Abstract

This paper reviews Au’s philosophy of literacy instruction. As we are moving to the 21st century, diversity becomes an important concept in language education. Kathryn Hu-Pei Au’s theory of literacy highly values diversity, places importance on the socio-cultural aspect of meaning construction, and provides many useful and practical ways to implement this philosophy in a classroom setting. Therefore, in this paper, the author pinpoints two key concepts in her philosophy of literacy instruction; namely, culturally responsive instruction and balanced literacy instruction. Au believes that teaching activities reflecting students’ diverse cultural values can greatly enhance the learning of literacy. A culturally responsive instruction in Au’s philosophy includes Talk Story and the Experience-Text-Relationship (ETR) Approach. Balanced literacy instruction is a curriculum framework that gives reading and writing equal status, and also recognizes the importance of both the cognitive and affective dimensions of literacy. The significance of Au’s conception of literacy instruction lies in its application of the learner’s cultural backgrounds to helping construct his/her ownership of literacy.