Language, Literacy & Play-based Learning (EDUC91049)

This subject investigates how children learn language and literacy, as well as the critical importance of language to children’s emergent literacy and successful learning. The content focuses on typical developmental progression and the evidence-based strategies to build rich language and literacy play-based programs in early childhood settings.

This subject references the Australian/Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Frameworks and Curricula (VEYLDF). Teacher Candidates will be introduced to the VEYLDF Outcome 5: Children are Effective Communicators.

Topics covered in this subject include adult interactions supporting infant communication and language development; family literacy and the home learning environment, including supporting multilingualism in a diverse language background; reading and writing development; evidence play-based pedagogies for language, reading and writing learning. Digital technologies as a tool to support language and literacy learning will be discussed. Indigenous perspectives will be woven into the topics to provide a meaningful approach to their incorporation in the curriculum. Teacher Candidates will be introduced to planning and designing language and literacy-rich learning environments as well as the assessment of language and literacy in the context of children’s learning and development.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, Teacher Candidates should be able to:

• Investigate and analyse the models and theories of language and literacy development and demonstrate knowledge of the typical sequence of emergence of language and literacy skills.
• Explicate the importance of adult interaction in supporting infant communication and language development, including the home learning environment.
• Devise and implement diverse play-based language and literacy curricula that integrate the perspectives of culture, cultural identity, indigeneity, history and linguistic background as part of an early childhood programme.
• Deduce and extrapolate the language, literature, and literacy learning needs of individual children, provide timely and appropriate feedback about their learning in a range of contexts.
• Formulate practices to use digital technologies and processes to support children's diverse language learning needs in a play-based context.
• Articulate assessment strategies including formal and informal formative and summative approaches to assess and to support students' learning.

Generic skills