FAMILY DIGITAL LITERACY PRACTICES: IMPACT ON THE EMERGENT LANGUAGE SKILLS

This study explored the parent's lived experiences of family digital literacy practices and its impact on emergent language skills. The study aimed to describe the vocabulary development and oral language of the child using digital media particularly the use of cell phones and tablets which contribute to the foundational learning stage of a child; explored how those practices are embedded in family life and include family members; identified the parent's involvement in the literacy practices of the child at home; and investigated how parents and other family members can scaffold the child's literacy practices at home. The researcher asked the help of the parents and the teachers in primary levels of the identified school to be the co-researchers of the said study. In the desire to understand the family digital literacy practices, the study used qualitative design specifically employing phenomenology. The result shows that participant allows their children to engage in language learning in digital media particularly the use of cellphone and tablet which is limited only from 1 to 2 hours a day with their supervision. Children acquire language learning in terms of listening where the child hears directly from the conversations of parents making an association between sounds and symbols. In the area of speaking, the child learns language through interaction with parents and it paves a way for the child to communicate by uttering words. In the area of reading, the child understands the alphabetic principle that letters represent the sound of the word called phonemic awareness needed for decoding, and in the area of writing, the child learns the phoneme-grapheme correspondence in associating sounds with letters and the spelling of words becomes more accurate. Finally, children learn language directly from their interaction with parents at home and school. The result of this research study clearly shows that the participants are involved in the language of their children because there is no risk of reading difficulty experienced by the child. The result of the study was the basis for the family digital literacy program.