• Introduction
• Literacy
  Origin of writing Different spelling systems Learning to read and write Models of literacy processing Opaque vs. transparent orthographic systems Literacy Learning Disorder
• Good practices
• Portraits
• Reflection and exercices
• Advice
• Further readings
• Library
• Functional Multilingual Learning

Literacy is not programmed into the brain. It is important to take this into account since this means that a person will not be able to learn to read and write by simple exposure to written language (as occurs with oral language), but that formal instruction will be necessary.

In alphabetic orthographic systems, which are the most widespread, especially in developed countries and therefore the most researched, this instruction involves teaching the letters and their corresponding sound. However, several methods can be classified into two main groups:

• Synthetic methods: start with the teaching of simpler units (letters or syllables) and progress to more complex units (words or phrases). This group includes methods such as phonetic (starting by teaching letter-sound correspondence, following the order vowels-consonants-syllables), alphabetic (teaching letters in alphabetical order and then combining them into syllables) or syllabic (starting by teaching letters combined into syllables).
• Analytical methods: these are based on the teaching of complex units (words or phrases), endowed with meaning, which are broken down into smaller and smaller units (syllables and letters). In this group, the global method stands out, which was very popular in the 1980s, but in most countries has been abandoned in ordinary educational settings. Currently, its application is reduced almost exclusively to children with developmental disorders (Down syndrome or other disorders with intellectual deficits), who do not obtain good results with synthetic methods due to the abstract nature of the most basic units.

There is a third mixed method, also called eclectic, which combines the two previous ones: starting from the word, it is broken down into its minimum units, which are then worked on in isolation.

GOOD PRACTICES:

• Using literacy teaching materials that can be found on the internet, ask students to look for tasks aimed at teaching literacy using the different methods: What kind of tasks are used for teaching using the global method? What kind of materials are most common for the phonetic method? And for the phonological method?
• Research, again using materials available on the internet, which method of literacy teaching is most commonly used in your country.