Autobiographical memories of early language and literacy development

The aim of this study was to apply a narrative, autobiographical approach to inquiry into the acquisition of language and literacy. This article reports the results of a qualitative analysis of nine women's written recollections of their early language and literacy development, as rooted in family, cultural, school, and community experiences and contexts, and the meanings they give to these memories. In these narratives recounted by adults about their childhood experiences, the stories are weighted with their own interpretations, and the events selected for retelling are ones that, on reflection and in the light of subsequent experience, they have come to see as formative in their lives. Key themes that participants discussed relate to the centrality of the family, their self-descriptions as avid readers, their negative perceptions of school, and their perceptions about the role of culture. Two contributions of this study are that it methodologically complements traditional observational approaches to language acquisition research, and that voices from underrepresented communities are heard. (Language Development, Literacy, Adult Learning, Narrative Analysis, Autobiographical Approach, Qualitative Research)