A multiliteracies approach to materials analysis

Abstract

Multiliteracies pedagogy is an approach to literacy education emphasising the diverse ways in which people make meanings and communicate their understandings to others. Within this view of literacy teaching and learning, the construal and expression of meaning is considered a result of people engaging in various knowledge processes as they interact with texts. An initial move for teachers interested in adopting a multiliteracies approach is an assessment of how their current teaching practices and materials offer learners opportunities to engage in different knowledge processes. To that end, this article describes a procedure for English Language Teaching (ELT) materials analysis based upon a concept from multiliteracies pedagogy: the knowledge process (KP) framework. With a view to improving the English language curriculum at a Japanese university, the framework was used to identify which knowledge processes are anticipated in teacher-generated literacy materials. The results of the study reveal that the majority of the analysed materials target the knowledge process of experiencing, while few materials require students to conceptualise or analyse information. Through a discussion of these results, the authors contend that the KP framework can be effectively employed as a specialised materials analysis instrument for revealing the meaning-making opportunities presented to learners by ELT literacy materials.