Abstract
In order to fill in the research gap related to the theory and practice of critical literacy in Taiwan, this article describes an English Conversation activity offered during the 2005 spring semester at a university in southern Taiwan. The article uses a critical instructional model to analyze students’ team dialogues as responses to a picture-book-based exercise. The informants in the study included the instructor and his 26 students. This research is a qualitative case study in that it employs various descriptive data (e.g. students’ team dialogues and reflection papers) in an attempt to (1) investigate the extent to which the goals of critical literacy were achieved in the classroom and (2) arrive at some implications for the implementation of critical literacy in Taiwan. This study suggests that instruction based on social-issue picture books is effective not only in promoting literacy learning but also in eliciting meaningful themes for students. Second, it shows that language learning is best understood as socially constructed. Critical instruction should promote not only text-centred responses but also reader responses to social issues; this can lead to more critical stances for students. Third, the study suggests that a critical literacy curriculum should progress from personal/cultural resources to critical social practices and critical stances. Finally, enthusiasts of critical literacy should not insist on including all dimensions of the analytical model used in the study. Instead, teachers should consider their students, teaching purposes and teaching contexts when they use elements from the critical literacy instructional model.
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Notes
Interview questions for students were divided into two categories: (1) questions based on opinions that students expressed in their reflection papers and (2) questions based on the implementation of the activities. Questions in the first category were designed according to students’ various responses, while questions in the second category were pre-determined before the interview, such as (1) How would you describe your learning experience in this class? (2) Could you tell me anything about the activities you have attended so far? (3) What topics discussed so far do you like the most or do you dislike the most? Why? and (4) In your opinion, what sort of topics or issues discussed so far are related to social aspects or to your own life? Can you give me some examples?
All participants’ names in this study are pseudonyms for the sake of confidentiality.
In Chinese, blacks can be referred to negatively as ‘black ghosts’. Analogously, Caucasians can be referred to as ‘white ghosts’.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to the anonymous reviewers who provided many insightful comments. In addition, I would particularly like to thank Emeritus Professor Jerome C. Harste of Indiana University, Bloomington (USA), for having inspired me to become a critical literacy advocate. Moreover, congratulations are extended to him for being the co-winner of the NCTE’s 2008 Outstanding Educator in the English Language Arts Award.
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Kuo, Jm. Critical literacy and a picture-book-based dialogue activity in Taiwan. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 10, 483–494 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-009-9048-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-009-9048-6