Abstract

This theoretical study deals with defining functional language literacy for the mother tongue (L1). The reasons are as follows: 1) literacy represents a particularly topical issue. Definitions have been developed for various literacies, fully or partially linked to the traditional content of the school curriculum; 2) the definition of functional language literacy for the mother tongue (L1) has not yet been seriously discussed in the Czech professional community; 3) in the teaching of L1, reading literacy has been emphasised in recent years under the influence of international research, while from the perspective of unreduced communication, the definition of language literacy has remained somewhat aside. The definition of functional language literacy in this study was proposed with the support of established definitions of mathematics and reading literacy and of the analysis of local and international literature dealing with the effort to define functional language literacy in L1. The result of the study consists of a proposal for the definition of functional language literacy as a complex of knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes related to the use of L1 in the context of various communication events when producing and receiving written and spoken communications and analysing and interpreting their language characteristics.