TY - JOUR
T1 - Revisiting the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
T2 - Writing Instruction in a Multicultural Context
AU - Kiss, Tamas
AU - Mizusawa, Ken
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The editors of Changing English.
PY - 2018/1/2
Y1 - 2018/1/2
N2 - Given the multimodal and multicultural character of modern English, English Language Teaching should meaningfully reflect this. Although some attempts have been made, adequate attention has not been paid to reforming writing pedagogy. This paper presents the findings of a two-year research project on writing instruction in the Singapore English Language classroom, which caters for a mixture of EFL (English as a foreign language), L2 (second language) and L1 (first language) learners. Data were gathered from six secondary school teachers via observations and interviews through which their common practices and beliefs were established. Our findings revealed an extensive use of examination-centred practices based on functional literacy, routine procedures and standardisation, rather than a pedagogy that promotes social equity and cultural and linguistic diversity as advocated by the New London Group. Following their work, we argue that student agency, critical literacy, and socially and culturally situated learning should be integrated into all writing classrooms for effective learning to take place.
AB - Given the multimodal and multicultural character of modern English, English Language Teaching should meaningfully reflect this. Although some attempts have been made, adequate attention has not been paid to reforming writing pedagogy. This paper presents the findings of a two-year research project on writing instruction in the Singapore English Language classroom, which caters for a mixture of EFL (English as a foreign language), L2 (second language) and L1 (first language) learners. Data were gathered from six secondary school teachers via observations and interviews through which their common practices and beliefs were established. Our findings revealed an extensive use of examination-centred practices based on functional literacy, routine procedures and standardisation, rather than a pedagogy that promotes social equity and cultural and linguistic diversity as advocated by the New London Group. Following their work, we argue that student agency, critical literacy, and socially and culturally situated learning should be integrated into all writing classrooms for effective learning to take place.
KW - New London Group
KW - examination backwash
KW - functional literacy
KW - multiliteracies
KW - writing pedagogy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042317076&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1358684X.2017.1403283
DO - 10.1080/1358684X.2017.1403283
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85042317076
SN - 1358-684X
VL - 25
SP - 59
EP - 68
JO - Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education
JF - Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education
IS - 1
ER -