ABSTRACT
The continuum of literacy Literacy is commonly defined as the ability to read and write. The educationalist Margaret Meek calls this functional or utilitarian literacy, the basic skills of being able to make sense of the written and spoken word. Literacy ranges along a continuum from, at one end, children (and adults) whose elementary understanding precludes them from appreciating the nuances and subtleties of language – and the tricks that words can play! – to, at the other end, people who can be described as linguistically intelligent. The notion of linguistic intelligence derives from the work of Howard Gardner (see Bibliography) who defines intelligence as the potential we have to handle information. This is a powerful idea because ‘handle’ to me means the willingness and ability to ‘get your hands on’ ideas, to immerse yourself in the material being studied and used. Handling information in this way allows it to become ‘in-formation’, that which is being more fully formed into greater meanings and understanding.
