The curriculum for teaching English through Media Literacy

Abstract

nformation is the key to success for a 21-century person and knowing that language is a powerful tool in this information process helps understand why foreign languages, especially English, helps navigate the modern world with ease and confidence. Information in English opens an unprecedented number of doors globally, however, it requires critical thinking skills of a high level. Teachers working in the ESL field acknowledge that their classes are a major resource for learning the language and fostering vital literacy competencies, media and information literacy being the core one nowadays. This common ground brought together the representatives of the Ukrainian Universities participating in the Learn to Discern program to jointly work on this manual and share their hands-on experience with a global professional community. The manual has 5 chapters: “Facts and Opinions in Traditional and New Media”, “Media Consumption”, “Manipulations and Advertising”, “Stereotypes”, and “Digital Safety” focusing on major aspects of information and media literacy. It presents topics and approaches relevant for young language learners and, moreover, preparing them to become language teachers in the future. The exercise types are designed to gradually introduce the topic and fully engage students in each with thought-provoking questions aimed to developed and enhance their critical thinking skills. The contemporary illustrative materials exemplify cutting-edge themes and take a multimodal approach in presenting the logic of the exercise. This manual takes a student-oriented perspective and responds to the need of both teachers and students to work in a digital environment.