By the end of the seminar, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Participate in advanced discussions on the nature and value of diverse concepts of literacy, the use of multimodal resources and critical approaches to language study and learning;

2. Identify different approaches to textual- and multimodal-based learning in the language classroom;

3. Analyse critically the concepts of reading, literacy and multiliteracies, and apply different reading strategies to classroom contexts;

4. Identify the concept of “participatory culture” and explain its relevance to English language teaching;

5. Explore the uses of rhetoric and remediation in promoting participatory cultural practices in the English language classroom;

6. Identify and discuss the basic theoretical assumptions and practical consequences of various critical approaches to language study;

7. Develop and write a research paper on multiliteracies, the use of multimodal resources and/or criticality as applied to the field of ELT.

Topic 1 - Reading and literacy in the ELT classroom

Topic 2 - Multiliteracies and multimodality

Topic 3 - Participatory culture and the language classroom

Topic 4 - Rhetoric, remediation and participatory culture

Topic 5 - Language and criticality: theory and practice

Albers, P. (Ed.) (2018). Global conversations in literacy research: Digital and critical literacies. New York and London: Routledge.

Bowen, T., and Whithaus, C. (2013). Multimodal literacies and emerging genres. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Early, M., Kendrick, M. & Potts, D. (Eds.) (2015). Special topic issue: Multimodality: Out from the margins of English Language Teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 49(3).

Eyeman, D. (2015). Digital rhetoric: Theory, method, practice. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv65swm2

Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

Jenkins, H., Kelley, W., Jenkins III, H. G., Clinton, K. A., McWilliams, J., Pitts-Wiley, R. & Reilly, E.(2013) Reading in a participatory culture: Remixing Moby-Dick in the English classroom. New York and Berkeley: Teachers College Press.

Selber, S. (2004) Multiliteracies for a digital age. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Wallace, C. (2003). Critical reading in language education. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Selber, S. (2004) Multiliteracies for a digital age. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Wallace, C. (2003). Critical reading in language education. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillan. 

The teaching-learning process in this course unit takes place in a virtual environment (e-learning, with recourse to the Moodle platform). The learning methods used combine individual study with collaborative work. Students are required to carry out individual reading and research work and to develop a critical reflection on the course materials. Collaborative work is to be conducted in discussion forums, in which students are expected to participate by presenting the conclusions of their reflection on the course material, debating specific questions or topics, and presenting and discussing their own course work and that developed by their classmates.

Assessment is continuous, and based on the quality and pertinence of forum discussions and on the works (individual and group) presented for discussion and evaluation:

1) Short written works and presentations (individual and group) and a continuous assessment report: 60%;

2) A final individual written work: 40%.