Written Language Development in the Child: pedagogical implications of the cultural-historical theory

Abstract

This essay results from a theoretical reflection in a doctoral research. The aim is the exercise of reflection, from the Cultural-Historical Theory, on the theoretical and methodological principles that can favor the development of written language in children in the context of Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education, as opposed to a way of writing as technique, which appropriation depends on practical exercises and without the establishment of a meaningful communicative situation for the child. Based on a review of the main concepts of Vigotski (1997c), Luria (2006) and other authors related to the formation and development of written language as a human psychological function, it considers written language as a cultural and symbolic activity, which process of appropriation happens since early childhood. It concludes that the different ways used by the young child to make sense of the world - the indicative gesture, the role play and the drawing as an instrument - contribute to the development of a graphic ability to express, which becomes increasingly sophisticated as the child owns written signs, based on visual indicators, and language activity carried out through them in educational activities intentionally prepared to achieve this goal, favoring the development of children as authors and text readers.