Mistakes on the acquisition of functional literacy in the e-environment and new tasks of Slovenian language didactics

Abstract

Razmišljanja o kurikulih za materinščino v šoli za 21. stoletje v zadnjem desetletju pogosto izhajajo iz nekaterih zmot o generaciji Z. Digitalni domorodci, kot jih imenujejo, naj ne bi več potrebovali zmožnosti linearnega branja, tipkovnica naj bi popolnoma nadomestila pisalo in, kar je najbolj nevarno, otroci naj bi dandanes razvili zmožnost funkcionalne pismenosti v e-okolju samodejno, zato jih tega v šoli ni treba učiti. Relevantna teoretična spoznanja in empirične raziskave pa kažejo, da so vsa tri prepričanja zmotna in da ne bi smela vplivati na oblikovanje novih kurikulov za materinščino.

Over the past decade, reflections on mother tongue curricula in 21st century schools have often stemmed from certain misconceptions about Generation Z. Digital natives, as members of Gen Z are often called, supposedly do not need linear reading skills anymore; the keyboard is supposedly replacing the pen entirely, and, most dangerously, the children of today are supposed to develop their functional literacy in e-environments automatically, which is why they do not require to be taught this at school. Relevant theoretical findings and empirical research, however, show that all these three beliefs are erroneous and that they should not influence the design of new mother tongue curricula.