Sept. 1, 2020
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – International Literacy Day is held annually on Sept. 8 to raise awareness globally of issues surrounding adult and child literacy. Wilfrid Laurier University has several professors available to speak about topics related to literacy.

Alexandra Gottardo is a professor in the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on oral and written language development in individuals, including those with learning disabilities, and reading among those who speak English as a second language. She has researched reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition with children from preschool to high school and with undergraduate university students. Recently, Gottardo and Professor Eileen Wood helped bring an interactive literacy program to children in remote communities in Kenya. Without computers or the internet, these children had been out of school since the pandemic forced schools to operate virtually. Contact: agottardo@wlu.ca

Cathy Miyata is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education. Her research focuses on literacy, storytelling, English language learners and children’s literature. She is a former elementary school teacher and has worked as an educational consultant and storyteller. She has written several books for educators and two novels for children. Read her recent article on the importance of teaching children storytelling during the pandemic. Contact: cmiyata@wlu.ca

Kristiina Montero is a professor in the Faculty of Education. Her research has focused on the literacy development of low literacy adolescent refugee newcomers with limited or interrupted education and professional development for teachers who are educating refugee newcomers to Canada. Contact: kmontero@wlu.ca