Abstract
This study analyzes a critical literacy activity that had 33 non-English-major college freshmen in Taiwan consider who they are. Students were exposed to four self-discovery texts (i.e., texts that can motivate students to reflect on the various roles they play in society) as well as to follow-up assignments and classroom discussions. Grounded theory was used as the analytical method to interpret various qualitative data such as students’ assignments, three open-ended questions, and students’ reflection papers. Three themes emerged from this research: encountering unexpected issues and assignments, examining oneself from multiple perspectives, and becoming critically literate. This study found that self-discovery texts were effective in enhancing students’ self-awareness and in facilitating critical dialogue. Practicing critical literacy sensitized students to their learning while helping them to develop their English ability. In conclusion, the activity not only stimulated students to read the word and the world but also made them conscious of their learning from a critical perspective.
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Acknowledgments
The research of this study would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor who provided many insightful comments. He is also indebted to the support provided by the National Science Council of Taiwan under the research Grant NSC 100-2410-H-029-038.
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Kuo, Jm. Implementing Critical Literacy for University Freshmen in Taiwan through Self-Discovery Texts. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 22, 549–557 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0057-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0057-1