MULTILITERACIES IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: Theory, Dimensions, and Pedagogy

Language education is undergoing significant transformation in response to the changing nature of communication, technology, culture, and society. Learners today encounter and produce meaning through a wide range of linguistic, visual, auditory, digital, and multimodal resources. They communicate not only through printed texts and face-to-face interaction but also through digital platforms, social media, online learning environments, videos, images, podcasts, and other forms of contemporary media. These developments require educators to reconsider what it means to be literate and how literacy should be taught in language education. This book, Multiliteracies in Language Education: Theory, Dimensions, and Pedagogy, is written to provide a conceptual and pedagogical understanding of multiliteracies and its relevance to contemporary language education. The book is grounded in the recognition that literacy can no longer be understood solely as the ability to read and write conventional printed texts. While traditional literacy remains an essential foundation, contemporary learners also need to interpret and create meaning across multiple languages, modes, media, cultures, and social contexts. The discussion begins by examining the need to rethink traditional conceptions of literacy. The first chapter explores how globalization, changing communication practices, learner identities, and emerging literacy demands have expanded the scope of literacy education. It introduces multiliteracies as a broader framework for understanding how learners engage with diverse forms of communication and meaning-making.