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Multiliteracies in the Singapore English Language Classroom: What have we done and what more can we do?

Room 22 Education

Event Type: Other

Speaker Information: Fei Victor Lim

The manifesto for multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) has led to the broadening of our understanding of literacy beyond language learning to multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015). In response to the clarion call, the literacy curricula around the world have been expanded to include multimodal meaning-making, beyond the familiar focus on language learning (e.g., Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2021; Finnish National Board of Education, 2016; Ministry of Education, Singapore, 2020). Singapore has been amongst the forward-looking systems to include multimodal meaning-making with language learning in the current 2020 English Language syllabus. I argue that even as curriculum reforms are necessary, they are, in themselves, insufficient to bring about tangible changes in the classrooms, unless teachers are equipped with ways to design meaningful learning experiences for multiliteracies (Lim & Tan Chia, 2023). Drawing from a multi-phased design-based research project on integrating multiliteracies into English classrooms in Singapore (Lim et al., 2022).

This talk will reflect on the challenges and opportunities for growth in Singapore's multiliteracies learning and conclude by discussing recommendations for advancing pedagogy and assessing multiliteracies.


Fei Victor Lim is Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He researches and teaches on multiliteracies, multimodal discourse analyses, and digital learning. He is an editor of Multimodality and Society and an associate editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Computers and Composition, and Designs for Learning. He is also author of the book, Designing Learning with Embodied Teaching: Perspectives from Multimodality, and lead author of the book, Designing Learning for Multimodal Literacy: Teaching Viewing and Representing, both published in the Routledge Studies in Multimodality.