Understanding Language and Literacy

Question: Define Visual literacy and its role in childrens language and literacy development. Answer: Visual literature is defined as the fundamental ability to interpret language, decode, understand, create, challenge, question and thus evaluate texts which communicate with visual graphics and words. People who are educated visually are able to understand the meaning and the purpose hidden within the language of the texts or the graphics from their shape, structure and organization(Vasquez, Comer, Troutman, 2010). In the 21st century digitalization is an important factor in day to day life. Due to this the power to acquire knowledge by children has increased which states its importance both in the development of the language and literacy. Benefits of Visual Literacy With the growth of the technology; learning process of the children is no more dependent only on the texts material but extends to the images and prints which are used to boost up the text. The graphics and images form part of visual literacy which plays a very important in the education and learning methodology of the children(Hartley Horne, 2011). Estimating the benefits of visual literacy; the visual texts are referred as the easiest way of presenting the kids with a clear idea of the concept in study. While this is the primary benefit; visual literacy plays a very important role in special education. When children are taught with the help of visual literature, they are made and helped to think way beyond their linguistic abilities. These graphics and images provide equal learning to children coming from diverse cultural background and potential learning abilities. Images also possess the ability to visualize a whole story in brief like a movie being screened while the colors use d in designing these images helps in arousing and directing the emotional ability of the children(Kidwell Hasford, 2014). Describelearning experiences which can be derived from Visual literacy for childrens language and literacy development From the meaning of visual literacy; the learning experiences which one derives from it can be assimilated in brief. Visual literacy helps in decode images or graphics to understand the message in them. It also produces the requisite visual representation by making use of various art elements such as shapes, colors, etc, which are needed for creating a new message to prove their understanding (Spencer Schuweiler, 2012). Moving deeper into the learning experiences which can be derived from visual literacy for childrens language and literacy development; the experiences can be broadly classified into 5 categories. They are namely literal or explicit learning experience, inferential or implicit learning experience, creative experience, critical experience and visual experience(Machin-Mastromatteo, 2014). Literal or explicit learning experience can be defined as the idea which the children get to decode and assimilate from the verbal expression or from the letters of the texts. This refers to the real idea which is meant by the text and is notdependent any way on the figures or the metaphors used alongside the texts. Children read out the text, use their cognitive skill to decode its meaning; understand the words and sentences and derive the true meaning which is meant by the text. Overall meaning says that literal or explicit learning is not influenced by imagination or ideas related to the complete meaning exerted by the texts(Chaffer Swedberg, 2013). Inferential learning experiences refer to teaching students the ability to read in a more strategic way or more inferentially. In this process the children are able to assimilate and develop greater and deeper knowledge by making interpretation of new ideas in the context of the past learning experiences. Children keep on recalling the past learnt knowledge by developing a relation of the same with that being learnt presently for example the new information. Moving further; inferences are termed as the conclusions which one draws keeping into context the already known ideas and information with the topic presently being studied. Such a learning experience helps the students in developing a relation between the experiences they have gained in life with those involved in the context of study. Such type of learning helps the students in understanding the relationship between the characters and draw conclusions from the facts which are represented within the texts thus relating them to t he outer world happenings. Creative experiences are defined as those experiences which help in building up the creative skills of the students. When a student is engaged in the process of visual literacy likereading texts from a story book; they develop their creative learning experience by using their mental ability to design the scene being read out in an imaginative way(Svensson, 2015). This helps them in better understanding the context of the story for example decode the meaning and draw conclusions as well as builds in their confidence in creativity. From the educational learning process visual learning experiences are referred to as sight visits which invest memorable ideas within the children. Hence by giving them through an excellent process which will live among them for a long duration even after they take away their eye from that particular sight (Newsam, Walley, McKie, 2010). The case is similar in the context of children who are specially challenged with problems as eyesight issues. This kind of learning experience drawn from visual literacy invests such an in-depth idea within the childrens mind that they retain even the texture, color, smell, brightness and sound they have visualized or heard of. References Banerjee, R. Luckner, J. (2014). Training Needs of Early Childhood Professionals Who Work With Children and Families Who Are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse. Chaffer, J. Swedberg, K. (2013).Learning jQuery. Birmingham: Packt Publishing. Curriculum document update. (1995).Curriculum Journal,6(2), 265-271. Geddes, J., Murrell, A., Bauguss, J. (2010). Childhood Learning: An Examination of Ability and Attitudes toward School. Hartley, R. Horne, J. (2011). Researching Literacy and Numeracy Costs and Benefits: What is possible. Hayn, J. Kaplan, J. (2012).Teaching young adult literature today. Lanham: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Kidwell, B. Hasford, J. (2014).Emotional Ability and Nonverbal Communication.