ELINET analytic glossary of the Initial teaching and learning of literacy

This glossary was produced by Greg Brooks and Maxine Burton under a sub-contract to FELA, the Federation of European Literacy Associations. It is in two parts:

– An alphabetic list of just over 300 terms, ranging from ‘accent’ to ‘young fluent reader’; most items are in English, but with a few in Czech, French, German and Greek. In many places there are cross-references to the other part, the

– Analytic section. This comprises eight essays on key ideas in the field, namely Concepts of literacy, First steps (in literacy learning), Dual-route theory, Stage theories, Linguistics for literacy teachers, Regularity and consistency, Dyslexia, and Proficiency levels and scales.

The glossary as a whole is intended to clarify the meanings of a number of key terms in initial literacy teaching, and to be useful to all those in Europe and beyond who have a professional interest in initial literacy teaching, and wish to explore the relationships between the nature of different languages and their orthographies on the one hand, and the methods used to teach literacy in them on the other. It is meant to apply to all the official languages of the European Union and its associated and candidate states, and therefore covers the Greek alphabet and languages written in Cyrillic and Roman scripts. Since ELINET’s remit concerns literacy at all stages of life, the glossary is intended to cover the initial teaching and learning of literacy not just to children, but also to adults.

Here you find the Glossary: ELINET analytic glossary of the Initial teaching and learning of literacy