Enhancing the Meaning-Making Process of the Written Word

The birth of the concept multiliteracies led to a revamp in the art of communications as multimodality has revolutionised the meaning-making process. Carriers of meaning have expanded far beyond their range decades ago when the access to the written words was a matter of privilege for a limited group of people … Nowadays, the use of other mediums has become the trend—perhaps alongside the push for the idea of multiple intelligences…

Born in a far-flung countryside (with no electricity), the primary source of meaning for me was a local magazine called “Liwayway.” It was everyone’s favourite that I had to compete with my cousins just to get a chance to loan it overnight. That would mean reading it from cover to cover before my time was up. Otherwise, I would be like an outcast when other members of the house chitchat endlessly about hot and trivial contents of the magazine.

No wonder when a movie house was built in the nearest town, swarms of villagers (including my Mum with me tagging along!) queued up very early for long to have a chance to enter the cinemas. All were thrilled to experience for the first time a different source of meaning. It was a one of a kind experience back then.

Many things changed when my family moved to the town proper. I became exposed to an expanded range of reading materials. I began to create meanings through closely reading a number of text types. Then my training on composition writing proceeded from primary school all the way up to the university.

With my exposure to the internet and to a mind-boggling array of softwares including Windows Movie Maker, my perception of the written word changed. Gone were the days when the art of expressing one self primarily meant tedious writing of compositions. The written word may now be enhanced to make it even more alive with colours and emotions. And because of the influx of technology, many are given the opportunity to learn the art of meaning-making using a combination of image, music, speech and word.

Images have also transformed the classroom-based learning process. As Bezemer and Kress (2008) pointed out, “The digital media, rather than the (text) book, are more and more the site of appearance and distribution of the learning resources, and writing is being displaced by image as the central mode for representation.”

The use of images empowers the written word immensely. Its functions include presenting social changes to epistemological changes hidden behind the printed words. No wonder the use of short video clips has become a promising tool in the learning process. What counts, of course, is a how an impactful learning and teaching may be achieved.

This we owe to multiliteracies and the power of technology nowadays. I wonder what is in store for the next generation.