Hernandez, Todd A

English

Hernández, Todd A.

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Marquette Universitye-Publications@MarquetteSpanish Languages and Literatures Research andPublicationsLanguages, Literatures and Culture FacultyResearch and Publications3-1-2018Review of A Multiliteracies Framework for CollegiateForeign Language Teaching by K. Paesani, H.W. Allen,and B. DupuyTodd A. HernandezMarquette University, todd.hernandez@marquette.eduPublished version. NECTFL Review, Vol. 81(March 2018): 90-92. Publisher link. © 2018 TheNortheast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL). Used with permission. NECTFL Review 81 90    March 2018reshaped by discourses they utilize to construct their agency and identity. The discussion in this chapter is informative for teachers because it can tell us as teachers and educators why some students are actively talking and performing in a deliberate act of agency in the classroom while other students are not. Indeed, this chapter thoroughly explains, through detailed examples, how power and agency in the classroom can be seen as vital factors mediated through classroom discourse. Finally, for an even fuller concretization of the previous two parts, Part 3, “Pedagogical Practices for Agency,” can be the muse for on-the-field second-language professionals, whether teachers of adults or children, curriculum designers, or the like. The five chapters that comprise this part are: Agency. Anxiety, and Activity: Understanding the Classroom Behavior of EFL Learners; Verbalizing in the/ Second Language Classroom: Exploring the Role of Agency in the Internalization of Grammatical Categories; Critical Discourse Analysis in a Medical English Course Examining Learner Agency through Student Written Reflections; and Toward a Relationship-oriented Framework: Revisiting Agency by Listening to the Voices of Children. For example, Chapters 12, 13, and 14 illustrate how students can take an active agentive stance in their discourse and overcome the essentialist view of perceiving L2 students as passive learners and users of English in their context of learning. Authors in this section assert that once learners internalize the concept and consciously understand it, they are most likely to take an initiative to produce an independent meaning on their own.Diversity, as mirrored in different aspects, is what makes this book a panoramic window into second-language agency and a future staple in the library of researchers in the field. The book stands out not only thanks to the heterogeneity of its authors, but also to its interdisciplinary perspectives on agency and the theories, analyses, and pedagogies it brings together into a single volume. The volume also sheds light on how power dynamics and power relations in human interaction, especially in the classroom, can play a vital role in shaping and promoting a student’s agency. A fascinating part of this edited volume is that several chapters raise the question of how the macro level can affect the micro level in relation to agency and language learning. Majed AlharbiDepartment of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NMPaesani, Kate, Heather W. Allen, and Beatrice Dupuy. A Multiliteracies Framework for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-205-95404-09.In A Multiliteracies Framework for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching, the authors outline a bold approach for reconsidering foreign language curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The target audience for this book includes methods instructors, foreign language education majors, foreign language instructors and researchers interested in multiliteracies instruction, and graduate students enrolled in applied linguistics and foreign language education courses. March 2018 91NECTFL Review 81This book consists of an introduction and eight chapters. Each chapter begins with an overview of the topic and an outline of its contents. In a section titled “Conceptual Background” research findings and key concepts are discussed. In “Pedagogical Applications,” the authors unite theoretical and conceptual knowledge and practice, providing instructional models and examples. “Final Considerations” reviews the main points of the chapter. The reader is then given two application activities in “Transforming Knowledge.” The first is a reflective journaling assignment, while the second is a research-based task. Each chapter concludes with “Key Resources” and “For Further Reading” sections. Another feature of the book is the series of “Learning Activities” included throughout chapters, which are intended to encourage the reader to engage with the chapter’s content.In Chapter 1, “Understanding the Multiliteracies Framework,” the authors challenge readers to reconsider their views on foreign language teaching and learning by proposing a literacy-based approach as an alternative to communicative language teaching. Their literacy-based approach is a response to the professions’ calls for curricular and pedagogical change outlined in the book’s introduction (e.g., Byrnes, 2001; Maxim, 2009; MLA, 2007; Swaffar & Arens, 2005). According to the authors of the book under review here, this approach to foreign language teaching and learning has the potential to increase the intellectual viability of foreign language study, combine both the language and content aspects of the curriculum, develop language competence, and prioritize learners’ interaction with target language texts. Chapter 1 begins with a discussion of meaning design in interpreting and transforming texts, and then transitions to the “what and how” of this approach, and to Kern’s (2000) learning processes. The four pedagogical acts of situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and transformed practice are also introduced.In Chapter 2, “Reconsidering Goals, Objectives, and Assessment from a Multiliteracies Perspective,” the authors discuss coherent learning objectives and goals as a core aspect of multiliteracies-based foreign language teaching. Goals and objectives are defined and explained in relationship to instruction and assessment. The chapter concludes with a discussion of strategies for creating goals and objectives for foreign language learning consistent with a multiliteracies approach. Sample assessment activities are also given. Chapter 3, “Reconceptualizing Grammar and Vocabulary as Meaning-Making Resources,” asks the reader to reconsider the teaching and assessment of grammar and vocabulary from a multiliteracies perspective. The authors discuss central issues in language teaching such as implicit and explicit instruction, form-focused and meaning-focused instruction, and text-based models of form-focused instruction and assessment. Particular attention is given to Adair-Hauck and Donato’s (2010) PACE model, a guided inductive approach to grammar instruction in which learners’ attention is drawn to target language forms in context. The chapter concludes with an interesting sample form-focused lesson plan designed for third- or fourth-semester intermediate Spanish. The lesson objective is past-tense narration using the short story Apocalipsis as the focused feature. Chapter 4, “Scaffolding Oral Language Use in the Classroom,” reexamines the role of speaking in classroom learning and assessment. The chapter begins with a discussion of SLA research on input, output, and interaction. The nature of classroom discourse patterns is then considered. Strategies are given for how to maximize student participation in  NECTFL Review 81 92    March 2018teacher-student exchanges and student-student interactions. The chapter concludes with a four-step lesson plan template that promotes extended oral discourse in interpersonal and presentational models, participation in collaborative speaking tasks, and engagement with authentic target language texts. Chapter 5, “Teaching Reading as Constructing Meaning from Texts,” addresses the role of reading in foreign language instruction. The authors guide the reader in reconsidering the purposes and goals of reading instruction and assessment within the multiliteracies framework to organize activities based on the four pedagogical acts of situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and transformed practice. An overview of existing literacy-based approaches to teaching and assessing textual interpretation is then provided. The chapter concludes with a model for designing text-based lesson plans and assessment. In Chapter 6, “Teaching Writing as Designing Meaning through Texts,” the authors explore foreign language writing instruction. Writing is understood as act of meaning design with linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural dimensions. The authors outline approaches to foreign language writing instruction and writing assessment. Three literacy-oriented models of writing instruction are discussed. The authors then propose a four-stage writing model and assessment. The chapter concludes with a sample writing-focused lesson plan. Chapter 7, “Teaching Video-Mediated Listening as Constructing Meaning,” introduces the reader to an expanded view of foreign language listening and viewing. Factors affecting video-mediated listening processes, cognitive video-mediated listening processes, and differences between reading and video-mediated listening are discussed. The authors propose a six-stage model for designing multiliteracies-oriented video-mediated listening lessons that combines communication and textual analysis, and where learners are engaged in designing meaning from video texts. Sample learning activities and a sample video-mediated lesson plan are given. Chapter 8, “Teaching New Literacies: Constructing Meaning in Web 2.0 and Beyond” reconsiders the role of technology in foreign language instruction and assessment. The authors define Web 2.0 and new literacies, and then discuss the potential of Web 2.0 for developing authentic, interactive reading and authoring of texts. Sample learning activities and a sample lesson plan based on the digital novel Alice Inanimata are given.This is an outstanding book for those current and future foreign language educators who are interested in transforming foreign language curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Learning activities, reflection questions, and sample lesson plans make this a particularly valuable text for methods instructors. The authors should be commended for having created a well-written, accessible, and informative book on multiliteracies-based pedagogy. Todd HernándezAssociate Professor of SpanishMarquette UniversityMilwaukee, WI

Review of \u3cem\u3eA Multiliteracies Framework for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching\u3c/em\u3e by K. Paesani, H.W. Allen, and B. Dupuy

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Review of \u3cem\u3eA Multiliteracies Framework for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching\u3c/em\u3e by K. Paesani, H.W. Allen, and B. Dupuy

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