Title：Solving Literacy Problems: A Global Issue

Speaker：R. Malatesha (Malt) Joshi, Texas A & M University. Professor of Reading/Language Arts Education and Educational Psychology, Texas A & M University; Fellow, American Educational Research Association; Editor, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal

Time：2017-9-21 (Thursday), 15:30-16:30

Place：Wen Nan Building 116, Tsinghua University

Host：Li Yin, Professor, Language Psychology and Cognition Program, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University

Abstract: In 2015, UNESCO highlighted the importance of literacy to eradicate poverty, reduce child mortality, and ensure peace, and reported that there are approximately one billion people classified as being illiterate – defined loosely as unable to read, write, or sign their names. Illiteracy has serious consequences for the individual, society, and the nation. For example, in the United States, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has indicated that more than 50% of adolescents with criminal problems, people with history of substance abuse, and people living on welfare have reading problems. In addition, 85% of the inmates in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate and more than 70% prison inmates cannot read above the 4th grade level. These correlations, while not indicating causality, are nonetheless alarming, and highlight the urgent need to improve literacy skills in contexts where there is a widespread illiteracy. Fortunately, the National Reading Panel has outlined systematic and explicit instruction to improve reading skills but unfortunately, classroom teachers are not provided with this information. In this presentation, I plan to provide current research findings on how the literacy situation can be improved globally.

Brief Bio of the speaker: R. Malatesha (Malt) Joshi, Ph.D., is a Professor of Reading/Language Arts Education, ESL and Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University, where he teaches and conducts research in literacy development and literacy problems among monolinguals and bilinguals in different orthographies. Dr. Joshi is the Editor of Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and the monograph series titled Literacy Studies: Perspectives from Cognitive Neurosciences, Linguistics, Psychology and Education. From 1980-2002, Joshi directed six highly successful NATO Advanced Study Institutes which helped to bring various fields together to study literacy. He has published numerous books and scientific papers and has received several awards, such as Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar, Germany, and visiting research scholar from Beijing Normal University, China, Goethe Universitat, Germany, and National Cheng Chung University, Taiwan. He has received several grants and also has served on the review panels for Institute of Educational Sciences as well as the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. At the present time, he serves as CO-PI of two grants: COST Action grant to establish European Literacy Network (about 1 million Euros) and an IES grant to study use of technology in improving comprehension in grades 4 & 5 (3.5 million US dollars). Recently, Dr. Joshi was selected as the 2017 Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) that exemplifies the highest standards of research excellence through accomplishment, professionalism, and commitment. He also received the CEHD Senior Scholar Research Excellence Award in 2017.