Multiliteracies in the 21st century

Multiliteracies ae not only fundamental for communication but also for language
learning. Since we live in a globalized world that increasingly becomes digitized, one is required
to expand his or her communicative as well as technological skills even more. However, literacy
habits and skills that are taught in school do not necessarily reflect the habits and skills students
have outside school in their private social lives. Moreover, English as a foreign language aims at
providing knowledge to students facing globalization.
Overall, people are constantly surrounded by writing and communication. The purpose of
writing not only is to inform, explain, or persuade but also to entertain and influence the reader.
With digitization professions that require an online presence, such as influencers or bloggers,
writing nowadays is more present than ever. Therefore, it is an aim to incorporate basic skills
that are required in one’s social life in order to participate fully in public and in the community.
Since multiliteracy is all about making meaning in different cultural and social contexts, different
forms of representations should be included so that one gets a deeper understanding. Hence,
writing as an already existing traditional literacy should be fostered and overall intensified by
linking different modes and methods. This means that students are provided with an opportunity to
gather information from different symbolic systems and make meaning on different ‘levels’, e.g.
aural, visual and gestural, so that they get a deeper meaning-making and understanding of
specific learning contents which in turn makes their learning process more enriching.

-Linagül