Drawing thinking: exploring the alignment of visual languaging with a pluriliteracies model for deeper learning - experimenting with visualisation and languaging for English language teaching and learning in an online primary school classroom in China

Abstract

Emphasised by research and studies regarding pedagogies for ‘quality’ and ‘successful’ learning (Coyle & Meyer, 2017), the long-established means of measuring learning using tests and examinations may not be sufficient for building learners’ sense of achievement and agentic mindset to direct their own learning.

Given the importance attached to PISA league tables (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2021) on a global basis, the quality of education is at the core of socio-political concerns, offering alternative pedagogic thinking to education systems that define passing examinations as the main criteria of academic success. As impacted by globalisation, shifts in pedagogic thinking encompassing the multilingual turn (May, 2013), the literacies turn (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012), and more holistic bilingual pedagogies have emerged (e.g., content and language integrated learning, pluriliteracies model for deeper learning, multimodal learning) (Coyle & Meyer, 2021; Conteh, 2018; Kress, 2009).

Such shifts suggest a repositioning of teacher-directed language classrooms to learner-driven, teacher-learner ‘owned’, shared learning spaces where learning practices and activities are mutually negotiated with learners taking into account their perspectives, interests, and learning goals. This indicates that traditional subject or language teaching with exam-oriented learning outcomes may not adequately support learners to meet the significantly changing societal demands. Therefore, the exigency of seeking alternative pedagogic practices and resources to promote learners’ transcultural language use, content knowledge, and literacy learning in response to societal and global demands is increasing. It is for this reason that exploring alternative pedagogic practices to achieve the quality of education in China is therefore fundamental in terms of classroom pedagogies while acknowledging global educational trends and changes. From this perspective, there appears to be some urgency to rethink current language teaching and learning that focuses on passing the national examination – the ‘Gaokao’ for entering higher education in China (Gierczyk & Diao, 2021).

This study investigates the role of visualisation in language education to explore a visual strategy for learning that is driven by the goal of deeper learning for all learners, built on theoretical principles of pluriliteracies development (Coyle & Meyer, 2021; Meyer et al, 2015), learner agency (Blaschke & Hase, 2019), and multimodality (Kress, 2009; Tang et al., 2014). The integration of these concepts has significantly impacted the rationale of the research foci and therefore lies at the heart of this pioneering study that connects pluriliteracies with English language teaching and learning in a primary school in China. In order to investigate the potential role of visuals in English language learning classrooms, this study was conducted by designing and teaching visual-related thematic content to three small groups of English younger learners in China and interviewing them using their own preferred online platform.

Participants were encouraged to create visuals, for example, drawings to demonstrate their thinking of abstract conceptual knowledge and scaffold their communication with peers and the teacher-researcher.

Such integration of visual creation with language learning is facilitated by learner-teacher Learning Conversations constructing a shared learning space owned and led by learners, which may offer a clear steer in the direction of promoting learner agency and achieving the quality of learning (Murray & Lamb, 2018), thereby complementing the traditional ways of teaching in China and beyond.