Literacy, Language and Culture
The Literacy, Language and Culture (LLC) area of emphasis focuses on the cognitive, social and cultural factors that influence first, second and foreign language acquisition and learning. The study of language and literacy is examined in relation to the wider processes of first and other language development that start early in life and develop further throughout the school years and across the life span as people acquire different forms and styles of oral and written language (in one or more languages) for different contexts, practices and purposes. There is a focus on working with community members, educators and policy makers who acknowledge and build on the fact that all children socially acquire rich, unique, and complex verbal abilities. This area of research acknowledges the variation that occurs as people learn new literacy skills at home and in school and work environments. These complexities are examined through the lenses of literacy studies, reading and the language arts, language and culture, English, second language acquisition/foreign language education, and the study of English as a foreign language. Scholarly work in the area of literacy, language, and culture draws on the disciplines of linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, history, and sociology and on fields of study such as reading, literature, writing and composition, discourse and communications studies, digital literacies and technologies, and psycholinguistics.
