Chapter 3 Ed 110 - Building and Enhancing New Literacy 2nd Sem SY 2023-2024

Chapter 3- NEW LITERACIES

INTRODUCTION

Students are taught to read and write print with fluency, speed and comprehension of the
message of the writer and the interpretation of the content of the material. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) assert that a person, who is literate,
can comprehend and write simple and short sentences related to his/her daily life. However, today
there are additional literacies stressed in the 21st century curriculum. Hence, this module is
provided.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you must have:

• Discuss new literacies and their impact on the teaching-learning process;

• Describe a multiliterate teacher;
• Define functional literacy;
• Cite how functional literacy and new literacies can be integrated in the ‘curriculum and
practiced in the classroom;

LET’S FIND OUT!

New Literacies

Between 1950 and 1970, the development of literacy, both operational and functional, was
established. During this period, literacy was defined as reading and writing skills necessitated for
activities in modern society (Gunes, 2000). Beyond the 1990s, literacy had started to diversify in
the light of technological developments, change of living conditions in cities, and the new
necessities. Hereafter, literacy then became multi-faceted.
At first, literacy was used in various types, such as computer literacy, technology literacy,
Internet literacy, and media literacy, respectively (Altun, 2005). Later on, it became a lifestyle along
with a person's entire life in a society that encompasses information literacy, cultural literacy and
universal literacy.
Truly, literacy has changed and developed through a multitude of phases within a specific
period based on societal needs.
However, along this line, literacy is not confined only to knowing how to read and write
rather, it is a matter of applying knowledge for specific purposes in particular contexts. It includes
a socially-driven and evolved a pattern of activities, such as writing correspondence, records
keeping and inventories, posting announcements, reporting, etc. As such, Lankshear & Knobel
(2006) averred that literacies intend to generate and communicate meanings through the medium
of encoded texts within contexts in various discourses.

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Kress (2003) posited that literacy can only happen when having a kind of potential content
through interaction with the text: Likewise, a particular text may be understood for being
connected or related. Although in a way, such meaning can be more relational than literal or
expressing solidarity or affinity with particular people, like understanding the Internet, online
practices and online content. Hence, anything available online can become a resource for making
diverse meaning.
Literacies can bear a coding system that can ‘capture the meaning, such as “letteracy” (i.e.,
within language and recognition of alphabetic symbols).
Moreover, the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (2015) asserts that 21st
Century literacy has expanded to include social change, increasing field expertise and digital
technologies. To be literate requires comprehension, selection and use of multimodal codes and
conventions to interpret and express ideas, feelings and information. Subject-specific literacies
are recognized to require the application of specialized knowledge and skills, information skills,
and the creative and imaginative language. Literacy in the 21st century, therefore, demands the
ability to perform and act confidently, efficiently and ethically with a wide range of written and
visual, print, live, digital or electronic text types according to purpose (www.petaa.edu.au).
The increasing complexity of modern communication gives rise to a number of distinct
capabilities and possibilities. Hence, 21st Century literacy combines cross-curricular capabilities
also called ‘multiliteracies’ and now commonly referred to as ‘new literacies’. These broad skills
include visual literacy, information literacy, cultural literacy and digital literacy dynamics. These
new literacies are fused with traditional print literacy to create opportunities and enable: students
to understand and use new text types, while exploring knowledge and information with a wide
array of technological tools, such as blogging, fanfic writing, manga producing, meme-ing,
photoshopping, animé music video (AMV), podcasting, vodcasting, and gaming, running a paper-
based zine, reading literary novels and wordless picture books, reading graphic novels and
comics, and reading bus timetables (Primary English Teaching Association Australia, 2015).
Leander (2003) noted that new literacies are often flexible, continuous and open, where
online and offline lives and “literacyscapes” merge. Thus, when a literacy practice becomes a
mindset with the concept of Web 2.0, it can be regarded as a new literacy. New technologies
enable and enhance these practices in a way that is highly complex and exciting for students.

Exploring the New Literacies

There are seven new literacies that are stressed in the 21st century curriculum.
1. Multicultural Literacy is about understanding ethnic groups that comprise the population and
focuses on complex issues of identity, diversity and citizenship.
2. Social literacy is the development of social skills, knowledge and positive values in human
beings to act positively and responsibly in sophisticated complex social settings.
3. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.
4. Financial literacy is the ability to make informed judgments and make effective decisions
regarding the use and management of money.
5. Digital literacy is the ability to effectively use digital devices for purposes of communication,
expression, collaboration and advocacy in a knowledge-based society.
6. Ecological literacy is understanding the principles of ecosystems toward sustainability.

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7. Creative literacy is the ability to make original ideas that have value, and the ability to see the
world in new ways.

The Truth on 21st Century Literacies According to Research

Since success with technology depends largely on critical thinking and reflection, teachers
with relatively little technological skills can provide less useful instruction. Therefore, schools must
support the teachers by providing them professional training and up-to-date technology for
utilization in classrooms.

Global economies, new technologies, and exponential growth in Information are transforming
our society. Since today’s people engage with a technology-driven, diverse, and quickly changing
world, teachers need to prepare students for this world with problem-solving, collaboration, and
analysis, as well as skills with word processing, hypertext, LCDs, Webcams, podcasts, smart boards,
and social networking software that are central to individual and community Success.

The National Council of Teachers of English (2013) came up with a research that reveals
the following:

1. As new technologies shape literacies, they bring opportunities for teachers to foster reading
and writing in more diverse and participatory contexts.
2. Sites, like literature’s Voice of the Shuttle, online fan fiction, and the Internet Public Library,
expand both the range of available texts and the social dimension of literacy.
3. Research on electronic reading workshops shows that they contribute to the emergence of new
literacies.
4. Research also shows that digital technology enhances writing and interaction in several ways.

5. K-12 students, who write with computers, produce compositions of greater length and higher
quality are more engaged with and motivated toward writing than those who do not write with
computers.
6. College students, who keep e-portfolios, have a higher rate of academic achievement and
overall retention rate than those who do not keep e-portfolios. They also demonstrate a greater
capacity for metacognition, reflection and audience awareness.
7. Both typical and atypical students, who receive an online response to writing, revise their works
better than those participating in traditional method.

Functional Literacy

The term functional literacy was initially defined by UNESCO through William S. Gray in
his Teaching of Reading and Writing (1956) as adult training to meet independently the reading
and writing demands placed on them. It stresses the acquisition of appropriate verbal, cognitive
and computational skills to accomplish practical results in specific cultural settings dubbed as
survival literacy and reductionist literacy.

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Over the decades, as societies have evolved into technical innovations, the definition of
functional literacy has been modified to meet the changing demands (Concise Oxford Companion
to the English Language, 1998).
Referring to functional literacy, UNESCO states the following:
1. Literacy programs should be integrated to and correlated with economic and social
development plans.
2. The eradication of illiteracy should begin with population sectors, which are highly motivated
and need literacy for their own and their country's benefit.
3. Literacy programs should be linked with economic priorities and carried out in areas
undergoing rapid economic expansion.
4. Literacy programs must impart not only reading and writing but also professional and technical
knowledge leading to greater participation of adults in economic and civic life.
5. Literacy must be an integral part of the over-all educational system and plan of each country.
6. The financial need for functional literacy should be met with various resources, as well as be
provided for economic investments.
7. The literacy programs should aid in achieving main economic objectives (i.e. increase in labor
productivity, food production, industrialization, social and professional mobility, creation of new
manpower and diversification of the economy).

Thus, literacy materials present reading, writing and numeracy concepts using words and
ideas needed in using information for learners to enhance sufficient literacy skills and continue
learning on their own.
A number of functional literacy programs have been carried out that focus on different
job skills and development aspects. To name a few, in the Philippine context, are agricultural,
health, industry, family planning, home making, arts and culture and technical-vocational
programs.
A new functional literacy aspect, called specific literacy, is becoming a trend, in which the
job of the student is analyzed to see exactly the literacy skills needed and those that are only
taught. This is to prevent job-skill mismatch. In specific literacy, the student may learn very little
but will be of immediate value that would result in increased learner motivation.
Therefore, the specific literacy strategy is a planning tool that allows the literacy worker to
focus on skills that are of value to the learners.
Significance of this approach includes literacy that: (1) starts in the workplace; (2) uses a
diagnostic approach; (3) identifies turning points in economic life that may act as an incentive to
learning; (4) assesses the limits of a short-term intervention; and (5) looks for generic skills.
Gunes (2000) posited that functional literacy constitutes the second level of literacy next
to basic literacy, in which literary and mathematical information and skills can be utilized in one’s
personal, Social, economic and cultural endeavors. Therefore, the essence in functional literacy is
to learn basic related information and skills and use them in daily life. Functional literacy level
comprises both technical and functional skills while encompassing social, citizenship, and
economic roles.
In context, Gapar (1998) cites that a functionally literate person is someone who is one
step ahead of literacy and maintains literacy activity throughout his/her life in order to keep living

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and effectively accommodate him/herself to his/her surroundings. It is, therefore, an ongoing

process.
UNESCO defines functional literacy as the ability of an individual to take part in significant
activities in professional, social, political and cultural aspects in a society, where he/she lives using
his/her literacy skills (De Castel, 1971; Goksen, Gulgoz and Kagitcibasi, 2000; as cited in Savas,
2006).
Hatch (2010) defines it based on the American Heritage College Dictionary (AHCD).
Accordingly, the word “functional” means “building capacity” and “literacy” as “reading and
writing skills.” Therefore, it is the capability to proficiently read and write that can be used in daily
life routines.
Likewise, Knoblauch and Brannon (1993), as cited in Jabusch (2002) distinguished basic
literacy and functional literacy as having the expression “functional” to indicate performance with
texts, including mathematics.
The Education for All Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO, 2006) states that functional
literacy means the ability to make significant use of activities involving reading and writing skills
that include using information, communicating with others, and following a path of lifelong
learning necessary for the ability to express him/ herself in daily life. UNESCO's definition also
adds that functional literacy includes those skills essential for both official and unofficial
participation, as well as those which are necessary for national change and development that can
be used to aid an individual in contributing to his/her own development and that of his/her family
and the society. The National Statistics Authority defines functional literacy as the level of literacy
that includes reading, writing and numeracy skills that help people cope with the daily demands
of life
Based on these definitions, functional literacy can be concluded as an activity that
contributes to the development of an individual and the society, including the ability to use
information and skills related to listening, speaking, reading, writing, and arithmetic necessary for
daily life in social, cultural and economic aspects effectively (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org).

Improving Functional Literacy in the Philippines

Over the years, the Philippines has continuously aspired to attain an increased functional
literacy rate.
Manuyo (2019) reported that based on the 2013 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass
Media Survey (FLEMMS), the country registered a 90.3% rate, which means that nine out of every
10 Filipinos aged 10-64 were functionally literate. In 2003, there were still gaps at the community
level. In the study conducted by World Vision, results showed that the proportion of girls and
boys aged 11-13, who were functionally literate, placed at a critical rate of 44%, or below 50% of
the students were able to read with comprehension by the end of their basic education.
It was also evident that school dropouts contributed to low functional literacy. Obviously,
one in every 100 or about 4 million Filipino children and youth were out-of-school in 2013. Of the
total number, 22.9% got married, 19.2% lacked a family income to be sent to school and 19.1%
lacked interest in attending schools. In order to address illiteracy issues, creating formal and non-
formal learning environments, active participation of local stakeholders, capacity building of
teachers, development of contextualized or indigenized learning materials, and tracking of

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improvement of reading, basic math and essential life skills outcomes were desired. Interventions
also included improvement of classrooms and several reading facilities, establishing a culture of
reading program, parental training and learning, and skill integration in the curriculum.
In a follow-up study by World Vision in 2016, the functional literacy rate went up at 76.53%.
In the community level, the rate inclined to 62.64%, or around 50%-70% of the students were
able to read with comprehension by the end of their basic education. The increase was significant
within the 3-year interval but it also indicated more improvement is expected considering that
rate remained 17.36% short of the 80% threshold An analysis shows that low functional literacy
could mean low resilience to respond to abnormal conditions and increase a child’s vulnerability
to exploitation. This could also result in unpreparedness for gainful employment and eventually
increased dependency on welfare programs.
One of the government initiatives to address this is the Alternative Learning System (ALS)
that provides an opportunity for learning among out-of-school youth for them to land in better
jobs.

Integration of New Literacies in the Curriculum

To address the call for literacy in today’s world, students must become proficient in the
new literacies of 21% century technologies. The International Reading Association (IRA) believes
that literacy educators have the responsibility to integrate information and communication
technologies into the curriculum to prepare students for the future they deserve.
The multiliterate learner. Today, the Internet and other forms of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) are redefining the nature of reading, writing, and
communication. New literacy skills and practices are required by each new ICT as it emerges and
evolves Thus, these new literacies need to be integrated into the curriculum to prepare students
for successful civic participation in a global environment.
Students would desire for: (1) teachers who use ICTs skillfully for teaching and learning;
(2): peers who use ICTs responsibly and who share their knowledge; (3) a literacy curriculum that
offers opportunities for collaboration with peers around the world; (4) instruction that embeds
critical and culturally sensitive thinking into practice, standards and assessments that include new
literacies; '(5) leaders and policymakers who are committed advocates of ICTs for teaching and
learning; and (8) equal access to ICTs for all classrooms and students.
Coiro, et. al (2008) noted four common elements as broader dimensions of new literacies,
to wit: (1) the Internet and other ICTs require new social practices, skills, strategies, and dispositions
for their effective use; (2) new literacies are central to full civic, economic, and personal
participation in a global community; (3) new literacies rapidly change as defining technologies
change; and (4) new literacies are multiple, multimodal and multifaceted, thus, they benefit from
multiple lenses seeking to understand how to better support the students in a digital age.
Impact of new literacies on instruction. Additional changes are taking place in literacy
instruction (Grisham and Wolsey, 2009). Henry (2008) restated that engagement in literacy
activities is being transformed today like at no other time in history. As students turn to the
Internet and other information communication technologies (ICTs) at increasing rates to read,
write and interact with texts, they must develop new skills and strategies, or new literacies, to be
successful in these multimodal, intertextual and interactive environments. The Internet has

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become the defining technology for today’s youth and may be the most important ICT for
students to learn how to manipulate successfully.
Although, there are multiple ways to view the changes: in literacy and communication
emerging from new technologies (Labbo and Reinking, 1999), it cannot be ignored that literacy
changes experiences at school and in everyday lives. As such, rapid profound changes in
technology impact students’ literacy journey. Hence, Leu, et. al (2004) posited that changes in
literacy are confronted by innovation, that the new literacies of today will be replaced by even
newer ones tomorrow as new ICTs continuously emerge in a more globalized community of
learners. And such changes bear important implications to instruction, assessment, professional
development and research.

Multiliteracies in the Educational Reform

In a broader essence, the concept of 21st century skills is motivated by the belief that
teaching students the most relevant, useful, in-demand, and universally applicable skills should
be prioritized in today’s schools.
As such, students need to be taught different skills that should reflect the specific demands
of a complex, competitive, knowledge-based, information-age, technology-driven economy and
society.
21st Century skills may be taught in a wide variety of school settings. Teachers may
advocate teaching cross-disciplinary skills, while schools may require 21st century skills in both
instruction and assessment processes. Schools and teachers may use educational approaches that
inherently expedite or facilitate the acquisition of cross-disciplinary skills.
Educational strategies that include authentic, outcome-based learning, project-based
learning and performance-based learning tend to be cross-disciplinary in nature. Students
complete a research project, create multiple technologies, analyze and process information, think
creatively, plan out the process, and work collaboratively in teams with other students.
Likewise, schools may allow students to pursue alternative learning pathways, in which
students earn academic credit and satisfy graduation requirements by completing an internship,
apprenticeship or immersion experience. In this case, students can acquire a variety of practical,
job-related skills and work habits, while also completing academic coursework and meeting the
same learning standards required of students.
Assessment of multiliteracies. Assessment moves from usual memorization of facts and
disconnected processes to demonstration of understanding through application in a variety of
contexts. Real-world audiences are important part of the assessment process, including self-
assessment.
Media literacy skills are honed as students address real-world issues from the
environment. Students use the technological and multimedia tools now available to them to
design and produce websites, television shows, radio shows, public service announcements, mini-
documentaries, electronic portfolios, DVDs, oral histories and even films.

In a way, students can freely express their points of view as they Create projects using
multimedia and deliver these products to real-world audiences, realizing that they can make a

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difference and change the world. They learn what it is to be a contributing citizen, and carry these
citizenship skills throughout their lives.

As a result, standardized test scores are higher because students have acquired the skills
and content in a meaningful connected way with profound understanding. They actually master
the content on a much higher level and develop their basic skills by constant application
throughout their schooling.
Preparing teachers for multiliteracies. New London Group (1996) underscored multi-
literacies as multimodal ways of communication that include communications between and
among other languages using diverse channels within cultures and an ability to understand
technology and multimedia. As such, applying multiliteracies to teaching offers a new classroom
pedagogy that extends and helps manage classrooms.
Biswas (2014) asserted that one challenge for educators is to help students create a
sustainable literacy development throughout schooling, so that students can develop strong
literacy skills (Borsheim, et. al, 2008). Certainly, multiple and new literacies require students to
integrate technology-enhanced educational tools into their work. Ajayi (2011) recommended that
teacher education must prepare teachers to teach multiliteracies in their schools where there is a
critical gap between multiliteracies and classroom pedagogy (Pennington, 2013). Given
globalization and technological changes, teaching multiliteracies is indispensable to literacy
teaching and learning in the 21st century.
Therefore, Newman (2002) in Biswas (2014) suggests that teachers integrate four components of
multiliteracies in teaching:
1. Situated practice leads students towards meaningful learning by integrating primary
knowledge.
2. Overt instruction guides students to the systematic practice of learning process with
tools and techniques.
3. Critical framing teaches students how to question diverse perceptions for better
learning experiences.
4. Transformed action teaches students to apply the lessons they learn to solve real-life
problems.

Thus, teaching multiliteracies can inform, engage, and encourage students to embrace
the multiplicity of learning practices (New London Group, 1996). Moreover, teaching
multiliteracies can help teachers blend and apply the following four instructional processes of
multiliteracies in classroom to ensure successful teaching and advancing students’ learning
processes.
Research shows that effective instruction in 21st Century literacies takes an integrated
approach, helping students understand how to access, evaluate, synthesize, and contribute to
information (New London Group, 1996).
Teachers insist to: (1) encourage students to reflect regularly on the role of technology in
their learning; (2) create a website and invite students to use it to continue class discussions and
bring in outside voices; (3) give students strategies for evaluating the quality of information they
find on the Internet; (4) be open about one’s own strengths and limitations with technology and
invite students to help; (5) explore technologies students are using outside the classroom and

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find ways to incorporate them into one’s teaching; (6) use wiki to develop a multimodal reader’s
guide to a class text; (7) include a broad variety of media and genres in class texts; (8) ask students
to create a podcast to share with an authentic audience; (9) give students explicit instruction about
how to avoid plagiarism in a digital environment; and (10) refer to the Partnership for 21st Century
Skills website.
For schools and policymakers: (1) Teachers need both intellectual and material support for
effective 21st century literacy instruction; (2) Schools need to provide continuing opportunities for
professional development, as well as up-to-date technologies for use in literacy classrooms; (3)
Address the digital divide by lowering the number of students per computer and by providing
high quality access (broadband speed and multiple locations) to technology and multiple software
packages; (4) Ensure that students in literacy classes have regular access to technology; (5) Provide
regular literacy-specific professional development in technology for teachers and administrators
at all levels, including higher education; (6) Require teacher preparation programs to include
training in integrating technology into instruction; (7) Protect online learners and ensure their
privacy; (8) Affirm the importance of literacy teachers in helping students develop technological
proficiency; and (9) Adopt and regularly review standards for instruction in technology.
The integration of new literacies and the teaching of multiliteracies open new pedagogical
practices that create opportunities for future literacy teaching and learning. Multiliteracies can
also help teachers provide equal access to learning for all students. In effect, students learn to
collaborate by sharing their thoughts with others in online spaces where they can engage in
different forms or modes of learning process. Consequently, students can be expected to become
more confident and knowledgeable in their learning through participatory and collaborative
practices as a result of this new literacy integration in the curriculum for teacher education (New
London Group, 1996).

-end-

EVALUATION

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