The concept of multiliteracies is a relatively new one, but it looks at the important paradox of how one language, English, is branching off into different forms of itself. It also acknowledges how today’s world of multimedia requires language-learners to learn English through different forms of media. There is no longer one standard set of skills that covers all literacies, indicating there can no longer be one pedagogy when teaching it (Cope & Kalantzis 6).
When dissecting the idea of multiliteracies, it is important to know certain terms. One is multimodal literacy. This literacy consists of deciphering meaning from multiple medias that can range from video to desktop publishing, just to name a couple (5-6). Multimodal literacy is important to multiliteracies because, thanks to the addition of new medias, it is one of the leading factors in expanding how English must be taught.
A second useful term is a pair of terms, lingua mundi and lingua franca. Lingua mundi defines English as a developing world language, and lingua franca defines it as a primary language used in commerce, politics, and media (6). Understanding these roles of the language aids in understanding how English is perhaps one of the most complex ones, for it is differentiating into different versions of itself with dialects, accents, and other unique markers.
A third important term is pedagogy. According to these authors, literacy pedagogy consists of four parts or stages. A learner must first become a meaning maker, by deriving meaning from the symbols and sounds of language. Then the learner develops their own metalanguage, or Design, going onto the third step, which is interpreting the social context and purpose of language. Finally, a learner uses their metalanguage to create. The four parts of pedagogy can be summed up into these titles: Situated Practice, Overt Instruction, Critical Framing, and Transformed Practice (7).
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