Literacy ans its implications for mother tongue teaching

Abstract

This article defends the relevance of new literacy approaches to teaching the mother tongue at all school levels. The paper argues against the view that limits the literacy approach to beginning literacy programs, thus creating a false dichotomy: while beginning literacy teachers aim to introduce their students into literate society, mother tongue teachers aim to find the best methods to teach genres to their students. This dichotomy does not take into account the fact that all students, at all levels, are engaged in a continuing, literacy process. The paper presents examples of programs centered around literacy practices in projects and of programs centered upon linguistic and discursive contents, and discusses their respective implications. Finally, the article discusses the implication of the literacy practices approach for teacher education programs.