Localizing New Literacy Studies in Korea: Their Implications on Secondary English Education

Abstract

This study aims to understand the implications of New Literacy Studies (NLS) regarding secondary English language education in a Korean context. Byemphasizing the meanings which students make regarding texts in relation to their situated contexts, this paper pinpoints critical thinking as primary in students’ literacy building. The synthesis of theoretical and empirical studies implies, first, that the role of English becomes a communicative medium that allows L2 users to perform their beings and to awaken themselves from dominant discourse. As enabling, creative, and skillful people, L2 users can control English to express themselves and further to influence the world. The second implication is that the development of authentic materials that associate text with students’ own lives can be vital for increasing students’ active participation in English classrooms. The final implication is that the pedagogy of paying attention to power relations and resistant positionings will help students be informed choosers of various English languacultures and active knowledge creators.