Sociocultural Approaches to Language and Literacy

One of the most crucial areas of education--the acquisition of literacy--is examined here with an effective combination of theory and practice. The sociocultural perspective is illustrated through descriptions of learning by populations usually neglected in treatments of literacy--American Sign Language users second-language speakers and minority students. The book covers a broad range of ages ethnic backgrounds locations and literacy concerns from preschool to law school. Although the populations and literacy issues are diverse the book''s unity is provided by a broadly shared theoretical framework.