Dr. Jan Wasowicz introduced The Language Literacy Network (LLN) in 2021. She developed it as a “scholarly advancement over the Reading Rope.” Dr. Wasowicz has offered the LLN widely in the form of an extensive infographic displaying the many components necessary for skilled reading and writing. The left side of the illustration represents the reading components (language comprehension and word recognition) and the right side represents the writing components (language expression and written word production). Whereas the Reading Rope is represented as a developmental progression, The Language Literacy Network explains the power of bringing all the language components together from the beginning of instruction.

“Unlike oral language where we’re biologically wired from the get-go … that reading/writing network in the brain only develops through instruction, and the better the instruction the more integrated — the more functionally connected — our instruction is, the more functionally connected that neural network becomes for reading and writing.” – Dr. Wasowicz

We’ve gathered together some resources for further learning about The Language Literacy Network below.

Resources

• An Integrated Approach to Literacy Instruction
• A speech-to-print approach to teaching reading (page 10)
• SpellTalk Questions and Answers: The Language Literacy Network
• Video: 09. Teaching reading using a speech-to-print approach | 2022 Literacy Symposium
• Video interview: Dr. Jan Wasowicz talks about the SPELLtalk group, LLN & various literacy issues ©2023
• Webinar: The Language Literacy Network: A New Twist on the Reading Rope to Advance Literacy Outcomes