Ask this question to ten different people and I guarantee they will give you ten different responses. Does this mean some answers are right and others are wrong? Or does it merely highlight the fact that literacy is an ever-changing, multi-faceted topic? Anstey and Bull (2004, p.9) state, “The way in which literacy is defined changes over time, and different groups will foreground particular aspects of literacy depending on their views and beliefs about it.” As teachers, I believe it is important that we develop our own understanding and definition of literacy. It is also crucial that we know and teach the literacies specific to our specialisations to ensure our students reach their full academic potential.
A myriad of definitions exist for the term ‘literacy’. These definitions vary significantly depending on their historical context. This can be seen through the numerous approaches to literacy during the twentieth century, as highlighted by Anstey and Bull (2004, pp.18-19). A definition of literacy that I personally agree with is given by Luke and Freebody (2000, p.9), “Literacy is the flexible and sustainable mastery of a repertoire of practices with the texts of traditional and new communications technologies via spoken language, print and multimedia.” I also strongly agree with Anstey and Bull (2005) when they state that literacy should be accurately referred to as literacies. This is due to the fact that literacy is in fact a group of literacies. Due to the multiplicity of communication channels that exist today, I believe any current definition of literacy must make reference to this in order to be relevant and useful. The New London Group (1996) coined the term ‘multiliteracies’ in order to address this issue. Multiliteracies refers to the extensive set of skills that today’s students must master in order to interpret and create multimodal texts which are an integral part of today's society. This differs from traditional definitions of literacy that focus on the skills required to interpret and create print texts. As well as mastering a repertoire of practices, students must also know in what context to use which set of skills. Anstey and Bull (2005) argue that fluency in a range of semiotic systems will not be adequate for lifelong learning. Being able to use appropriate literacies in particular contexts is linked to issues of power and exclusion (Anstey & Bull, 2005). Therefore, students need to be able to take the repertoire of skills that they have mastered outside the classroom and use them in numerous different ‘real life’ situations in order to gain and access knowledge and power. I believe this is what it truly means to be ‘literate.’
