a handy guide!

firstly, something you should know: this entry covers boring things relating to my university degree, and my exam tomorrow. i'm merely talking myself through my study, so if you're not interested in the education system i daresay you may want to skip this one.

tomorrow's my second big exam: foundations of language and literacies in education, or ED1421. D: how scary. so to ease the stress and give myself some time to think about what i'm actually doing, i'm happy to present to you:

how to be one-eighth of a first-year preservice school teacher: an instructional (and illustrated!) handyman's guide by yours truly!



so just where do we start? well, we're going to break this up into separate bodies of work called modules.

module one: what is literacy?
glad you asked! to summarize:

• literacy is a social and cultural practice that occurs for particular purposes existing within a social construct.
• literacy is inherently tied to issues of power.
• we now talk in terms of multiple literacies to reflect the different contexts and types of contexts literacy users interact with.
• literacy learning means much more than learning the skills of 'reading and writing'.
• learning to read and write means learning the conventional nature of a variety of text types.
• interaction with significant others is the most significant factor in children's literacy development.
• children learn much more about written language before actually coming to school.
• the most significant difference between written and spoken language is that written language persists in time and space.
• literacy is seen as a 'matter of social practices'.
• the term 'multiliteracies' is used to reflect the multiple nature of literacy.
• literary education is a highly political field.
• children begin to learn what reading and writing are used for before knowing exactly how the system works.
• daily life demonstrates to children both the example of written language that others use and how they use reading and writing.
• the development of literacy does not just begin when children first bring home a reading book.
• becoming literate is much more than using an alphabetic writing system to map oral language.
• our choice of language and literacies depends on the social context in which they are used (discourses).
• school factors can make a difference to literacy learning.
• it is important to realise the literacy practices/values students bring to school.
• writers need to become critical text users, sensitive to the types of meanings and values in texts.

that was a mouthful, wasn't it? and it only gets worse. if you're following along, 1421'ers, this is the research for week two (2-6 august) and comprises the information from lectures, chapter eleven of the textbook, and readings one and two.

go get a drink of water and come back.



module two: critical literacy.
week three, 9-13 august. chapter 4 (pg 92-3), chapter 1 (pg 8-11), readings three and four, appendices resource 4.

• critical language awareness, developed from critical linguistics, goes beyond knowledge about language, emphasizing how language conventions and practices are invested with power relationships.
• it is important to help students see how power and attitudes influence choices in language, and how they can change their use of language.
• knowledge is transmitted in social contexts. language is a part of a culture; you cannot know a language unless you know the culture.
• critical language policies and practices; students need to become aware of the ideologies operating in texts.

reading three: what constitutes a balanced literacy program?
-> what questions are relevant to using a sociocultural framework for mapping reading practices and contexts in the classroom?
-> how do i organize the students?
-> how do i organize my time?
-> how do i plan my assessment?
-> what is the teaching/learning cycle?

reading four: four roles of the literacy learner (freebody & luke's four resource model).

code breaker role: there is an emphasis on the practice of decoding and encoding. text participant role: there is emphasis on making meaning from the text. text user role: emphasis is placed on understanding the purposes of different texts. text analyst role: emphasis on texts as constructed within a diversity of social contexts.

gosh, time for week four already!

module three: multiliteracies.
week four, 16-20 august. my summaries from readings 5, 6 and 7.

reading five:
the need to redesign definitions of literacy and forms of pedagogy that include new dimensions of meaning, knowledge production, sociality, and intercultural communication is a principle aim of the multiliteracies project. children's first contact with media technologies is increasingly outside the classroom - most kids enter already 'literate' on various media conventions or 'grammars'. the power of the image is its potential to be transformed into merchandise. it is vital that any media literacy curriculum ties in with the study of culture. surfing the web, blogging, etc. is a kind of cultural tourism that both requires and teaches us new language, cultural and technical skills, and new forms of print and symbol-systems literacies. what today appears as hybrid media forms will be commonplace in the near future, and will generate new 'languages' and symbolic systems. these are heard by increasingly fragmented audience segments. bill gates calls it the new 'social interface'. teachers may have the most trouble re-conceptualizing literacy to literacies.

reading six:
literacy needs to be recognized as a social activity embedded within larger social practices and changing technologies. the essential skills of the multiliterate individual are locating, comprehending, using, critiquing and creating texts within personal, social, educational, historical, cultural and workplace contexts. even the simplest icon may be interpreted differently by a range of students. students read electronic texts in a non-linear way, selecting their own path. a curriculum framework for new learning environments has been proposed. see reading b for this framework. learning about language, learning with language, and learning language occur simultaneously within the primary classroom: the challenge is to achieve this within the other modes of representation. as changes in society occur, educators will need to challenge and adapt their pedagogical practices, as the different modes of 'new' communication will continue to evolve.

reading seven:
multiliteracies seek to empower students, equipping them for change and the future through a focus on multimedia and technology & the range of semiotic systems they employ, social and cultural diversity, and critical literacy. meanings are actively constructed by the interaction between reader and text. the 'four resource model' aids teachers by providing a way of examining various aspects of planning and pedagogy, and focusing us on making the reading process more transparent. there is a great need to draw on the histories of literacy education in order to select the most appropriate pedagogy and content for the specific learning outcomes we are trying to achieve. there are a range of approaches to literacy education which provide examples of these histories. each of these approaches has something to contribute to a social critical approach to literacy education. reading seven examines each approach from the perspective of 'necessary but not sufficient': that is, what in this approach is necessary to teaching literacy for the present and future, but what is insufficient and should be removed or modified in order to achieve the outcomes necessary for a multiliterate future.



module four: what is language?
week six, 23-27 august. (remember, week five was about the essay assignment).

language is a form of communication. communication can be verbal (spoken - sounds [phonemes], and written [graphemes]), and non-verbal (vocal [sounds], and visual [gestures, facial expression, body language]). animals use vocal and visual signs to communicate messages (sounds, movement, body position, body contact) = non-verbal communication.

• spoken language is a system of sounds. the study of speech is called 'phonology' ('phon' = sound).
• written language is a system of signs. the sign/signifier, and the signified.
• words are sometimes referred to as signs, and language is described as a 'system of signs' - or a semiotic system. semiotics is the study of signs and the way they are used to communicate meaning. as an example, a picture of balanced scales can be a sign, to represent justice (the signified).
• some signs are called icons to indicate that they are close to being a direct picture of what they refer to.
• symbolic signs are symbols of what they refer to, that is they do not present a direct picture; only something that we associate with the referent.

the relationship between signifier and signified is an arbitrary one. for example, traffic lights: the colours are the signifiers, our response to each colour is the signified (red=stop, green=go), however there is nothing intrinsic to red that connects it with stopping or green with going.

• so characteristically, language is systematic (rules about combinations), symbolic (words have no direct association with what they represent), arbitrary (link between sign and what it means is arbitrary), and conventional. because the relationship is arbitrary and symbolic, it has to be established by convention (i.e. accepted usage; a standard of procedure, an agreement).

language and culture are interdependent. language is part of culture, and is used to pass on culture. however, its use is also determined by the culture.

the reading for week six was all of chapter one, but you should've already read that by now.


module five: language functions.
week seven, 6-10 september. this week we had the first in-class test. readings: chapters 2 and 3.

module four concentrated on the concept of language as a set of systems. that is, the linguistic dimension of language. module five begins to look at the sociolinguistic dimension - it explores the ways language forms a central part of our social behaviour. key concepts: language functions, context of situation, context of culture, language as a social practice.

so what do we do with language? possible labels for categorising language functions include making sense of our environment for social interaction, to exchange information, and to structure reality. we categorize functions at different levels: function and macrofunction. if you were to make a list of things you did through language, the list could be grouped into two categories: they either involved giving/receiving information, or they involved some form of social interaction with other people (often the actual conversation would involve both).

the notion of a 'community of users' who have a 'shared world' is an important part of our definition of language. consider the example of 'fish' - our interpretation of what is signified by 'fish' can vary. written texts also function in ways so as to serve a purpose. for example, recording, describing, persuading, informing, advising, commanding, directing, exploring and maintaining relationships, making comparisons, amusing and entertaining.

we have seen that language functions for a range of purposes within a range of contexts - context of situation. these situations are also located within a broader context - the context of culture. words take on meanings from the cultural associations you make. one must link one's words, beliefs and mindsets to a larger context of culture when examining foreign bodies of people, such as tribal economics, social organisation, kinship patterns, fertility rights, concepts of time and space. essentially, meaning is created not only through what speakers say to one another, but through what they do with words in order to respond to the demands of their environment - i.e., situational/(socio)cultural context.

so, to sum up module five:

• the notion of the signified is bound up with the social, cultural influences that shape us.
• language is a set of systems.
• language is a way of behaving in social and cultural contexts.
• you learn the connotations of signs as you learn language - from the people around you, who make up your social group and your culture.
• the concept of language as social practice includes this 'social contact' or 'social interaction' use of language. however, it also goes further - to include the way our language expresses our social values. that is, the actual words we choose in any situation reflect our awareness of the people we are speaking to, and our judgments about them.

still with me? let's keep going.


module six: discourses and discursive practices.
week eight, 13-17 september. readings 8 & 9.


tillack being my old english teacher who tended to harp on about discourses and othello for most of the time i was in his presence. anyway.

i'll edit this post and keep going once i've had my coffee. i'm going pretty well considering it's only 1:30am and i've spent an hour playing firefight!