Empowering media literacy education in the EFL classroom

In the 2012 Flemish Concept Brief on Media Literacy (Conceptnota Mediawijsheid), Ministers Ingrid Lieten and Pascal Smet took an empowerment approach to media literacy, in which users are seen as emancipated citizens capable of actively and critically engaging with media, both receptively and productively. This emancipatory/empowerment approach to media literacy and media literacy education, however, contrasts with more protectionist classroom activities and media literacy lessons, that stress negative effects of media and see users as passive and in need of protection. Why does this divide between theory and practice still exist? Media literacy is not taught as a separate subject in secondary school, and is seen as a transversal objective in the new Flemish curricula. This means that media literacy education should be covered in various subjects. Considering the English information rush Flemish citizens are exposed to, EFL (i.e. English as a Foreign Language) is a key subject that naturally lends itself to teaching media literacy education. This research project on media literacy education in the EFL classroom will act as a bridge builder between theory and practice. The main research objective is to assess to what extent secondary school EFL educators design quality media literacy lessons and to what extent their teaching practice is aimed at pupils’ empowerment. Based on this research, we will also be able to identify teacher training needs. The first step in this project is to create a framework for media literacy pedagogy in an empowerment approach to media literacy education, as well as to determine a set of effective EFL teaching and learning practices fitting in with that conceptual model. Secondly, EFL teachers will be observed as they design and teach media literacy lessons, in order to examine to what extent they design and teach lessons fitting in with the identified conceptual model. Based on our findings, this research project will establish EFL teacher training needs to further quality media literacy teaching aimed at pupils’ empowerment.