Introduction
A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning (PTL) puts subject
literacy development in more than one language at the core of learning because
we believe subject literacies are the key to deep learning and the development
of transferable skills.
This approach focuses on helping learners become literate in content subjects
or topics and to empower them to successfully and appropriately communicate
that knowledge across cultures and languages.
A pluriliteracies approach provides teachers with the tools to help their
learners acquire increasingly deep subject knowledge which consists of
- facts
- concepts
- procedures
However, knowledge alone is not enough to make progress into a subject or
discipline. Learners also need to be taught the subject specific strategies to
solve the increasingly complex tasks typical of each subject and learn how to
develop the skills that will enable them to do so.
A pluriliteracies approach acknowledges that learning a subject is about so
much more than “simply” learning content. It is based on the idea that
education is a developmental activity. Therefore, learning a subject is not
about reciting facts but about deepening our learners’ conceptual
understanding which may eventually lead to the development of transferable
skills and to new ways of thinking.
We know now that language is the key to developing and increasing conceptual
understanding. It is this focus on language that will ultimately lead to
deeper learning which can be defined as the ability to take what was learned
in one situation and apply it to another situation. Through deeper learning
(which often involves shared learning and interactions with others in a
learning community), learners develop expertise in a particular subject and
master its unique ways of creating and sharing knowledge.
Helping our students become pluriliterate (= acquiring subject literacy in
more than one language) will empower them to construct and communicate
knowledge purposefully and successfully across languages and cultures and
prepare them for living and working in the Knowledge Age.
So what’s new?
In line with recent educational thinking we revisit concepts that are
regularly used, bring them together and in so doing, renew our understanding
of them.
Principles of Pluriliteracies Teaching for Learning (PTL)
Literacies development doesn’t just happen, but needs to be planned for and
consciously fostered in the content subject lessons. In order to do so, five
fundamental principles have to be taken into account.