easier to remember:
- "not wonderful, not wonderful, but dangerous and terrible: writing the letter t in vain";
- "either, something, something, something - here the hyphen is not forget";
- "I can't bear to get married".
- It is also very useful to develop visual memory. You can offer the child the following exercises: find ten differences between two pictures, show several patterns on a piece of paper, and then ask them to reproduce what they saw from memory.
Older children can already be offered to independently compose crossword puzzles, as well as writing essays, short stories and poems. This will greatly increase the intellectual level of the child, help develop imagination and imaginative thinking.
It is also very important to eliminate possible speech errors in the process of communication: correctly use and combine words and phrases (for example, put on and put on), put stress in words (rings, cakes) and more.
If some words cause difficulties, you can get a personal dictionary to write out difficult lexical units. Then with these words you can conduct small dictations. Another idea is games in the style of "insert missing letter". Repeated repetition will help bring the correct spelling of words to automatism.
Literacy is a skill that can be easily acquired or developed, but should be practiced regularly. Of course, the school will offer a large number of all kinds of exercises in phonetic, morphological and syntactic analysis. Therefore, at home it is undesirable to duplicate such classes. It is best to instill in a child a love of literature, offering him various genres, and conduct the educational process in a playful way. The main thing is that the training takes place at ease.
Meaning of Literature
Raising the level of literacy is one of the important parts of the educational process. Of course, an important role is played by memorization of the rules and norms of the native language with the subsequent consolidation of the material in practice. However, this may not be enough. Those who seek to improve their skills of perception and presentation of thoughts should pay special attention to reading various literature. It is best to give preference to those authors who are fluent in the word and colorfully describe what is happening. Reading good books helps develop eloquence, imaginative thinking, the ability to penetrate the essence of things.
Intuitive Literacy
This concept implies the ability of a person to correctly express thoughts in accordance with the norms of his native language, despite the fact that he does not know the rules. This kind of ability usually develops in people who read a lot. Spelling, punctuation system and stylistic features of the language are deposited in memory. In addition, reading people develop good logical thinking, eloquence and the ability to philosophical reasoning.
The role of literacy in society
Of course, a person who knows how to correctly express his own thoughts, does not suffer from tongue-tied tongue, expresses himself according to the stylistic norms of his native language and writes without errors, is much more likely to get a prestigious education, and then find a good job. General cultural awareness is no less important than professional education.
The importance of literacy cannot be overestimated. This is one of the most important criteria that distinguishes a primitive and uneducated society from a progressive one. According to the UNESCO world organization, a high level of proficiency in oral and written speech plays a keyrole in basic education, the fight against poverty and the sustainable development of society.
