Interpretting text before English Langlit
Before I got into the International Baccalaureate program, I did not spend a lot of time reading or analyzing texts. Most of the texts I consumed were songs, in English or in another language, tv shows, movies, video games, or things you see every day like news, other types of articles, social media posts, or signs and symbols. Whenever I tried to pick up something like a book, I would be able to read and understand, but I would never be able to finish it. The most I would read were academic journals and even that would only lead to me comprehending and summarizing. If you asked me about anything I ever consumed, I wouldn't be able to tell you about the larger implications it has on modern society. I was afraid to dive in to analysis before the IBDP because I knew I would be missing something.
Starting with English Langlit
I was initially so afraid, I thought I was going to fail the SRE. As I answered it, I was thinking about why the piece we wrote about was so important to me, and how it conveyed that through things like the word choice, tone, and allusion. It was a piece on the effects of social media on our ability to express true compassion. I feel as if the only reason I passed was because I was passionate about the topic, but as I learned in Language and Literature, I first learned that I had the capacity for deeper understanding. The whole point of an education was to acquire and refine the analysis and interpretation skill necessary to contextualize a piece. In that way, what became a fear for me, became something I eased into and embraced. Language and Literature started with us trying to define our expectations, establishing us at a beginner level and what we needed to do to achieve the next levels of understanding, introduced us to the text types and the larger cultures they're a part of, along with the outputs and assessment types in the class.
Models introduced in Langlit
The models we were introduced to in Language and Literature include the Shannon-Weaver model of communication and some of Ms. Cerise's own frameworks. The Shannon-Weaver model denotes how mass media is spread and understood by others. It involves an encoder, a decoder, a channel, feedback, and noise. The sender sends a code through an encoder, and the codes go through a channel where the receiver decodes them. Once the receiver has interpreted the message, they can send feedback to the sender. Noise can interrupt the process of delivering a message. We also learned that language often has a basic structure consisting of a subject and verb and that is used to demonstrate action and give order to your messages. We also discussed the progression of understanding, from summarization and expression, to interpretation, up to the contextualization. Summarization is the basic comphrehension and recall of information on the text, analysis of how literary devices and authorial choices form meaning, and contextualization is how the meaning reflects the world around us and how the world affects its meaning.
Text types
As this is a language and literature course, we are to cover all text types, but so far we covered images and advertisements. These are some of the most common text types you see in daily life. Many of the authorial choices are visual, and were difficult for me to articulate at first. However, as I discussed it with more people,and got sorted into groups, it was easier to articulate how I felt, what the authorial choices in the photos were, and how they formulate meaning. I began to synthesize every choice and understand how the meanings were relevant and what they say about the time period and circumstances they were made in.
This is the groupwork I did with Jayven, Mishka, Aaron, Seth, and Samantha. It is part of our literacy week body of work.
I wrote some of the outline with Yesha, Inigo, and Chelsea.
This is an advertisement for Coca Cola, with a couple holding coke. It uses gesture, expression, vectors, and contrast to communicate closeness when drinking a coca cola. This was also done with the same people I did the analysis of Morales' work on.
These were our conclusions on the Nike ADs we were shown.
Moving forward
Although I've learned so much about the way we analysized texts in language and literature, I know that there is so much more that we ought to learn. For example, we still have to learn how to contextualise and understand how the works comment on our location and the systems we have maintained in our society as students, Filipinos, and members of a global community. I hope that in analysing the works of Langston Hughes and Jose Rizal, we will gain a level of understanding beyond neophyte, and that we will be able to progress from concrete thinking into abstract thinking. The world beyond what we can sense is a vast world of mystery soon to be unveiled in the next two years of Language and Literature. What was once to be feared, once thought to be too long and incomphrehensible, can now by discussed, appreciated, and shared with me, and I'm excited to continue learning with you.