Home Literacy & Child Language Development. The Importance of Children's Literature and Poetry

The prerequisites of language acquisition and language development remain disputed in the field of language studies. Most children go from uttering their first words in their first years, to fluent readers and writers of their native language, which usually occurs at school entry. However, it is viewed that language skills begin to develop in children's first years, when the home is the main environment in which they thrive. Therefore, the effects of home literacy activities, such as storybook reading, have been foregrounded in numerous language studies. This essay will give an overview of the discussion. First, theories of child language acquisition and development will be reviewed, An emphasis will be on the socialization perspective, in which it is viewed that children adopt the immediate behaviors of their culture, and therefore the language which is reflected there within. Secondly, home literacy will be introduced and discussed. Home literacy consists of reading activities which are considered as being either formal or informal. Formal literacy experiences are claimed to have more extensive effects on emergent literacy, while informal literacy activities, such as shared book reading have been found to have greater effects on oral language skills. Lastly, classic literature, nursery rhymes, and poetry in English will be looked at in relation to their various characteristics which have been found to positively influence general language skills. According to numerous researches within the field of child language development, exposure to literature and poetry can have a great influence in shaping the child’s language skills, which are further developed when the child reaches school years