Cross-Cultural Language Awareness: Contrasting Scenarios of Literacy Learning

In the research on literacy learning the concept of language awareness has come forward as a unifying framework for understanding the underlying knowledge that supports ability in reading and writing. Consensus is gathering around the idea that language awareness is an essential foundation. If subsequent work in this area confirms i t, this factor may tum out to be the key cognitive-domain explanation for successful literacy learning in school (and for academic purposes in general). In this review we examine two cross -cultural comparisons regarding this clai m. The comparisons point to the need to examine cases that juxtapose contrasting condition s. Relevant contrasts place side by side examples that appear to be typical and examples that appear to be exceptiona l. Taking what appear on the surface as sharply diverging case s, how is access to requisite underlying competencies simila r, and how differen t, from one instance to the othe r?