Bi/Multiliteracies

The term “literacy” has traditionally been associated with the ability to understand and/or produce static written texts. The current recognition of multilingual literacy practices, along with the influx of multimodal digital forms, has led to new conceptualizations of genre as well as textual features and modes, leading to the term bi/multiliteracies. Drawing on the intricate relationships between literacy and communication and the development of diverse literacy practices over the past three decades, we view bi/multiliteracies as a multifaceted sociocultural construct, which encompasses many discursive and semiotic systems that represent the plurilingual and pluricultural identity of language users within particular contexts. This entry highlights the many‐sided nature of bi/multiliteracies, including the rapid development of digital multimedia for learning and communication and, consequently, the increasing concern with multimodal dimensions and expressions of literacy. The bi/multiliteracies construct is discussed within the context of expanding scenarios of multilingual communication involving bi/multilingual individuals who possess dynamic and diverse linguistic repertoires and identities. We explore central aspects of bi/multiliteracies, including the continua model of bi/multiliteracy, the ecological multilayered nature of bi/multiliteracies, educational and pedagogical applications, including translanguaging and multimodalities, as well as transnational and identity dimensions.