Telling Tales: A new way to encourage written literacy through oral language

This thesis presents a new approach and a new interface to let children practice written literacy skills using oral language. Specifically, I argue that language composition is learned by practicing a set of cognitive skills that are independent of the medium in which the linguistic meaning is represented. Furthermore, I claim that tangible, technology-enhanced toys with specific features can support the development of these skills through open-ended language play. To investigate this claim, I developed a new model of composition, called the TellTale Composition Model, to address aspects of both oral and written language. This model supports the following features of children’s language play: voice; structure; reference; reflection and revision; and sharing and discussion. A new toy, called TellTale, was built to support this composition model. Three studies were conducted to evaluate both its usability and the model’s validity. The findings indicate that a toy that lets children create, segment, organize and link oral language through play with a tangible toy in a social setting helps them practice important cognitive skills crucial for later literacy. Preliminary data also suggest that such a toy can help identify children’s language learning disabilities and the linguistic strategies used by children of different socio-economic strata. Both TellTale and the composition model on which its design was based suggest several new ways digital media can let children become engaged and skillful authors. Thesis Advisor: Professor Hiroshi Ishii Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences MIT Media Laboratory Telling Tales: A new way to encourage written literacy through oral language