Bringing ‹the world into the classroom›: Children's and young adult literature in English language teaching

Excerpt from the article «In the twenty-first century, reading remains the central and most essential skill for children to acquire. This does not only apply to the language of schooling but also to the world’s number one lingua franca, English. Effortless reading permits young people to launch successful paths through school that may, eventually, lead to the benefits of advanced or higher education. Moreover, mastering this skill, combined with a comprehensive set of other literacies, will allow learners to participate actively in the society in which they grow up – and, if necessary, ‹to transform their world and their place in it› (Lütge, 2018, p. 302). To achieve this aim in a rapidly changing, technology-driven environment, a broader concept of literacy is necessary to account for the extended skills that are required in the information age with its context of multiple digital media formats. The New London Group introduced the concept of multiliteracies as early as 1996 and, more than ten years ago, the UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers (Wilson et al., 2011) formulated a comprehensive survey of skill sets required in twentyfirst century education. It is intended to serve as a source of guidance for both pre and in-service teachers and stresses the relevance of the quality of information in order to permit citizens to ‹enjoy fundamental freedoms and the ability for self-determination and development› (Wilson et al., 2011, p. 11). Furthermore, it outlines the competencies that educators need to practise with learners in their classrooms to prepare them for the future.» [pp. 56] → for complete citations see bibliography in the article (pdf) This is a republication with permission from ETAS (https://www.e-tas.ch/journal)+repphzhbib2022