Media literacy to promote critical thinking in the EFL Classroom

Abstract

This qualitative descriptive research study aims to characterize ninth graders’ comprehension of media messages, specifically TV advertisements, when engaged in EFL media literacy activities. It describes the way students related media messages to their own social environment. Media literacy strategies such as questioning and discussing were used as part of the pedagogical proposal to promote students’ thinking skills in a public school in Bogotá, Colombia. Results of this project showed that building a critical viewer attitude and helping students advance from a passive reception of media messages to an active analysis of information requires systematic guidance from a teacher. Consequently, media literacy activities served not only to build a critical capacity in students but also to foster argumentative skills. This research demonstrates that media necessitates critical thinking education in the same way that higher order critical thinking requires the implementation of a set of activities that challenge students’ mental processes. Key concepts: media literacy, thinking skills, TV advertisements