BC TEAL 2026 Annual Conference

When carrying out written assignments, university and college students are on safe ground with journal articles. These have been peer-reviewed and are generally trustworthy. However, much of the information they uncover in the course of their research will be less reliable. This session addresses the other information students might come across, namely websites and non-academic articles. Attention is also given to visual input, specifically photographs.
The session provides guidance on how to approach this material critically and thereby develop media literacy. Specifically, delegates will be shown the kinds of questions they can encourage their students to ask about non-academic materials. A systematic approach to these materials will equip students to evaluate this input effectively, and to determine whether or not it can be used as a source for written tasks in academic courses.
There are over 1.5 billion websites in the world, and while some are reliable, many are not. The CRAAP test (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose) enables consumers of web material to approach it critically and determine its usefulness. Non-academic articles, such as magazine stories and personal blogs, often rely on anecdotes to make a point. It is helpful to examine the use of language in these stories and to consider how language may be used to manipulate the reader’s thoughts. Questions about photographs will explore how an image might be used to evoke a specific reaction. 
In all cases, examples will be provided, and suggestions for class activities will be shared. Delegates should come away from this session with ideas for activities they can adapt for their own classes to encourage critical thinking and media literacy, and to help their EAP students to become better consumers of the information they may encounter. Examples are from the second edition of Critical Reading (TC Media ELT, 2026).