Multiliteracies

Multiliteracies is a term coined by scholars who met to reconceptualize literacy and literacy [Page 1577]pedagogy in the mid-1990s in New London, New Hampshire. This group, called the New London Group (NLG), convened to respond to changing communication technologies, issues of power, and the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity in a globalized world. As a result, they wrote an influential article that argues for pedagogy that centers on supporting learners in using multiple languages and modes of meaning-making as available designs in constructing and interpreting multimodal texts and as a way of negotiating multiple identities and power dynamics in a rapidly changing world. This entry provides an explanation of the terms multiliteracies and available design. Next, it describes pedagogical practices based on these terms. ...