Sociolinguistics and Language Education.pdf

342 Part 4: Language and Literacy
orchestrating semiotic modes aptly. While it is acknowledged that the
introduction of digital technologies into classrooms might not lead to
immediate uptake that is refl ected in usage statistics or might even perpetuate
ethnic and socioeconomic marginalization, productive outcomes
are possible – recall the overview of the project fresa above – when the foci
of classroom-based work are squarely learner-centered. Thus, in our opinion,
language teachers would be well advised to know what multimodal
literacy is (or could be, in the future) and how multimodal expression can
be used in keeping with their learners’ needs and interests. It seems to be
evident that, where available, digital technologies afford students unprecedented
access to new media and publishing outlets where they can demonstrate
their expertise.
Note
1. The second author is indebted to Mark Evan Nelson for an extended conversation
on the pedagogical implications of typological and topological
meanings.
Suggestions for further reading
Cummins, J., Brown, K. and Sayers, D. (2007) Literacy, Technology and Diversity:
Teaching for Success in Changing Times. Boston: Pearson.
This book, which includes a CD-ROM of templates, monographs and other digital
media, presents a highly readable and informative framework for promoting literacy
engagement among low-income and minority students. There are many
generative ideas here for ICT-based literacy projects with students.
Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York:
New York University Press.
The ways media circulates are changing rapidly on a global scale. In this book,
MIT professor Henry Jenkins describes through a series of extended case studies
– including American Idol, 2002 and The Matrix 1999) – the technological, industrial,
cultural and social changes that occur when content fl ows currently across multiple
media platforms. Chapter 5, Why Heather Can Write, is an intriguing analysis
of fanfi ction and media literacy activity that illustrates, particularly well, Jenkins’
concept of ‘participatory culture’.
Kress, G., Jewitt, C., Bourne, J., Franks, A., Hardcastle, J., Jones, K. et al. (2005)
English in Urban Classrooms: A Multimodal Perspective on Teaching and Learning.
London: RoutledgeFalmer.
This book describes a study of how English is ‘produced’ (i.e. shaped by policy,
institutions and social relations) in a number of English language classrooms in
inner-city London. The authors operationalize concepts in multimodal theory,
showing, in particular, how image, gesture, gaze, movement and spatial organization
impact on teaching and learning outcomes.
New London Group (1996) A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures.
Harvard Educational Review 66 (1), 60–92.
This seminal paper is essential reading for anyone interested in literacy pedagogy
and how this concept might be broadened to include a variety of discourses including
multilingualism and multimodality.