A Study of a Media Literacy-Facilitated Class Model to Improve Korean Undergraduates’ Critical Thinking and English Writing: Focusing on Modern Satiric Grotesque and Metaphor*

Abstract

This study explored a media literacy-facilitated learning model to activate EFL undergraduates’ writing performance and critical thinking. While cultivating learners’ media literacy ability, it designed a learning environment to stimulate critical thinking through metaphors and grotesque pictures. The participants (<i>N</i> = 57) tried to find each metaphor while seeing grotesque images from the movies of <i>Parasite</i> (Bong, 2019) and <i>Joker</i> (Philips, 2019). In the process, they learned how to respect peers’ ideas through similarities and differences. They could extend their existing knowledge when allowed to review the social or economic issues that the grotesque images revealed. They reproduced short sentences online in the group Kakao talk room when given specific words aligned with the pictures. When planning their writing, selecting the appropriate words, and correcting their sentences, they reorganized their thoughts and produced a theme-based essay. These activities affected their language performance as the learners could acquire long-term retention about vocabulary use. A paired t-test and One-way ANOVA analysis showed their language proficiency improvement. Their writing shows specific forms (to <i>verb</i>, and <i>to noun</i>) more frequently to express the metaphors of a <i>mask</i>. Accordingly, this model activated critical thinking through metaphor and the satirical grotesque.