Replying the questions on 'Pedagogy of Multiliteracies' by New London Group

1. Overall, what is the point that this article attempts to make?

The article aims to introduce and 'sell' the idea of multiliteracies as a pedagogy, also introducing the notion of 'Design' which forms the basis of a metalanguage of multiliteracies, and subsequently, 'Available Designs', 'Designing', and 'The Redesigned' as its main elements; how pedagogy is an integration of four factors: 'Situated Practice', 'Overt Instruction', 'Critical Framing' and 'Transformed Practice', which are influenced by this notion of 'Design', and teachers can incorporate them in their teaching.

2. What aspects of 'multiplicity' does multiliteracies attempt to accommodate?

According to Kalantzis (1997), every single person does not just belong to one single community; instead, he/she belongs to multiple and overlapping communities, regardless of work, interest, affiliation, ethnicity, sexual identity, etc. Thus, multiliteracies attempt to accommodate the differences and similarities between people, whose multiple identities allow them to form relationships with others with similar part-identities.

For example, I am a Singaporean, studying in NIE, taking my degree in Arts, am part of the NIE Bachelor of Arts Club and NTU Contract Bridge Club, am currently staying in Hall 15, and am part of its Contract Bridge, Boggle and Scrabble teams for Inter-Hall. (and this is only a brief introduction) Thus, we can see that I am part of many different social circles and communities, and while some of them intersect (like my coursemates and club mates from the BA Club), and others do not, there are definitely differences in the way I act, or speak within these different communities.

As such, teachers can use the notion of multiliteracies to appeal to their students' diverse identities during their lessons.

3. What do the NLG mean by 'design'?

The NLG has defined 'design' in two ways - 1. structures; and 2. forms of meaning. The process of design involves three elements: 'Available Designs', 'Designing' and 'The Redesigned'. 'Available Designs' refers to the existing resources available, 'Designing' refers to the processes (eg. reading, seeing and listening) made on or with these existing resources, while 'The Redesigned' refers to the final product(s) from the 'Designing' phase.

4. How do you imagine multiliteracies pedagogy, as the NLG describe it, might operate in the contexts in which you have taught (e.g. your practicum experience(s))?

In terms of a language lesson, teachers can make use of the three elements of 'design' to engage their students in a fun and interesting manner. For example, when learning about the Narrative and its structure, the teacher can use the existing stories available (Available Designs) to introduce the text type and teach the students about its structure. The students can then write their own original stories (Designing) keeping in mind what they have learnt, incorporating images and also sound into their stories. They can even create flash animations of their stories, with an e-book being the final product (The Redesigned). There are many software available in the market that helps students to create this e-book more efficiently and effectively.

This is of course, not just limited to e-books, but also e-comics, games, news stories, etc. And many students in schools around Singapore are using such technology, for example, sending in their animations and video clips to Okto, news reports to Channel 8, etc.