EDUC 6│MODULE 3 Multiliteracy is the ability to identify, interpret, create,

and communicate meaning across a variety of visual, oral,

NEW LITERACIES, FUNCTIONAL LITERACY AND
corporal, musical and alphabetical forms of
MULTILITERACY
communication.
New Literacies
These literacies combine traditional print literacy with
Evolution of Literacy technology-driven skills for various purposes and tools

• Between 1950 and 1970, the development of literacy,

both operational and functional, was established.
Literacy Practices in the 21st Century
During this period, literacy was defined as reading
• New literacies involve flexible and continuous
and writing skills necessitated for activities in modern
practices, merging online and offline experiences.
society (Güneş, 2000).
• Web 2.0 and new technologies enhance these
• Later, literacy diversified due to technological
practices, making them complex and exciting for
advancements and changing living conditions.
students.
Types of Literacy
Exploring the New Literacies
• Literacy evolved into various types, including
There are seven new literacies that are stressed in the 21st
computer literacy, technology literacy, Internet
century curriculum.
literacy, and media literacy.
1. Multicultural Literacy is about understanding ethnic
• It expanded to encompass information literacy,
groups that comprise the population and focuses on complex
cultural literacy, and universal literacy.
issues of identity, diversity and citizenship.
Meaning and Context
2. Social literacy is the development of social skills,
• Lankshear & Knobel (2006) averred that literacies knowledge and positive values in human beings to act
intend to generate and communicate meanings positively and responsibly in sophisticated complex social
through the medium of encoded texts within settings
contexts in various discourses.
3. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate,
• Kress (2003) posited that literacy can only happen and create media.
when having a kind of potential content through
4. Financial literacy is the ability to make informed
interaction with the text. Hence, anything available
judgments and make effective decisions regarding the use
online can become a resource for making diverse
and management of money.
meanings.
5. Digital literacy is the ability to effectively use digital
Literacies can bear a coding system that can capture the
devices for purposes of communication, expression,
meaning, such as "letteracy" (i.e., within language and
collaboration and advocacy in a knowledge-based society.
recognition d alphabetic symbols).
6. Ecological literacy is understanding the principles of
• The Primary English Teaching Association Australia
ecosystems toward sustainability.
(2015) asserts that 21st Century literacy has expanded
to include social change, increasing field expertise and 7. Creative literacy is the ability to make original ideas that
digital technologies. Literacy in the 21st century have value, and the ability to see the world in new ways.
therefore demands the ability to perform and act
The Truth on 21st Century Literacies According to
confidently, efficiently and ethically with a wide range
Research
of written and visual, print, live, digit or electronic text
types according to purpose (www.petaa.edu.au). In the 21st century, technology skills and critical thinking
are essential for success. Teachers, regardless of their tech
New Literacies
proficiency, need professional training and access to up-to-
• New literacies, also known as multiliteracies, date technology for effective instruction. This is crucial
encompass visual literacy, information literacy, because our society is rapidly changing due to global
cultural literacy, and digital literacy. economies, new technologies, and vast information growth.
To prepare students for this tech-driven world, teachers Referring to functional literacy, UNESCO states the
must impart problem-solving, collaboration, and analysis following:
skills, along with proficiency in various tech tools like word
• Literacy programs should be integrated to and
processing, hypertext, webcams, and social networking
correlated with economic and social development plans.
software, which are vital for both individual and community
success. • The eradication of illiteracy should begin with population
sectors, which are highly motivated and need literacy
The National Council of Teachers of English (2013) came up
for their own and their country's benefit.
with a research that reveals the following:
• Literacy programs should be linked with economic
1. As new technologies shape literacies, they bring
priorities and carried out in areas undergoing rapid
opportunities for teachers to foster reading and writing
economic expansion.
in more diverse and participatory contexts.
• Literacy programs must impart not only reading and
2. Sites, like literature's Voice of the Shuttle, online
writing but also professional and technical knowledge
fanfiction, and the Internet Public Library, expand both
leading to greater participation of adults in economic
the range of available texts and the social dimension of
and civic life.
literacy.
• Literacy must be an integral part of the overall
3. Research on electronic reading workshops shows that
educational system and plan of each country.
they contribute to the emergence of new literacies.
• The financial need for functional literacy should be met
4. Research also shows that digital technology enhances
with various resources, as well as be provided for
writing and interaction in several ways.
economic investments.
5. K-12 students, who write with computers, produce
• The literacy programs should aid in achieving main
compositions of greater length and higher quality are
economic objectives (i.e. increase in labor productivity,
more engaged with and motivated toward writing than
food production, industrialization, social and
those who do not write with computers.
professional mobility, creation of new manpower and
6. College students, who keep e-portfolios, have a higher diversification of the economy).
rate of academic achievement and overall retention rate
than those who do not keep e-portfolios. They also
demonstrate a greater capacity for metacognition, A new functional literacy aspect, called specific literacy, is
reflection and audience awareness. becoming a trend, in which the job of the student is analyzed
to see exactly the literacy skills needed and those that are
7. Both typical and atypical students, who receive an online
only taught. This is to prevent job-skill mismatch.
response to writing, revise their works better than
those participating in traditional method. Significance of this approach includes literacy that:

Functional Literacy • starts in the workplace;

• uses a diagnostic approach;
The term functional literacy was initially defined by
• identifies turning points in economic life that may
UNESCO through William S. Gray in his Teaching of Reading
act as an incentive to learning;
and Writing (1956) as adult training to meet independently
• assesses the limits of a short-term intervention;
the reading-and writing demands placed on them. It stresses
and
the acquisition of appropriate verbal, cognitive and
• looks for generic skills.
computational skills to accomplish practical results in
specific cultural settings dubbed as survival literacy and
reductionist literacy. Definitions

A number of functional literacy programs have been carried
out that focus on different job skills and development
aspects. To name a few, in the Philippine context, are
agricultural, health, industry, family planning, home making,
arts and culture and technical-vocational programs.
• 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 his/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 (AHCD). Accordingly,
the word "functional" means "building capacity" and
"literacy" as "reading and writing skills." Therefore,
it is the capability to proficiently read and write
that can be used in daily life routines.
• Knoblauch and Brannon (1993), as cited in Jabusch
(2002) distinguished basic literacy and functional
literacy as having the expression "functional" to
indicate performance with texts, including
mathematics.
• 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.
• UNESCO's definition also adds 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 be used to aid an individual in
contributing to 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.
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 aspects effectively
Improving Functional Literacy in the Philippines
The Philippines has made efforts to improve its functional
literacy rate, with a notable increase reported between 2013
and 2016. In 2013, the country had a functional literacy rate
of 90.3%, indicating that nine out of every 10 Filipinos aged
10-64 were functionally literate. However, challenges
remained at the community level, with less than 50% of
students aged 11-13 achieving functional literacy.
Several factors contributed to low functional literacy,
including school dropouts, early marriages, financial
constraints, and a lack of interest in attending school. To
address these issues, interventions were introduced,
including creating formal and non-formal learning
environments, involving local stakeholders, capacity building
for teachers, developing relevant learning materials, and
monitoring reading and math skills improvement.
In a follow-up study in 2016, the functional literacy rate
increased to 76.53%, but it still fell short of the 80%
threshold. Low functional literacy can impact a child's
resilience, increase vulnerability to exploitation, hinder
employment opportunities, and lead to dependency on
welfare programs.
To combat this, the government initiated the Alternative
Learning System (ALS), aimed at providing learning
opportunities for out-of-school youth to enhance their
employment prospects.
Integration of New Literacies in the Curriculum
To address the call for literacy in today's world, students
must become 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:
• teachers who use ICTS skillfully for
teaching and learning:
• peers who use ICTS responsibly and who
share their knowledge;
• a literacy curriculum that offer
opportunities for collaboration with peers
around the world;
• instruction that embeds critical and
culturally sensitive thinking into practice,
standards and assessments that include
new literacies;
• leaders and policymakers who are
committed advocates of ICTs for teaching
and learning; and
 • equal access to ICTS for all classroom and cultures and an ability to understand technology and
students, multimedia. As such, applying multiliteracies to teaching
offers a new classroom pedagogy that extends and helps
manage classrooms.
Impact of new literacies on instruction. Additional changes
Therefore, Newman (2002) in Biswas (2014) suggests that
are taking place in literacy instruction (Grisham and Wolsey,
teachers integrate four components of multiliteracies in
2009) Henry (2008) restated that engagement in literacy
teaching:
activities is being transformed today like at no other time in
history. As students turn to the Internet and other • Situated practice leads students towards
information communication technologies (ICTS) at increasing meaningful learning by integrating primary
rates to read, write and interact with texts, they must knowledge.
develop new skills and strategies, or new literacies, to be
• Overt instruction guides students to the systematic
successful in these multimodal, intertextual and interactive
practice in learning process with tools and
environments. The Internet has become the defining
techniques.
technology for today's youth and may be the most important
ICT for students to learn how to manipulate successfully. • Critical framing teaches students how to question
diverse perceptions for better learning
Although there are multiple ways to view the changes in
experiences.
literacy and communication emerging from new technologies
(Labbo and Reinking, 1999), it cannot be ignored that literacy • Transformed action teaches students to apply the
changes experiences at school and in everyday lives. As such, lessons they learn to solve real-life problems.
rapid profound changes in technology impact students'
literacy journey. Hence, Leu, et. al (2004) posited that Teachers insist to:
changes in literacy are confronted by innovation, that the
• encourage students to reflect regularly on the
new literacies of today will be replaced by even newer ones
role of technology in their learning;
tomorrow as new ICTs continuously emerge in a more
globalized community of learners. And such changes bear • create a website and invite students to use it to
important implications to instruction, assessment, continue class discussions and bring outside
professional development and research. voices;

Multiliteracies in the Educational Reform
21st Century skills may be taught in a wide variety of school
settings. Teachers may advocate teaching cross-disciplinary
skills, while schools may require 21 century skills in both
instruction and assessment processes.
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.
Assessment of multiliteracies. 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 an important
part of the assessment process, including self-assessment.
Preparing teachers for multiliteracies. New London and
Group (1996) underscored multi-literacies as multimodal
ways in communication that include communications between
and among other languages using diverse channels within
• give students strategies for evaluating the
quality of information they find on the
Internet;
• be open about one's own strengths and
limitations with technology and invite students
to help;
• explore technologies students are using outside
the classroom and find ways to incorporate
them into one's teaching:
• use wiki to develop a multimodal reader's guide
to a class text;
• include a broad variety of media and genres in
class texts;
• ask students to create a podcast to share with
an authentic audience;
• give students explicit instruction about how to
avoid plagiarism in a digital environment; and
• refer to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills
website.
For schools and policymakers: •

• Teachers need both intellectual and material support

for effective 21st century literacy instruction;

• Schools need to provide continuing opportunities for

professional development, as well as up-to-date
technologies for use in literacy classrooms;

• 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:

• Ensure that students in literacy classes have regular

access to technology;

• Provide regular literacy- specific professional

development in technology for teachers and
administrators at all levels, including higher education;

• Require teacher preparation programs to include

training in integrating technology into instruction;

• Protect online learners and ensure their privacy;

• Affirm the importance of literacy teachers in helping

students develop technological proficiency; and

• Adopt and regularly review standards for instruction in

technology.

SYNTHESIS:

• New literacy demands the ability to move

confidently, efficiently and ethically
between and among a wide range of written
and visual, print, live, digital or 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 in 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.