What adds to the challenge of becoming literate?

The focus of the question is on the specific challenges that come with literacy, particularly in relation to understanding and using language effectively in reading and writing contexts. The selected answer, stating that all meaning resides in the written words alone, highlights a fundamental misconception about literacy. This notion can make literacy more challenging because it suggests that readers must extract all meaning solely from the text without considering context, previous knowledge, or the interplay between spoken and written language.

In reality, effective reading comprehension relies on a blend of understanding the written text and bringing in external knowledge and context that are often derived from spoken language. This misunderstanding can lead to difficulties in interpreting texts fully and accurately.

In contrast, the other options point to different aspects of literacy that may present challenges but do not capture the same essential misunderstanding of the nature of meaning in literacy. Learning new forms of language, for instance, is indeed a challenge but also reflects the dynamic nature of language learning as it evolves from oral to written forms. Similarly, the grammatical differences between spoken and written sentences are an important point of consideration, but they are not as central to the challenge of literacy as the misconception about meaning. Lastly, while prior exposure to literature may seem beneficial, it does not inherently complicate the literacy process;