Emergent Literacy Development in Early Language Education

The aim of the present chapter is to describe the link between different preschool educational settings and the development of literacy in two languages in preschool children, with a focus on different language minorities, including immigrants and heritage and indigenous speakers. The following issues will be outlined: literacy practices, management and policies, metalinguistic awareness, emergent literacy in first and second languages, heritage language, bilingualism, and biliteracy. An overview of different studies conducted in a variety of sociolinguistic contexts is provided: heritage and immigrant families (e.g., Spanish-speaking immigrants in the USA, Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel), indigenous language communities (e.g., Maori community in New Zealand), and communities in the countries with two or more official languages (e.g., French speakers in Canada, Swedish speakers in Finland). The chapter discusses such settings as different types of formal bilingual preschool education, after-school settings, and family and community initiatives. The chapter is divided into five parts. The first part discusses the theoretical concepts and terminology. The second part outlines critical issues and topics, focusing on the main research directions in the field of emergent biliteracy. The third part describes different socio-linguistic contexts and educational settings in which emergent biliteracy develops. The fourth part discusses new research projects focusing on the emergent biliteracy development. The last part addresses the future research directions.