Editing Literacy (section)

===Teaching migrant, immigrant, and non-native users===
Although there is considerable awareness that language deficiencies, including a lack of proficiency, are disadvantageous to immigrants settling into a new country, there is a lack of [[pedagogical]] approaches to teaching literacy to migrant English-language learners (ELLs). Harvard scholar Catherine Snow called for the gap to be addressed: "The TESOL field needs a concerted research effort to inform literacy instruction for such children—to determine when to start literacy instruction and how to adapt it to the LS reader's needs."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Snow |first=Catherine |date=Winter 2001 |title=Learning to Read in an L2 |journal=TESOL Quarterly |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=599–601 |doi=10.2307/3588432 |jstor=3588432}}</ref> Recent developments to address the gap in teaching literacy to foreign language learners{{efn|See also: [[ESL]]}} have been ongoing, with promising results seen with a curricular framework from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which integrates Teaching for Understanding.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Pearson |last2=Pellerine |year=2010 |title=Teaching for Understanding in Higher Education: A Framework for Developing Literacy within a TESOL Context |url=http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/2010/100 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085359/http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/2010/100 |archive-date=22 October 2017}}</ref>

A series of pilot projects have been carried out in the Middle East and Africa,<ref name="Patl-2016">{{Cite web |title=How an educator from Nova Scotia uses cameras to teach English in Ethiopia |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-teacher-literacy-visual-arts-1.3635661|last=Patl|first=Anjuli|date= June 15, 2016}}</ref> and significant interest from the learners has been seen in the use of visual arts as springboards for literacy-oriented instruction. In one project, migrant women were provided with cameras and took the instructor on a walking tour of their village. There, they photographed places and activities that would later be used for writings about their daily lives—in essence, a narrative of life. Other primers for writing activities include painting, sketching, and other craft projects.

[[File:Sample sketch of milestone.jpg|thumb|right|Sample milestone sketch]]

In another series of pilot studies, alternatives to instructing literacy to migrant [[English-language learner]]s were investigated,<ref name="Pellerine">{{Cite web |last=Pellerine |first=Stephen |title=Alternative Literacy |url=http://stephenpellerin4.wixsite.com/altlit}}</ref> starting with simple trials aiming to test the effects of teaching photography to participants with no prior photography background and then painting and sketching activities that could later be integrated into a larger pedagogical initiative. In efforts to develop alternative approaches for literacy instruction utilizing visual arts, work was carried out with Afghan laborers, Bangladeshi tailors, Emirati media students, internal Ethiopian migrants (both laborers and university students), and a street child.<ref name="Patl-2016" /><ref name="Pellerine" /><ref name="Perez">{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Andrea |title=Why every picture tells a story |url=http://www.elgazette.com/item/296-why-every-picture-tells-a-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135001/http://www.elgazette.com/item/296-why-every-picture-tells-a-story.html |archive-date=13 September 2017 |access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Migrant Woman Reviewing Photography, Making Seletions for Writing.jpeg|thumb|left|Reviewing photos after a photowalk]]

It should be pointed out that in these challenging contexts, sometimes the teaching of literacy may have unforeseen barriers. The ''EL Gazette'' reported that in the trials carried out in Ethiopia, for example, it was found that all ten of the participants had problems with vision.<ref name="Perez" /> In order to overcome this or avoid such challenges, preliminary health checks can help inform pre-teaching in order to better assist in the teaching and learning of literacy.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Using a visual arts approach to literacy instruction can provide benefits by incorporating a traditional literacy approach (reading and writing) while also addressing 21st-century digital literacy through the use of digital cameras and posting images onto the web. Many scholars, such as Hutchison and Woodward, feel that it is necessary to include digital literacy under the traditional umbrella of literacy instruction, specifically when engaging second language learners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hutchison |last2=Woodward |date=March 2014 |title=A Planning Cycle for Integrating Digital Technology Into Literacy Instruction |journal=TOC |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=455–464}}</ref>

A visual arts approach to literary instruction for migrant populations can also be blended with core curricular goals.
[[File:Integrating Content for Language Instruction to MELLs.jpg|thumb|right|Integrating Common Core content into language training with MELL]]

A pressing challenge in education is the instruction of literacy to migrant English-language learners (MELLs), a term coined by Pellerine and not limited to English. "Due to the growing share of immigrants in many Western societies, there has been increasing concern for the degree to which immigrants acquire language that is spoken in the destination country".<ref>{{Citation |last=Tubergen |first=F. |title=Immigrant Integration: A Cross National Study |year=2006 |publisher=Scholarly Publishing}}</ref>

While learning literacy in one's first language can be challenging, the challenge becomes even more cognitively demanding when learning a second language. The task can become considerably more difficult when confronted by a migrant who has made a sudden change by immigrating and requires the second language immediately upon arrival. In most instances, a migrant will not have the opportunity to start school again in grade one and acquire the language naturally; instead, alternative interventions need to take place. In these cases, a visual arts approach can be helpful—taking a photo, sketching an event, or painting an image have been seen as effective ways to understand the intention of the learner as they can incorporate [[orality]].<ref>Carre, Ingrid W. [https://www.proquest.com/openview/c5d89ddd6766117ebcaf9dd0243ae05a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y "Visual Art and the Teaching of English as a Second Language."] Order No. 1383180 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), 1996. United States -- Puerto Rico: ''ProQuest.'' Web. 25 Jan. 2024</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wirag |first1=Andreas |last2=Alfes |first2=Luisa |year=2021 |title=Using Visual Arts as a Tool to Foster the Four Language Skills |url=https://www.hltmag.co.uk/apr21/using-visual-arts |access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Including Orality.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2|Including orality]]

In the above image, from left to right:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Warschauer |first1=Mark |last2=Matuchniak |first2=Tina |date=March 2010 |title=New Technology and Digital Worlds: Analyzing Evidence of Equity in Access, Use, and Outcomes |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0091732X09349791 |journal=Review of Research in Education |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=179–225 |doi=10.3102/0091732X09349791 |s2cid=145400905 |issn=0091-732X|hdl=11059/15126 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
* An image taken during a phototour of the participant's village. This image is of the individual at her shop with one of the products she sells: dung for cooking fuel. The image helps the instructor understand the realities of the participant's daily life, and most importantly, it gives the participant the opportunity to determine what is important to them.
* An image of a student explaining to a group and elaborating on a drawn series of milestones in her life. This student had a very basic ability and, with some help, was able to write brief captions under the images. While she speaks, her story is recorded to help her understand and develop it in the new language.
* A painting created by composite in a graphics editing program. With further training, participants can learn how to blend images, thereby introducing elements of digital literacy that are beneficial in many spheres of life in the 21st century.

In a study based in Ethiopia, participants were asked to rate their preference for activity on a scale of 1–10. The survey prompt was: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate photography as an activity that helped you get inspiration for your writing activities (think of enjoyment and usefulness)?" The activities used as primers for writing were rated, in order of preference:{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* Photography: 97%
* Oral presentations/sharing your art: 92%
* Process painting: 84%
* Painting: 82%
* Sketching: 78%
* Gluing activities: 72%
* Stencil/tracing activities: 60%
More research would need to be conducted to confirm such trends.

Authorship programs have been successful in bringing student work together in book format as part of the program's culmination. These books can be used to document learning, and more importantly, to reinforce language and content goals.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

[[File:Covers for Authorship Initiatives to Promote Literacy via Visual Art with ELLs.jpg|thumb|right|Sample covers of completed authorship-created books]]

The collection of such writings into books can trigger both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Feedback by students involved in such initiatives indicates that the healthy pressures of collective and collaborative work were beneficial.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Donaldson |first1=J. P. |last2=Bucy |first2=M. |date=2016 |title=Motivation and Engagement in Authorship Learning |journal=College Teaching |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=130–138 |doi=10.1080/87567555.2015.1125842}}</ref>