However, we must be aware that heightened visibility brings risks. The new emphasis on accountability will put added pressure on teachers to raise children’s scores on assessments. To meet this challenge and take advantage of the current climate, now is the time for early childhood educators to ensure that programs are of the highest quality. Staff at all levels must have a basic understanding of what early literacy is and an awareness of the experiences that support its development. Without such understanding there is a danger that programs will be mandated to address literacy skills in ways that neglect what we know about how young children construct literacy. And well-meaning teachers may be tempted to return to heavy-handed didactic instructional methods that have been discouraged for years. Of particular concern is the possibility that early literacy efforts will take a single-minded focus on print-related dimensions and fail to recognize that oral language is the foundation of early literacy. This article discusses how early childhood programs can make a difference through classroom-based experiences and by efforts of preschool staff to help parents communicate with their children in ways that build the language skills critical to early literacy. We do not discuss developing phonemic awareness or knowledge of the alphabet and other print-based activities in the classroom, not because they are of less importance, but because we wish to highlight the importance of oral language. In the rush to embrace literacy in early childhood settings, we fear that oral language may be overlooked. We based our study on the theoretical assumption that rich language experiences during the preschool years play an important role in ensuring that children are able to read with comprehension when they reach middle school.
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