With the development of technology, the ways of obtaining media information have also changed. We read text, look at images, data and charts, videos, and listen to the radio, podcasts, and other audio recordings. We consume media, that is, we perceive media messages.
The works of D. Buckingham, J. Gonnet, I. M. Dzyaloshinsky, J. Lull, L. Sellers present studies of the problem of the influence of mass media on personality and society in the field of education.
Why is media literacy important? It teaches you to be attentive to information, ask the right questions, look at different points of view, and make connections between new and old ideas. Media literacy has been integrated into the curriculum in English and other humanities, social studies and health-related disciplines over the past decades. Cindy Scheibe and Feiz Rogow presented examples of integrating media education into English lessons [2, p. 184]. The inclusion of media literacy exercises in the educational process allows the teacher to diversify the types of tasks in the lesson of a foreign language, to make it vital and communicatively oriented.
Media literacy is about understanding how and why messages are spread. There are many aspects to think about when we see or hear media reports. [1, p. 161] To analyze means to look closely at something in order to understand it.
It all starts with the right questions: 1. Who was the creator of the sent message? 2. What methods were used to attract attention? What phrases or illustrations are used in this message and why? 3. Which points of view have people by interpreting this message? 4. What information are included or omitted in this message? 5. What was the reason to send this message? These five basic concepts of media analysis can be used in the design of the exercise.
Who was the creator of the sent message? Students are divided into four groups. Three of them get different roles and create media messages, and the fourth has to guess who exactly was the creator. For example, one of the groups gets the role of a contact lens company. She must create an advertising message, choosing from all the proposed appropriate text and illustrations. The fourth group has to guess that this ad belongs to a contact lens company.
What methods were used to attract attention? Students are divided into groups, each of them is tasked with creating a media message using different methods, for example, humor, symbols, different fonts, colors, images, anything that can draw the attention of consumers. Each of the groups after the presentation of the advertisement must determine which methods were used.
How can different people understand or interpret a media message? Students are divided into groups. All groups are shown an excerpt from the news, for example, that in connection with the spread of COVID-19 and a large number of cases, quarantine is being introduced in the city. Each of the groups is tasked with interpreting this news from the point of view of, for example, a student, a doctor, or a pensioner.
Which points of view have people by interpreting this message? How do you know if a news item is biased? To start trying to understand this, you need to use media literacy skills. For example, one group of students creates a news report about Florence Nightingale, omitting any positive information. The second group should determine if the news was biased and not based on all the facts.
What was the reason to send this message? Students are divided into four groups. Three of them are tasked to create a post on social networks for a different reason, for example, the first group is tasked to write information about the fight against COVID-19, the second one about fundraising for children with cancer, and the third one about the lack of a nurse in the country. The fourth group should determine the reason for writing this information.
A media lesson in English is one of the important elements of media education in the modern world since it develops critical and analytical thinking, which helps to navigate the information space, analyze phenomena and events during the accelerated scientific and technological progress and globalization of society. Such a lesson contributes to the upbringing of the personality of the future physician, allows to more effectively form linguistic, communicative and socio-cultural competence in various fields, to fully apply a personality-oriented approach, taking into account the psychological characteristics of each student.