By Ellen Setterfield
One of the biggest responsibilities teachers face is preparing our students for the future. We need to equip them not only to meet the demands of their education as they move from primary school to secondary school, into further education and beyond, but to meet the demands of an uncertain future.
Nobody can know for sure what the skills are that young people will need in ten years’ time. What we do know, however, is that the skills most likely to help our young learners succeed are those which are transferable and applicable to a wide range of situations and contexts. Today’s young people need to interact effectively with ever-increasing quantities of information, interpret different media, and communicate with people from different cultures. This requires them to be literate – but in ways which surpass the traditional reading and writing that we may think of when we hear this term. The good news for us as teachers is that there are many things we already do in our classroom that help develop these skills; we don’t need separate ‘multiple literacies’ classes.
Multiple Literacies: A framework for ‘reading’ the world
There’s no definitive list of multiple literacy skills, but a variety of state standards and national curricula suggest that primary school-aged learners would be likely to benefit from developing their skills in five different areas: textual literacy, visual literacy, media literacy, social literacy, and global literacy. Let’s briefly unpack each of these before looking at practical ideas for how to develop them in our classrooms.
Textual Literacy is most similar to the traditional definition of ‘literacy’. In addition to basic reading and writing, this skillset also spans being able to understand, interpret, and respond to texts in different formats and from different sources. A textually literate student can also communicate their ideas appropriately and effectively through writing.
We’re surrounded by images every day – photos, pictures, charts, signs, videos, and even facial expressions and gestures. Visual Literacy skills help us to understand and interpret this information, for example recognising the message that is being conveyed, the feelings that the image is designed to evoke, or even whether or not an image has been created by AI.
Different forms of media play an increasingly important role in our students’ lives. As they encounter online content, video, audio, and infographics, it’s important that our students can respond appropriately to information in these different formats. Media literate young learners understand that the information in different types of media can influence our choices and perceptions – and might not always be unbiased or accurate.
We know that it’s important for our young learners to develop and practice their social skills, and Social Literacy gives us a framework to make sure the skills they’re practising are the skills they need. When we can successfully ‘read’ others we have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, maintain supportive and respectful relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
Finally, Global Literacy is about having knowledge and an understanding of the wider world and our role and place within it. It is inherently connected to sustainability and global citizenship, acknowledging that we share a common humanity, encouraging awareness of other cultures and identities, and striving to make the world a better place for all.
Multiple literacies in practice
Let’s think about some simple activities that we can use in our English language classrooms to develop these skills. As previously stated, there are plenty of ways to adapt activities that we already do to provide a focus on these areas.
Textual literacy
An example activity to develop learners’ textual literacy skills is to focus on their ability to compare and contrast information found within a written text. To support this, a visual prompt can be helpful, such as a table, Venn diagram or other form of graphic organiser. For example, primary school-aged learners could look for ideas that are the same or different in a text about where people live, the hobbies they enjoy or the food they eat. This could be extended into a discussion about cultural similarities and differences by encouraging students to compare what they have read with their own experiences. Comparing and contrasting are transferable skills that could also be used to teach synonyms and antonyms or to explain the differences between similar words and expressions. Again, a graphic organiser could be used to provide a visual representation of words with equivalent or distinct meanings.
Visual literacy
Describing or talking about an image is a valuable skill for children to learn – and one that is often assessed in English language exams. Help your learners move beyond a simple description of what they can see by prompting them to think about how the image makes them feel, and imagining how it might make other people feel, giving reasons why. For example, when describing a picture of a sunny day on the beach they might respond ‘I feel happy because I like playing on the beach with my family’.
Social literacy
One of the earliest social skills that young learners need to develop is understanding and appreciating the ways in which other people are different. This is an important step towards helping them understand different perspectives and build positive relationships with each other. Again, this is something we can provide practice of in our English classroom. Images, videos or reading texts which feature diverse cultures, people, and places give our learners opportunities to relate what they’re saying to their own lives and experiences. Teachers play a valuable role in helping their learners develop social skills by modeling how to treat other people’s ideas with respect and look for common ground.
Media literacy
In a similar way to Visual Literacy, Media Literacy helps learners understand that there is a purpose behind the information they encounter, and recognising that it can persuade or influence. If your learners are searching for information online for a project, encourage them to consider whether it comes from a reliable source. Where did they find the information? Who created it? Is it trying to persuade them to agree or to have a particular opinion?
Global literacy
An important element of developing children’s understanding of global literacy is helping them understand how we are all connected, and all play a valuable role in making a difference to the world we live in. Rather than choosing projects where learners simply have to research and present on or make a poster about a particular topic, why not choose an area where learners are encouraged to take action in a way that makes a difference? An example of this could be carrying out a survey on how people travel to school, then creating posters to educate their peers about the environmental impact of different types of transport and aiming to increase the number of people who use more sustainable ways to get to school.
Adapt, extend and prioritise
Small adjustments to classroom activities can help learners build the skills they need to understand and engage with the world around them. Look for activities within your coursebook that you could extend or prioritise to give your students more practice of a particular literacy skill, or consider coursebooks such as National Geographic Learning’s Trailblazer which explicitly addresses multiple literacies.
With small changes and a clear focus, we can make sure our teaching continues to prepare learners not just for school, but for life beyond the classroom as well.
Further Reading
Learn more about multiple literacies in National Geographic Learning’s position paper.
Find out more about Trailblazer.
Biography
Elly Setterfield is a teacher trainer and Young Learner ELT specialist, with over 16 years’ experience of working with children and teenagers within the ELT industry. She has taught and trained teachers across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
