Greek Language and Media: Educational applications in Kindergarten

The course includes a systematic description, interpretation and evaluation of the media contents (grammar and syntax of television broadcasting, learning the written, visual and oral codes, etc). Moreover, media literacy is determined as critical education and is associated with the meaning of enhancing teacher’s and pupil’s cognitive and critical skills.

Objectives

• The course aims to lead the students in discovering the mechanisms of television language, electronic journalism, political communication and advertising. It also aims at developing and cultivating critical reading skills of media products, and also at utilizing media language - in the form of so-called "authentic material" - in teaching language courses in kindergarten. Students: In connection with the conquest of knowledge: -Understand the ideological and freight function of language in the various uses of the public level. -Recognize the effects of media language in the linguistic repertoire of recipients. -Are being trained in contemporary issues of media literacy and communicative education, contributing to the formation of critical thinking from preschool age. -Learn to act as critical recipients and active “players of communication”. In connection with the acquisition of competences: -Are able to incorporate and utilize media material on teaching of language courses. They reclaim creatively the authentic language material. -Cultivate critical competencesin relation to the sociopolitical symbolisms of discourses transmitted by the media. -Areable to operate as active “makers” of communication (performers), abandoning the restrictive role of passive recipient. Regarding to the acquisition of skills: -Cultivate the skill of recognition and revelation of advertising ingenuity aiming at childhood. -Enrich communication skills by utilizing best practices taken from a part of media. -Become familiar with the use of technology on teaching language courses.

Prerequisites

Νone.

Syllabus

Specifically, following chapters are presented and analyzed: 1. Media: definition, brief literature review. 2. Media texts and their critical analysis. 3. The attitude of "high virtual sympathy" and the roles of the transmitters and recipients. 4. Fundamentals of communicative education. 5. Media literacy. 6. Media literacy movement related to the educational process. 7. The impact of media programsin the formation of social / linguistic identities of infants. 8. The use of media language media in the educational process - Using authentic material in Kindergarten. 9. Proposed educational applications of the media language. 10. Children in "reality shows" –Children’s protection from media effects.