Page 347 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
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critical media literacy: a new tool and pedagogy for tackling esl
the world (Schofield & Rogers, 2004; Hull, 2003; Guajardo, Guajardo & del
Carmen Casaperalta, 2008; Comber & Nixon, 2005). One of such projects
based on a critical media literacy framework included students of English
as a second language course at a Los Angeles middle school with high ESL
rates, where they analysed the media representation of their community
and afterwards created their own positive media messages. By using a crit-
ical media literacy framework, the lessons became more inclusive for all
types of communication and the relationship between information and
power was addressed. However, what is most important is that students
at risk of ESL were more engaged in new literacies with a critical perspec-
tive, and were able to increase their self-esteem, their sense of pride in their
community, interest in school and desire to learn (Choudhury & Share,
2012).
It can therefore be assumed that by developing critical thinking
through critical media pedagogy students are empowered with tools to re-
alise that low achievement in school or ESL is not something fixed, but cre-
ated by different messages and that they have the power to recreate and
change it. All of this is possible through project-based media production,
which can be used not only in media lessons but also in other lessons3, for
making analyses more meaningful and empowering as students acquire
tools for responding and taking action on the social conditions externally
by discussing their problems, views and dilemmas with others through dif-
ferent means of communication, and internally by changing their self-per-
ception and improving their self-esteem and motivation for learning. As a
consequence, students become empowered to transform their own educa-
tional process and become active citizens who actively create a more equal
and democratic society (Kellner & Share, 2007) as a far-reaching goal.
Conclusion
The article shows that critical media literacy’s curriculum provides a plat-
form for developing critical thinking skills, which is the basis for better
decision-making during adolescence and adulthood and is significantly
3 Example: One of the West Wing episodes (S02E16) (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vVX-PrBRtTY) where one of the plots revolves around the proposal by
the fictional NGO to replace the familiar Mercator-projection map with an inverted
version of the Gall-Peters Projection Map can be used in geography when learning
about different world maps, mathematics when learning about projection, history
when learning about the relationship between the Europe and the rest of the world,
sociology when learning about the dominance and marginalisation etc.
347
the world (Schofield & Rogers, 2004; Hull, 2003; Guajardo, Guajardo & del
Carmen Casaperalta, 2008; Comber & Nixon, 2005). One of such projects
based on a critical media literacy framework included students of English
as a second language course at a Los Angeles middle school with high ESL
rates, where they analysed the media representation of their community
and afterwards created their own positive media messages. By using a crit-
ical media literacy framework, the lessons became more inclusive for all
types of communication and the relationship between information and
power was addressed. However, what is most important is that students
at risk of ESL were more engaged in new literacies with a critical perspec-
tive, and were able to increase their self-esteem, their sense of pride in their
community, interest in school and desire to learn (Choudhury & Share,
2012).
It can therefore be assumed that by developing critical thinking
through critical media pedagogy students are empowered with tools to re-
alise that low achievement in school or ESL is not something fixed, but cre-
ated by different messages and that they have the power to recreate and
change it. All of this is possible through project-based media production,
which can be used not only in media lessons but also in other lessons3, for
making analyses more meaningful and empowering as students acquire
tools for responding and taking action on the social conditions externally
by discussing their problems, views and dilemmas with others through dif-
ferent means of communication, and internally by changing their self-per-
ception and improving their self-esteem and motivation for learning. As a
consequence, students become empowered to transform their own educa-
tional process and become active citizens who actively create a more equal
and democratic society (Kellner & Share, 2007) as a far-reaching goal.
Conclusion
The article shows that critical media literacy’s curriculum provides a plat-
form for developing critical thinking skills, which is the basis for better
decision-making during adolescence and adulthood and is significantly
3 Example: One of the West Wing episodes (S02E16) (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vVX-PrBRtTY) where one of the plots revolves around the proposal by
the fictional NGO to replace the familiar Mercator-projection map with an inverted
version of the Gall-Peters Projection Map can be used in geography when learning
about different world maps, mathematics when learning about projection, history
when learning about the relationship between the Europe and the rest of the world,
sociology when learning about the dominance and marginalisation etc.
347
