| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Literacy, language, and learning by D. R. Olson, N. Torrance, and A. Hildyard (1985). Literacy, Language, and Learning has something to offer all students of language. Its breadth is achieved through an interdisciplinary analysis of both written and spoken forms of language. The focus is on the differences between these two language modalities and on the impact, on both society and the individual, of acquiring reading and writing skills. In a very real sense the book highlights the embarrassingly narrow appreciation of language shown by much work in cognitive psychology, particularly the work using an information processing orientation. This book has no lack of breadth, yet offers considerable depth of analysis in many chapters. Arguments are well supported with research and historical findings. The book is not particularly easy to read, but it is worth the effort, in this reader's view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
