Module 3:

NEW LITERACIES, FUNCTIONAL LITERACY AND MULTIRACY

WHAT TO EXPECT
1. Discuss new literacies and their
impact on the teaching-learning
process
2. Describe a multiliterate teacher
3. Define functional literacy
4. Cite how functional literacy and
new literacies can be integrated in
the curriculum and practiced in the
classroom
5. Draw relevant life lessons and
significant values from personal
application of functional literacy
6. Analyze a research abstract on
new literacies and their implications
on teaching and learning
7. Make a project plan or action plan
that presents functional literacy in
action

PRE-DISCUSSION

Tableau Technique:
concept of new literacies including their expressions through tableau formation.
(Tableau is a depiction of a scene through monumental statue formation.) It enhances
creativity, resourcefulness, and critical thinking.

Procedure:

1. Group the students into 4 to 5 depending on the class size.

2. Give ample time for each group to think of ideas that are related to the assigned
new literacy (i.e. social literacy, media literacy, multicultural literacy, digital
literacy, creativity literacy and ecoliteracy)
3. Ask each group to form a tableau that portrays a scenario or scene of the
assigned topic:
4. Explain the tableau. Let the group presenter do this.
5. Give the class time for a brief reflection of the activity

LESSON OUTLINE
Students are taught to read and write print with fluency, speed and
comprehension of the message of the writer and the interpretation of the content of
the material. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) asserts that a person, who is literate, can comprehend and write simple
and short sentences related to his/her daily life.

New Literacies

Between 1950 and 1970, the development of literacy, both operational and
fucntiona, was established. During this period, literacy was defined as reading and
writing skills necessitated for activities in modern society (Gunes, 2000). Beyond the
1990s, literacy had started to diversify in the light of technological developments,
change of living conditions in cities, and the new necessities. Hereafter, literacy then
became multi-faceted.

At first, literacy was used in various types, such as computer literacy,

technology literacy, Internet literacy, and media literacy, respectively (Altun, 2005).
Later
encompasses information literacy, cultural literacy and universal literacy.

Truly, literacy has changed and developed through a multitude of phases within
a specific period based on societal needs.

However, along this line, literacy is not confined only to knowing how to read
and write rather, it is a matter of applying knowledge for specific purposes in particular
contexts. It includes a socially-driven and evolved a pattern of activities, such as
writing correspondence, records keeping and inventories, posting announcements,
reporting, etc. As much, Lankshear & Knobel (2006) avered that literacies intend to
generate and communicate meanings through the medium of encoded texts within
contexts in various discourses.

Kres (2003) posited that literacy can only happen when having a kind of
potential content
through interaction with the text. Likewise, a particular text may be understood for
being connected or related. Although in a way, such meaning can be more relational
than literal or expressing solidarity or affinity with particular people, like understanding
the Internet, online practices and online content, Hence, anything available online can
become a resources for making diverse meaning.

Literacies can bear a coding system that can capture the meaning, such as

Moreover, the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (2015) asserts

that 21st Century literacy has expanded to include social change, increasing field
expertise and digital technologies. To be literate requires comprehension, selection
and use of multimodal codes and conventions to interpret and express ideas, feelings
and information. Subjects0specific literacies are recognized to require the application
of specialized knowledge and skills, information skills, and the creative and
imaginative language. Literacy in the 21st century, therefore, demands the ability to
perform and act confidently, efficiently and ethically with a wide range of written and
visual, print, live, digital or electronic text types according to purpose
(www.petaa.edu.au).

The increasing complexity of modern communication gives rise to a number of

distinct capabilities. Hence, 21st Century literacy combines cross-curricular capabilities

broad skills include visual literacy, information literacy, cultural literacy and digital
literacy dynamics. These new literacies are fused with traditional print literacy to create
opportunities and enable students to understand and use new text types, while
exploring knowledge and information with a wide array of technological tools,such as
blogging, fanfic writing, manga producing, meme-ing, photoshopping, anime music
video (AMV), podcasting, vodcasting, and gaming, running a paper-based zine,
reading literacy novels and wordless picture books, reading graphic novels and
comics, and reading bus timetables. (Primary English Teaching Association Australia
2015)

Leander (2003) noted that new literacies are often flexible, continuous and
literacy
practice becomes a mindset with the concept of Web 2.0, it can be regarded as a new
literacy. New technologies enable and enhance these practices in a way that is highly
complex and exciting for students.

Exploring the New Literacies

There are seven new literacies that are stressed in the 21 st century
curriculum.

1. Multicultural Literacy is about understanding ethnic groups that comprise the

population and focuses on complex issues of identity, diversity and citizenship.
2. Social literacy is the development of social skills, knowledge and positive values
in human beings to act positively and responsibility in sophisticated
complex social settings.
3. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluates, and create
media.
4. Financial literacy is the ability to make informed judgments and make
effective decisions regarding the use and management of money.
5. Digital literacy is the ability to effectively use digital devices for purposes of
communication, expression, collaboration and advocacy in a knowledge
based society.
6. Ecological literacy is understanding the principles of ecosystems toward
sustainability.
7. Creative literacy is the ability to make original ideas that have value, and
the ability to see the world in new ways.
The Truth on 21st Century Literacies According to Research

Since success with technology depends largely on critical thinking and

reflection, teachers with relatively little technologies skills can provide less useful
instruction. Therefore, schools must support the teachers by providing them
professional training and up-to-date technology for utilization in classrooms.

Global economics, new technologies, and exponential growth in information are

-driven,
diverse, and quickly changing world, collaboration, and analysis as well as skills with
word processing, hypertext, LCDs, Webcams, podcasts, smartboards, and social
networking software that are central to individual and community success.

The National Council of Teachers of English (2013) came up with a research

that reveals the following:

1. As new technologies shape literacies, they bring opportunities for teachers

to foster reading and writing in more diverse and participatory contexts.
2. Sites, ne fanfiction, and the Internet
Public Library, expand both the range of available texts and the social
dimension of literacy.
3. Research on electronic reading workshops shows that they contribute to
the emergence of new literacies.
4. Research also shows that digital technology enhances writing and
interaction in several ways.
5. K-12 students, who write with computers, produce compositions of greater
length and higher quality are more engaged with and motivated toward writing
than those who do not write with computers.
6. College students, who keep e-portfolios, have a higher rate of academic
achievement and overall retention rate than those who do not keep e
portfolios. They also demonstrate a greater capacity for metacognition,
reflection and audience awareness.
7. Both typical and atypical students, who receive an online response to
writing, revise their works better than those participating in traditional method.

Functional Literacy

The term functional literacy was initially defined by UNESCO through William
S. Gray in his Teaching of Reading and Writing (1956) as adult training to meet
independently the reading and writing demands placed on them. It stresses the
acquisition of appropriate verbal, cognitive and computational skills to accomplish
practical results in specific cultural settings dubbed as survival literacy and
reductionalist literacy.
 Over the decades, as societies have evolved into technical innovations, the
definition of functional literacy has been modified to meet the changing demands
(Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1998).

Referring to functional literacy, UNESCO states the following:

1. Literacy programs should be integrated to and correlated with economic

and social development plans.
2. The eradication of illiteracy should begin with population sectors, which are
highly motivated and need literacy for their own a
3. Literacy programs must impart not only reading and writing but also
professional and technical knowledge leading to greater participation of adults
in economic and civic life.
4. Literacy programs must be an integral part of the over-all educational
system and plan of each country.
5. Literacy must be an integral part of the over-all educational system and
plan of each country.
6. The financial need for functional literacy should be met with various
resources, as well as be provided for economic investments.
7. The literacy programs should aid in achieving main economic objectives (i.e.
increase in labor productivity, food production, industrialization, social and
professional mobility, creation of new manpower and diversification of the
economy).

Thus, literacy materials present reading, writing and numeracy concepts using
words and ideas needed in using information for learners to enhance sufficient literacy
skills and continue learning on their own.

A number of functional literacy programs have been carried out that focus on
different job skills and development aspect. To name a few, in the Philippine context,
are agricultural, health, industry, family planning, home making, arts and culture and
technical-vocational programs.

A new functional literacy aspects, called specific literacy, is becoming a trend,

in which the job of the students is analyzed to see exactly the literacy skills needed
and those that are only taught. This is to prevent job-skill mismatch, In specific
literacies, the student may learn very little but will be of immediate value that would
result in increased learner motivation.

Therefore, the specific literacy is a planning tool that allows the literacy worker
to focus on skills that are of value to the learners

Significance of this approach includes literacy that: (1) starts in the workplace;
(2) uses a diagnostic approach; (3) identifies turning assesses the limits of a short-
term intervention; and 95) looks for generic skills.
(https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/functional-literacy)

Gunes (2000) posited that functional literacy constitutes the second level of
literacy nest to basic literacy, in which literary and mathematical information and skills

the essence in functional literacy is to learn basic related information and skills and
use them in daily life. Functional literacy level comprises both technical and functional
skills while encompassing social, citizenship, and economic roles.

In context, Capar (1998) cites that a functionally literate person in someone who
is one step ahead of literacy and maintains literacy activity throughout his/her life in
order to keep living and effectively accommodate him/herself to his/her surroundings.
It is, therefore, an ongoing process.

UNESCO defines functional literacy as the ability of an individual to take part in

significant activities in professional, social, political and cultural aspects in a society,
where he/she lives using hi/her literacy skills (De Castel, 1971; Goksen, Gulgoz and
Kagitcibasi, 2000; as cited in Savas, 2006).

Hatch (2010) defines it based on the American Heritage College Dictionary

(

that can be used in daily life routines.

Likewise, Knoblauch and Brannon (1993), as cited in Jabusch (2002)

distinguished basic literacy and functional literacy as having the expression

The education for All Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO, 2006) states that
functional literacy means the ability to make significant use of activities
involving reading and writing skills that include using information,
communicating with others, and following a path of lifelong learning necessary
for the ability to express him/herself in daily life.
that functional literacy includes those skills essential for both official and
unofficial participation, as well as those which are necessary for national
change and development that can used to aid an individual in contributing ti
his/her own development and that of his/her family and the society. The National
Statistics authority defines functional literacy as the level of literacy that includes
reading, writing and numeracy skills that help people cope with the daily
demands of life

Based on these definitions, functional literacy can be concluded as an activity

that contributes to the development of an individual and the society, including the
ability to use information and skills related to listening, speaking, reading, writing, and
arithmetic necessary for daily life in social, cultural and economic aspect effectively
(https://pdfs.semanticsholar.org).

Improving Functional Literacy in the Philippines

Over the years, the Philippines has continuously aspired to attain an increased
functional rate

Manuyo (2019) reported that based on the 2013 Functional Literacy, Education
and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), the country registered a 90.3% rate, which means
that nine out of every 10 Filipinos aged 10-64 were functionally literate. In 2003, there
still gaps at the community level. In the study conducted by World Vision, results
showed that the proportion of girls and boys aged 11-13, who were functionally literate,
placed at a critical rate of 44%, or below50% of students were able to read with
comprehension by the end of their basic education.

It was also evident that school dropout contributed to low functional literacy.
Obviously, one in every 100 or about 4 million Filipino children and youth were out-of-
school in 2013. Of the total number, 22.9% got married, 19.2% lacked a family income
to be sent to school and 19.1% lacked interest in attending schools. In order to address
illiteracy issues, creating formal and non-formal learning environments, active
participation of local stakeholders, capacity building of teachers, development of
contextualized or indigenized learning materials, and tracking of improvement of
reading, basic math and essential life skills outcomes were desired. Inventions also
included improvement of classrooms and several reading facilities, establishing a
culture of reading program, parental training and learning, and skill integration in the
curriculum.

(hhtps://www.worldvision.org.ph/stories/improving-functional-literacy-in-the-
philippines/)

In a follow-up study by World Vision in 2016, the functional literacy rate went
up at 76.53%. In the community level, the rate inclined to 62.64%, or around 50%-70%
of the students were able to read with comprehension by the end of their basic
education. The increase was significant within the 3-year interval but it also indicated
more improvement is expected considering that rate remained 17.36% short of the
80% threshold (https://dpfs.semanticscholar.org).

An analysis shows that low function literacy could mean low resilience to

could also result in unpreparedness for gainful employment and eventually increased
dependency on welfare programs.

One of the government initiatives to address this is the Alternative Learning

System (ALS) that provides an opportunity for learning among out-of-school youth for
them to land in better
jobs.(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org.3941/28e26f67db4951eb52713964a9846ec.p
df)

Integration of New Literacies in the Curriculum

proficient in the new literacies of 21st century technologies. The International Reading
Association (IRA) believes that literacy educators have the responsibility to integrate
information and communication technologies into the curriculum to prepare students
for the future they deserve.

The multiliterate learner. Today, the Internet and other forms of information
and communication technologies (ICTs) are redefining the nature of reading, writing,
and communication. New literacy skills and practices are required by each new ICT
as it emerges and evolves. Thus, these new literacies need to be integrated into the
curriculum to prepare students for successful civic participation in a global
environment.

Students would desire for : (1) teachers who use ICTs skillfully for teaching and
learning; (2) peers who use ICTs responsibly and who share their knowledge; (3) a
literacy curriculum that offers opportunities for collaboration with peers around the
world; (4) instruction that embeds critical and culturally sensitive thinking into practice,
standards and assessments that include new literacies; (5) leaders and policymakers
who are committed advocates of ICTs for teaching and learning; and (8) equal access
to ICTs for all classrooms and students.

Coiro, et. Al (2008) noted four common elements as broader dimensions of new
literacies, to wit: (1) the Internet and other ICTs require new social practices, skills,
strategies, and dispositions for their effective use; (2) new literacies are central to full
civic, economic, and personal participation in a global community; (3) new literacies
rapidly change as defining technologies change; and 94) new literacies are multiple,
multimodal and multifaceted, thus, they benefit from multiple lenses seeking to
understand how to better support the students in a digital age.

Impact of new literacies on instruction. Additional changes are taking place

in literacy instruction (Grisham and wolsey, 2009). Henry (2008) restated that
engagement in literacy activities is being transformed today like other information
communication technologies (ICTs) at increasing rates to read, write and interact with
texts, they must develop new skills and strategies, or new literacies, to be successful
in theses multimodal, intertextual and interactive environments. The Internet has

for students to learn how to manipulate successfully.

Although, there are multiple ways to view the changes in literacy and
communication emerging from new technologies (Labbo and Reinking, 19990, it
cannot be ignored that literacy changes experiences at school and in everyday lives,

Hence, Leu, et. Al (2004) posited that changes in literacy are confronted by innovation,
that the new literacies of today will be replaced by even newer ones tomorrow as new
ICTs continuously emerge in a more globalized community of learners. Such changes
bear important implications to instruction, assessment, professional development and
research.

Multiliteracies in the educational Reform

In a broader essence, the concept of 21st century skills is motivated by the belief
that teaching students the most relevant, useful, in-demand and universally applicable

As such, students need to be taught different skills that should reflect the
specific demands of a complex, competitive, knowledge-based, information-age,
technology-driven economy and society.

21st Century skills may be taught in a wide variety of school settings. Teachers
may advocate teaching cross-disciplinary skills, while schools may require 21st century
skills in both instructional and assessment process. School and teachers may use
educational approaches that inherently expedite or facilitate the acquisition of cross-
disciplinary skills.

Educational strategies that include authentic, outcome-based learning, project-

based learning and performance-based learning tend to be cross-disciplinary in
nature. Students complete a research project, create multiple technologies, analyze
and process information, think creatively, plan out the process, and work
collaboratively in teams with other students.

Likewise, school may allow students to pursue alternative leaning pathways, in

which students earn academic credit and satisfy graduation requirements by
completing an internship, apprenticeship or immersion experience. In this case,
students can acquire a variety of practical, job-related skills and work habits, while also
completing academic coursework and meeting the same learning standards required
of students.

Assessment of multilitiracies. Assessment moves from usual memorization

of facts and disconnected processes to demonstration of understanding through
application in a variety of contexts. Real-world audiences are important part of the
assessment process, including self-assessment.

Media literacy skills are honed as students address real-world issues from the
environment. Students use the technological and websites, television shows, radio
shows, public service announcements, mini-documentaries, electronic portfolios,
DVDs, oral histories and even films.
 In a way, students can freely express their points of view as they create projects
using multimedia and deliver these products to real-world audiences, realizing that
they can make a difference and change the world. They learn what it is to be a
contributing citizen, and carry these citizenship skills throughout their lives.

As a result, standardized test scores are higher because students have

acquired the skills and content in a meaningful connected way with profound
understanding. They actually master the content on a much higher level and develop
their basic skills by constant application throughout their schooling.

Preparing teachers for mulititeracies. New London Group (1996) underscore

multi-literacies as multimodal ways of communication that include communications
between and among other languages using diverse channels within cultures and an
ability to understand technology and multimedia. As much, applying multiliteracies to
teaching offers a new classroom pedagogy that extends and helps manage
classrooms.

Biwas (2014) asserted that one challenge for educators is to help students
create a sustainable literacy development throughout schooling, so that students can
develop strong literacy skills (Borsheim, et. Al, 2008). Certainly, multiple and new
literacies require students to integrate technology-enhanced educational tools into
their work. Ajayi (2011) recommended that teacher education must prepare teachers
to teach multiliteracies in their schools where there is a critical gap between
multiliteracies and classroom pedagogy (Pennington, 2013). Given globalization and
technological changes, teaching multiliteracies is indispensable to literacy teaching
and learning in the 21st century.

Therefore, Newman (2002) in Biwas (2014) suggests that teachers integrate

four components of multiliteracies in teaching:

1. Situated practice leads students towards meaningful learning by

integrating primary knowledge.
2. Overt instruction guides students to the systematic practice of learning
process with tools and techniques.
3. Critical framing teaches students how to question diverse perceptions
for better learning experiences.
4. Transformed action teaches students to apply the lessons they learn to
solve real-life problems.

Thus, teaching multiliteracies can form, engage, and encourage students to

embrace the multiplicity of learning practices (New London Group, 1996). Moreover,
teaching multiliteracies can help teachers blend and apply the following four
instructional processes of multiliteracies in classroom to ensure successful teaching
 Research shows that effective instruction in 21st century literacies takes an
integrated approach, helping students understand how to access, evaluate,
synthesize, and contribute to inform (New London Group, 1996).

Teachers insist to : (1) encourage students to reflect regularly on the role of

technology in their learning; (2) create a website and invite students to use it to
continue class discussions and bring in outside voices; (3) give students strategies for

own strengths and limitations with technology and invite students to help; (5) explore
technologies students are using outside the classroom and find ways to incorporate

text; (8) ask students to create a podcast to share with an authentic audience; (9) give
students explicit instruction about how to avoid plagiarism in a digital environment; and
(10) refer to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website.

For schools and policymakers: (1) teachers need both intellectual and material
support for effective 21st century literacy instruction: (2) Schools need to provide
continuing opportunities for professional development, as well as up-to-date
technologies for use in literacy classrooms; (3) Address the digital divide by lowering
the number of students per computer and by providing high quality access (broadband
speed and multiple locations) to technology and multiple software packages; (4)
Ensure that students in literacy classes have regular access to technology; (5) Provide
regular literacy-specific professional development in technology for teachers and
administrators at all levels, including higher education; (6) Require teacher preparation
programs to include training in integrating technology into instruction; (7) Protect online
learners and ensure their privacy; (8) Affirm the importance of literacy teachers in
helping students develop technological proficiency; and (9) Adopt and regularly review
standards for instruction in technology.

The integration of new literacies and the teaching of multiliteracies open new
pedagogical practices that create opportunities for future literacy teaching and
learning. Multiliteracies can also help teachers provide equal access to learning for all
students. In effect, students learn to collaborate by sharing their thoughts with others
in online spaces where they can engage in different forms or modes of learning
process. Consequently, students can be expected to become more confident and
knowledgeable in their learning through participatory and collaborative practices as a
result of this new literacy integration in the curriculum for teacher education (New
London Group, 1996).
SUMMARY
NEW LITERACIES, FUNCTIONAL LITERACY AND MULTILITERACY
New literacy demands the ability to move confidently, efficiently and
ethically between and among a wide range of written and visual, print, live,
digital of electronic text types according to purpose.
Functional literacy is the level of literacy that includes not only reading and
writing but also numeracy skills that would help people cope with the daily
demands of life.
There are various plans and programs of the government improving
functional literacy in the Philippines.
New literacies can be integrated into the curriculum through effective
teaching-learning implementation.
Multiple literacies are multimodal ways of communication, which include
communications among different languages, using language within different
cultures, and the ability to understand technology and multimedia.

ASSESSMENT/ENRICHMENT
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is meant by new literacies? What is their impact on the teaching-

learning process?
2. Describe a multiliteracies teacher.
3. Distinguish between basic and functional literacy.
4. How can we integrate new literacies and functional literacy in the curriculum
and in classroom practice?

INTROSPECTING

L-

I-

T-

E- Functional Literacy Concepts

R-

A-

C-
Direction: Make a project plan or activity that presents functional literacy in action
(i.e. service learning, community integration, immersion activity,
industry visit, benchmarking, etc). Use the provided template sample
below.

PROJECT PLAN
Name of
Project
Brief
Description
Leader
Members
Beneficiaries
Target Success Date Persons Resources Accomplishment
Objectives Indicators and Involved (Human,
Venue Material,
Financial)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

TIME TABLE
INDICATORS Day Day Day Day Day
1/Week 1 2/Week 2 3/Week 3 4/Week 4 5/Week 5
Date:____ Date:____ Date:____ Date:____ Date:____
_ _ _ _ _
Task/Activity

Lead

Coordinator

Counterpart

Expected
Accomplishmen
t

PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

1.
2.
3.
4.
 5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
TIME ACTIVITY IN-CHARGE

REFERENCES
De Leon, E. (2020). Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the
Curriculum, Lorimar Publishing Inc. Philippines
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cars?phrase=two%20cars&sort=mostpopular

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lecture-or-training-lesson-symbol-gm1214504716-353383962
https://www.deltaxresearch.com/circleflip-portfolio/toa4s-dga-summary-report/
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