Of New Englishes and and New Literacies

Fig 4: Taxonomic nexus of literacies (Lawal, 2016)
From the taxonomy, the five parameters produce ‘literacies’ while the intersection and overlap of the five parameters will give birth to new and newer literacies. Thus, literacies are seen as “the distinct written and oral language practices evident across varying social circumstances, domains, and classes. As such, literacies are plural, with multiple manifestations that cover various aspects of human life and social organizations (e.g., school literacy, workplace literacy, science literacy)” (See: https://www.literacyworldwide.org/get-resources/literacy). The term, new literacies therefore, is “used to signal a shift from literacy to literacies, especially in relation to how people view texts as being situated in different contexts that in turn support different kinds of reading and writing. New, not in the sense of a replacement metaphor, but new in the sense that social, economic, cultural, intellectual, and institutional changes are continually at work” (See: https://www.literacyworldwide.org/get-resources/literacy).


Fig 5: Forms of New Literacies

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  Traditional Literacy which is the ability to read, write, speak and listen.
  
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  21^st Century Literacy which involves wide range of abilities and competencies needed to function in contemporary society such as ability to read online, to participating in online classes and discussion such as webinars. Sometimes, 21^st century literacy is used synonymously with ‘new literacies’ but ‘new literacies’ is generally more acceptable because of the possibilities for newer and newer literacies.
  
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  Digital Literacy is the ability to use digital technologies and communication tools or networks to locate, organize, use and create information. For the American Library Association, digital literacy refers to "the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills."
  
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