Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu

Higher education teachers who teach English proficiency courses to undergraduates often make the assumption that if learners work hard on content taught to them, they would have acquired literacy in all aspects relating to the language. Do learners’ abilities to read well or write well in English de...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kaur, Sarjit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ACRULeT, Faculty of Education & UiTM Press 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/323/
_version_ 1848802314485235712
author Kaur, Sarjit
author_facet Kaur, Sarjit
author_sort Kaur, Sarjit
building UiTM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Higher education teachers who teach English proficiency courses to undergraduates often make the assumption that if learners work hard on content taught to them, they would have acquired literacy in all aspects relating to the language. Do learners’ abilities to read well or write well in English depend on their context? To discern the appropriate path for their learners, higher education teachers must be knowledgeable about “language and literacy, be adept at seeking and critically evaluating information and be able to relate these understandings to their daily working knowledge of their learners” (Heydon, Hibbert & Iannaci, 2005: 312). Many definitions of the term ‘literacy’ seem to focus too much on skill to the exclusion of will (Padak & Bardine, 2004). The concepts of promoting ‘engaged learners’ and ‘literacy empowerment’ in higher education contexts should incorporate some of the following aspects: motivation, strategies, knowledge and social interaction. This paper discusses the design and framework of the Multiliteracies Approach advocated by The New London Group and argues that it is a viable teaching strategy that embraces literacy abilities, literacy choices and attitudes. Additionally, it recognizes that meaningful learning can take place if there is bridging between theory and practice.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T21:21:23Z
format Article
id uitm-323
institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T21:21:23Z
publishDate 2007
publisher ACRULeT, Faculty of Education & UiTM Press
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling uitm-3232017-10-31T07:41:33Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/323/ Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu ajue Kaur, Sarjit Study and teaching Higher education teachers who teach English proficiency courses to undergraduates often make the assumption that if learners work hard on content taught to them, they would have acquired literacy in all aspects relating to the language. Do learners’ abilities to read well or write well in English depend on their context? To discern the appropriate path for their learners, higher education teachers must be knowledgeable about “language and literacy, be adept at seeking and critically evaluating information and be able to relate these understandings to their daily working knowledge of their learners” (Heydon, Hibbert & Iannaci, 2005: 312). Many definitions of the term ‘literacy’ seem to focus too much on skill to the exclusion of will (Padak & Bardine, 2004). The concepts of promoting ‘engaged learners’ and ‘literacy empowerment’ in higher education contexts should incorporate some of the following aspects: motivation, strategies, knowledge and social interaction. This paper discusses the design and framework of the Multiliteracies Approach advocated by The New London Group and argues that it is a viable teaching strategy that embraces literacy abilities, literacy choices and attitudes. Additionally, it recognizes that meaningful learning can take place if there is bridging between theory and practice. ACRULeT, Faculty of Education & UiTM Press 2007-06 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/323/1/AJ_SARJIT%20KAUR%20AJUE%2007.pdf Kaur, Sarjit (2007) Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu. (2007) Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE) <https://ir.uitm.edu.my/view/publication/Asian_Journal_of_University_Education_=28AJUE=29.html>, 3 (1). pp. 111-132. ISSN 1823-7797
spellingShingle Study and teaching
Kaur, Sarjit
Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title_full Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title_fullStr Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title_full_unstemmed Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title_short Using the multiliteracies approach to promote English literacy in higher education / Sarjit Kaur and Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
title_sort using the multiliteracies approach to promote english literacy in higher education / sarjit kaur and gurnam kaur sidhu
topic Study and teaching
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/323/