Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the for the degree of Master of Technology in Photography, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This dissertation is a self-study that involves inquiring into my mentoring practice to change and improve my situation and find a sense of belonging. The centre of the inquiry into 'self' lies in the search and claiming of an identity that consolidates the development of my artistic, mentoring and research practices during my 'first time' employment experience, as a junior lecturer in a Photography program, 2009-2011. I reflect on three years of lecturing experience in a tertiary education setting at the Durban University of Technology, in which doing a Masters was obligatory. I entered this position, with little experience in research and lecturing or photographic expertise. During this study, I made myself known as osmosisliza, the name of the ‘cyborg’ who journeys in cyberspace. I claim to be a ‘photographer horticulturalist’, a mentor concerned with cultivating collective online spaces, to create movement to connect in cyberspace for social learning purposes. I ask “Who is osmosisliza?”. My class motto is “what you think, know and believe helps us all to be more”, a personal belief for building knowledge through exchange and collaboration with others. I employed a variety of free Web 2.0 applications, like Gmail, Blogger, Buzz, Picasa Web Albums, Google Bookmarks and YouTube to create online spaces in which I could position my living educational theory. I called this place the Google Lens (GL). The Google Lens formed the mechanism to cultivate communities of practice for social learning, to develop confidence, motivation and engagement. The Google Lens was also the repository for qualitative and quantitative data. Mostly I analyse verbal and visual text, writings, photographs and video exchanges between learners and myself archived in the Google Lens to address my research question and sub-question. Through the lens of Google I did action research to improve my practice, and analyse my development as a newcomer to academia. I investigate how successful I was in using the Google Lens to achieve my mentoring goals. I also made photographs during the process of this inquiry to visually address abstract identity dilemmas, concerns and thoughts in my place of work, to engage my ‘I’ in my ‘eye’ as photographer. I exhibit these in cyberspace. I call these electronic postcards. Electronic postcards are blog posts in a weblog called osmosisLIZA. I made 98 blog posts and sent 98 electronic postcards in this dissertation. An electronic postcard consists of a photograph, an illustration, labels and a text heading. In this document the electronic postcards run alongside the writings for this self-study, functioning as text and message of the experiences of a developing academic as well as evidence of the developmental questions I was continuously asking to improve my practice.

The use of external representations (ERs) such as diagrams and animations in science education, particularly in the Molecular Life Sciences (MLS), has rapidly increased over the past decades. Research shows that ERs have a superior advantage over text alone for teaching and learning. Research has also indicated a number of concerns coupled with the use of ERs for education purposes. Such problems emanate from the mode of presentation and/or inability to use ERs. Regarding the later, a number of factors have been identified as major causes of student difficulties and they include visual literacy as one of the major factors. Given that little has been done to understand the nature of VL in the MLS the current study was conducted with the general aim of investigating this area and devising a way to measure the visual literacy levels of our students. More specifically, this study addressed the following research questions: i) What is the nature of visual literacy in MLS?; ii) Can specific levels of visual literacy be defined in the MLS?; and iii) Is a taxonomy a useful way of representing the levels of visual literacy for MLS? To respond to these questions, the current literature was used to define the nature of visual literacy and the visualization skills (VSs). These were then used to develop a Visual Literacy Test made up on probes in the context of Biochemistry. In these probes, the VSs were incorporated. The test was administered to 3rd year Biochemistry students who were also interviewed. Results were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The later analysis utilized the Rasch model to generate an item difficulty map. The results of the current study show that visual literacy is multifaceted in nature and is context based in that it requires specific propositional knowledge. In line with this, it was found that visual literacy is expressed through a cognitive process of visualization which requires VSs. Based on the performance of these skills, learners’ optimal visual literacy in the context of the MLS can be defined. Such performance can be assessed through the development of probes in the Biochemistry context. Furthermore, the current research has shown that using probes, the difficulty degree of each VS can be determined. In this instance, the Rasch model is a preferred method of ranking VSs in the context of Biochemistry in order of difficulty. From this, it was shown that given the uniqueness of each skill’s degree of difficulty, each skill can thus be regarded as a level of visual literacy. Such levels were defined in terms of the norm difficulty obtained in the current study. Given the multifaceted nature of visual literacy, the current study adopted the view that there are infinite number of VSs and hence the number of levels of visual literacy. From the variation in the degree of difficulty, the study showed that there are nonvisualization and visualization type difficulties which contribute to the differences in visual literacy levels between Biochemistry students. In addition to this, the current study showed that visual literacy in the MLS can be presented through a taxonomy. Such a taxonomy can be used to determine the level of each VS, its name and definition, typical difficulties found in the MLS as well as the visualization stage at which each skill is performed. Furthermore, this taxonomy can be used to design models, assess students’ visual literacy, identify and inform the remediation of students’ visualization difficulties. While the study has successfully defined the nature of visual literacy for the MLS and presented visual literacy in a taxonomy, more work is required to further understand visual literacy for the MLS, a field where visual literacy is very prevalent. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

[pt] O problema central desta tese está no letramento de alunos surdos, o que levou à reflexão sobre a constituição do pensamento através de signos e seus possíveis significados construídos socialmente. Faz-se a tentativa de preencher a lacuna apontada por Lebedeff (2010) sobre quais seriam as práticas pedagógicas advindas da necessidade discursiva da experiência visual da surdez e a quais eventos de letramento visual se referem esses discursos. Os objetivos específicos da pesquisa foram os seguintes: 1. Identificar as características das práticas pedagógicas dos instrutores surdos em atuação nas escolas-piloto de educação bilíngue no município do Rio de Janeiro; 2. Analisar as inter-relações entre as práticas pedagógicas dos instrutores surdos com o letramento visual ou o uso de recursos apoiados em imagens. 3. Caracterizar as práticas pedagógicas negociadas com o professor (ouvinte) junto ao instrutor surdo. Contudo, verificamos que há outras práticas que estão ocorrendo diante de fatores, tais como a forte tendência autobiográfica do surdo, manifesta na construção de narrativas surdas em uma linguagem própria, o que envolve não somente a língua de sinais ou língua escrita (portuguesa). Para a compreensão das negociações de sentido, parte-se para a linguagem de interações que é fator fundamental à compreensão da comunicação e da sociabilidade; estas não se concretizam somente por meios e suportes, mas também mediada por interpretações, anseios e conflitos. Diante dessa perspectiva, consideramos que os surdos encontram-se em um processo de desequilíbrio ritual e abordamos os jogos de interação em uma linguagem goffmaniana (1981, 1985, 1988, 2011). Motivou-nos abordar esse panorama complexo em escolas regulares onde foram validadas etapas metodológicas sucessivas: 1. Conhecimento do contexto arquitetônico, humano e tecnológico das escolas; 2. Apresentação da educação bilíngue ao diretor e coordenador pedagógico; 3. Acompanhamento das salas de recursos, pela pesquisa, de modo a documentar a bidocência por meio dos registros fílmicos; 4. Construção de material de formação continuada a partir da edição de fotografias e filmagens para espaço da formação com os Instrutores Surdos, Intérpretes de LIBRAS e Professores das Salas de Recursos; 5. Encontros anuais de Educação Bilíngue organizados para 400 a 600 participantes. A pesquisa envolveu também algumas providências quanto a: equipar as salas de recursos com materiais pertinentes à surdez; capacitar professores, instrutores surdos e intérpretes de LIBRAS; oferecer cursos de formação continuada em LIBRAS. Delinearam-se três estilos de aula: a. Expositiva em língua de sinais com o uso mais tradicional de apresentação de assunto ou tema com incremento de imagens; b. Informatizada em língua de sinais com o uso de outros meios como história em quadrinhos, desenhos, jogos e representações; c. Dramatizada ou teatralizada em língua de sinais com o uso de recursos cênicos. Considerando que a perspectiva fundamental da didática assume o processo ensino-aprendizagem em sua multidimensionalidade, ou seja, os aspectos político, humano e técnico, como nos indica Candau (1983, 2012a), enxergá-la junto a uma parte dos instrutores surdos de língua de sinais fez parte da proposta desta pesquisa-ação que demandou 69 incursões a campo com filmagens desses estilos de aula e de recursos usados em 12 escolas-piloto de Educação Bilíngue no Município do Rio de Janeiro. Justifica-se o esforço de análise e, principalmente, de catalogação dos artefatos encontrados nas escolas públicas municipais cariocas, cerne desta tese, na qual o pano de fundo não deixam de ser as narrativas surdas, porém não nos prendendo a elas, mas à arte dos surdos e de alguns ouvintes em criar suportes, recursos, práticas pedagógicas que criam outros modos de ensino-aprendizagem em prol de uma didática da invenção surda. / [en] The central concern in this thesis is in the literacy of deaf students, which led to the consideration of the constitution of thought through signs and its possible socially constructed meanings. It is focused on the attempt to fill the gap pointed by Lebedeff (2010) on which would the pedagogical practices be from the discursive need of the visual experience of deafness and to which visual literacy events these discourses refer to. The specific objectives of the research were: 1. To identify the characteristics of the pedagogical practices of the deaf instructors acting in pilot schools of bilingual education in the city of Rio de Janeiro; 2. To analyze the interrelationships between the pedagogical practices of the deaf instructors with visual literacy or the use of resources supported by images. 3. To describe the pedagogical practices negotiated with the teacher (listener) together with the deaf instructor. However, we found out that are other practices that are occurring in the face of these factors such as the strong autobiographical tendency of the deaf individuals, expressed by the construction of deaf narratives in their own language, which involves not only sign language or written language (Brazilian Portuguese). To understand the negotiations of meaning, we set out to the language of interactions, which is a key factor in understanding the communication and sociability; these are realized not only by means and media, but also mediated by interpretations, desires and conflict. Given this perspective we considered that the deaf individuals are in a process of ritual imbalance and we approached games of interaction in a Goffman language (1981, 1985, 1988, 2011). We were motivated to address this complex panorama, in research, in regular schools where successive methodological steps were validated: 1 Knowledge of architectural, human, and technological context of the schools; 2 Presentation of bilingual education for the director and pedagogical coordinator; 3 Monitoring of resource rooms, in order the research, to document two teachers (deaf and hearing) through the records on film (movie); 4 Construction of continuing education material from the photo editing and filming for training with the deaf instructors, sign language interpreters and teachers of resources rooms; 5. Bilingual Education Annual meetings arranged for 400 to 600 participants. The research also involved some steps as: equip the rooms with resource materials relevant to deafness; continuing training for teachers, deaf instructors and deaf sign language interpreters; offer continuing education courses in sign language. Outlining three styles of curricula: a. Lecture in sign language with the more traditional use of presentation of subject or theme with incremental images; b. Computerized lesson in sign language with the use of other media like comics, cartoons, games and representations; c. Dramatized lesson in sign language with the use of scenic resources. Whereas basic didactic perspective assumes teaching-learning process in its multidimensionality, i.e. the political, human and technical aspects, as indicated by Candau (1983, 2012a), it was part of the purpose of this action-research to comprehend it along with some of the Deaf Instructors of the sign language: the lesson styles and the resources used by 12 Deaf Instructors. They are those who managed to promote sign language and deaf culture, with greater effectiveness, as the largest investment of resources in pilot schools of Bilingual Education in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The effort of analysis is justified and especially the cataloging of the artifacts found in the public municipal schools of Rio de Janeiro - core of this thesis - in which the background is nonetheless deaf narratives, but not holding on to them, but to the art of deaf individuals and some listeners in creating means, resources, pedagogical practices that create other approaches to teaching and learning towards a teaching of the deaf invention.

External representations (ERs), such as diagrams, animations, and dynamic models are vital tools for communicating and constructing knowledge in biochemistry. To build a meaningful understanding of structure, function, and process, it is essential that students become visually literate by mastering key cognitive skills that are essential for interpreting and visualizing ERs. In this article, first we describe a model of seven factors influencing students’ ability to learn from ERs. Second, we use this model and relevant literature to identify eight cognitive skills central to visual literacy in biochemistry. Third, we present simple examples of tasks as a foundation for designing more sophisticated and complex items for assessing and developing students’ visual literacy. We conclude that visual literacy is fundamental to the development of sound conceptual understanding and it is crucial to develop visual skills in parallel with meaningful learning outcomes in all biochemistry curricula. / <p>All issues of BAMBED become freely available after a two-year hold</p>

This research explores the potential of image and visual literacy in the postsecondary second language classroom to contribute to learners’ motivation towards the acquisition of the second language. The pedagogical approach used in this project is based on the research on multiliteracy, and the learning model adopted is implied by the activity theory. The intervention took place over a period of six weeks, with 39 students registered in two different first year French courses at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. The research hypothesis was that analysis, interpretation and fabrication of images would engage and motivate the participants towards their second language acquisition (SLA). Data gathered from participants’ comments suggest that more than two thirds of them, that is to say 71%, have supported my hypothesis. A series of comparative analysis indicated that the research experience was more appreciated by the group Fren 195, probably because of specific expectations regarding the nature of their course. Another series of comparative analysis suggested that the sub-group immersion Fren 155 had least appreciated the research experience, due to the conventions on linguistic hybridity, creative process and choices. Finally, since the activity theory is comprised of an ensemble of interactive components, the research also investigated the impact of each component on the participants’ motivation towards SLA.

Submitted by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2018-10-17T12:49:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Basaglia.pdf: 12723582 bytes, checksum: 186e982317cd58278c095873bfe3b964 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2018-10-17T18:48:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Basaglia.pdf: 12723582 bytes, checksum: 186e982317cd58278c095873bfe3b964 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2018-10-17T18:50:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Basaglia.pdf: 12723582 bytes, checksum: 186e982317cd58278c095873bfe3b964 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-17T18:50:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Basaglia.pdf: 12723582 bytes, checksum: 186e982317cd58278c095873bfe3b964 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This paper aims to show the potential of fanzines production as a means of creativity and critical expression, analyzing the arts produced by a group of students in a public school in São Paulo/SP, after reflections on graphic design concepts, fanzine, literacy and visual culture, image reading, autonomy. Fanzine is commonly associated with an alternative publication without commercial value and usually amateur production nature and, because of these qualities, can be developed easily in school. The goal is to show that working with fanzines allows students to take their role as subjects in the process of understanding and building values; pointing out that working with fanzines, and their meanings from its form and content,are extremely personal and graphic objects lend themselves to communicate in an original and authentic way; demonstrate that graphic design is a powerful tool for communication and knowledge can help people to have more say in a collective experimentation space. / O presente trabalho pretende mostrar as potencialidades da produção de fanzines como meio de expressão de criatividade e criticidade, analisando as artes produzidas por um grupo de alunos em uma escola municipal em São Paulo/SP, após reflexões a respeito de conceitos de design gráfico, fanzine, alfabetismo e cultura visuais, leitura de imagens, autonomia. Fanzine é comumente associado a uma publicação alternativa, sem cunho comercial e geralmente de produção amadora e, por conta dessas qualidades, pode ser desenvolvido facilmente em ambiente escolar. O objetivo é mostrar que o trabalho com fanzines permite que os estudantes assumam seu papel de sujeitos em seu processo de compreensão e construção de valores; apontar que o trabalho com fanzines, além de seus significados provenientes de sua forma e conteúdo, são objetos gráficos extremamente pessoais e se prestam a comunicar de maneira original e autêntica; demonstrar que o design gráfico é uma potente ferramenta de comunicação e seu conhecimento pode auxiliar as pessoas a terem voz mais ativa, em um espaço de experimentação coletiva.

The text searches for the key aspects of interactivity in selected books for children, that activate the child reader in terms of a thought and manipulation. The thesis focuses on the process of how children browse, read, and play with the books Cirkus ulice and Maškary by Dagmar Urbánková. It aims to answer the question of how browsing through the author's books develops visual and reading literacy of a child. The case study is realized applying a method of participant observation. Using the Bloom's revised cognitive taxonomy, we employ the qualitative analysis method to analyse the participative process of a game of eight children from their thought activity viewpoint. We identify the game, participation, communication, variability, experience, and a possibility to change something to be the key principles of interactivity. Based on these identified principles of interactivity and their mutual ties, we propose activities with the examined books, that can be further elaborated on and realized with children in the art or literature education classes. The thesis is processed in the context of reading and visual literacy and their representation in current curricular documents, that serve as a pedagogical background to this thesis. Its professional frame is given by the notion of visual culture and...

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Thomas Vontz / This qualitative study explored middle school students’ conceptions of citizenship through the use of civic images. Citizenship education as the primary purpose for social studies education is firmly established; however, citizenship is an abstract concept. The definition and characteristics of citizenship, as well as research concerning the decline or evolution of civic behaviors, is inconclusive and oscillating. Recently adopted national and state social studies standards focus on inquiry and literacy skills, emphasizing the use of primary sources; namely historical documents. These texts are often insufficient curriculum drivers and generate a need to find alternative primary sources that scaffold and support students’ understanding. Images speak a familiar language and have been found to support student learning of history. This study fills a gap in the research regarding the use of images to teach citizenship, the purpose of social studies. Using a case study approach to research, multiple methods of data converged to address the research question, how do suburban middle school students understand citizenship through civic images? Twenty-seven eighth-graders enrolled in two Guided Study courses served as the research participants. The researcher spent two weeks at the start of the study, observing the students in their educational environment. Following the observations, for approximately eight weeks, students viewed a civic image and responded to a series of questions adapted from the Stanford History Education Group’s Historical Thinking Skills Chart (2006). At the conclusion of the eight weeks, the researcher conducted focus group interviews with each class and individual interviews with eight randomly selected students and the participating teacher. The results of this study support the use of images as instructional resources to teach abstract concepts, particularly citizenship, as well as support the use of images as primary sources to teach inquiry and literacy skills. The civic images deepened student understanding of civic and historical concepts and, more importantly, they informed students’ definitions of citizenship. Equality and community were revealed by the data as defining characteristics of citizenship for the students involved in this study, supporting previous research that members of younger generations are redefining what it means to be a good citizen.

This master thesis project, was developed at the Master Degree in Education, at Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), stems from the research Line Education, Knowledge and Professional Development. It aims to understand to what extent visual literacy is a possibility to help teachers‟ awareness in their lifelong education processes in a public school in Santa Maria - RS and it investigates how teachers externalize their seizure of knowledge relating to images meaning resources. This research is characterized as qualitative, guided by the Investigative-formative Dialogical Circles process, it aims to liberate and emancipate all teachers involved in this process, and the inspiration to this process is the Circles of Culture from Paulo Freire. This study was developed from the conception of language as a social practice, in Van Leeuwen; Kress and Halliday I found the needed theoretical basis for visual literacy, considering the different ways of communication in its context of use. Freire, Maturana and Arroyo supported the teachers lifelong education under the humanizing perspective, thinking about the path that leads us to choose our profession and how to make our practice as empowered citizens. Based on the data analysis, we can say that teachers used images in their practice intuitively, for illustration only and not as an unit of meaning, thus failing to recognize the image as an important resource in the knowledge construction. However, through the Investigative-formative Dialogical Circles there was considerable awareness about the recognition of language in its context of use, image as a language mode and, so, meaningful itself, the recognition of images meaning resources and about some implications of teacher‟s lifelong education under the humanizing perspective. / Essa dissertação de mestrado, desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), decorre da Linha de Pesquisa Formação, Saberes e Desenvolvimento Profissional. Tem como objetivo geral compreender em que medida a alfabetização visual é uma possibilidade de auto(trans)formação permanente com professores do ensino fundamental de uma escola municipal de Santa Maria RS e averiguar de que maneira os professores externam a apreensão dos saberes relativos aos recursos de sentido nas imagens. A pesquisa caracterizou-se como qualitativa, organizada na dinâmica e processualidade dos Círculos Dialógicos Investigativo-formativos, o quais visam à libertação e a emancipação de todos os envolvidos no processo, a inspiração desse processo são os círculos de cultura de Paulo Freire. O estudo se desenvolveu a partir da concepção da linguagem como prática social, tendo em Van Leeuwen; Kress e Halliday a base teórica para os elementos da alfabetização visual, considerando os diferentes modos de linguagem em seu contexto de uso. Freire, Maturana e Arroyo deram suporte à formação de professores sob a perspectiva humanizadora, pensando no percurso que nos leva a escolher a profissão docente e em como assumir nossa prática como atores sociais e não asujeitados e asujeitadores. Com a análise dos dados, é possível dizer que os professores utilizavam imagens em sua prática pedagógica de maneira intuitiva, apenas como ilustração e não como unidade de sentido, deixando assim de reconhecer a imagem como recurso importante na construção do conhecimento. Porém, averiguou-se que por meio dos Círculos Dialógicos Investigativo-formativos houve uma considerável sensibilização quanto ao reconhecimento da linguagem em seu contexto de uso, da imagem como um modo de linguagem e, portanto, possuidora de significado em si, do reconhecimento de recursos de sentido nas imagens e de algumas das implicações da auto(trans)formação permanente sob a perspectiva humanizadora.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A imagem, como parte constitutiva de diversos gÃneros textuais, integra os vastos domÃnios discursivos presentes na esfera social da comunicaÃÃo e interaÃÃo humanas. Assim sendo, se requerem do leitor/produtor habilidades especÃficas para que ele possa se inserir nessa cadeia de produÃÃo de sentidos, visto que, como qualquer texto, as imagens precisam ser lidas, e nÃo apenas visualizadas/observadas. No tocante ao ensino, sabe-se que as abordagens de leitura em sala de aula se orientam por determinados pressupostos que corroboram o desenvolvimento da compreensÃo leitora dos aprendizes de lÃnguas materna e estrangeiras. Como o componente multimodal faz parte do modo de apresentaÃÃo textual, à importante que nas aulas de lÃnguas, a partir de dada abordagem de leitura, se fomente o letramento visual e, em especial, norteadas por uma perspectiva sociocultural de leitura que permita explorar a imagem como texto. Assim, esta investigaÃÃo objetiva diagnosticar as abordagens de leitura presentes no ensino de trÃs lÃnguas no contexto educacional, a saber, portuguÃs, espanhol e inglÃs, com Ãnfase na anÃlise de possÃveis implicaÃÃes para o incremento do letramento visual na sala de aula. Para tanto, investigamos a prÃtica de trÃs professoras dessas lÃnguas (uma de lÃngua portuguesa, uma de lÃngua espanhola e uma de lÃngua inglesa) realizadas em uma escola pÃblica, priorizando nesse exame descrever e interpretar como se dà a relaÃÃo professor-material-aluno e, ainda, como o material usado pelos docentes sugere ou nÃo atividades que favoreÃam o tratamento da imagem e, em especial, o letramento visual. Do ponto de vista metodolÃgica, a pesquisa à de carÃter qualitativo-interpretativista, de base diagnÃstica; e, no que diz respeito aos materiais e mÃtodos empregados, trata-se de um estudo de campo. Recorremos, para fins de coleta/geraÃÃo de dados, ao questionÃrio, à observaÃÃo de aula, Ãs anotaÃÃes de campo e à anÃlise de material didÃtico e os dados gerados foram entrecruzados na posterior anÃlise. Como fundamentaÃÃo teÃrica, ancoramo-nos, no que diz respeito ao letramento visual (ELKINS, 2009), nos pressupostos teÃrico-analÃticos da GramÃtica do Design Visual (KRESS, VAN LEEUWEN, 2006) e, no que concerne Ãs abordagens de leitura, nos estudos de Cassany (2006) bem como nos estudos sobre letramento crÃtico (BAPTISTA, 2010, 2012, 2014; LUKE, 2012; CAZDEN et al., 1996). Depois das anÃlises, pode-se afirmar que as concepÃÃes de leitura instauradas em sala sÃo, primordialmente, a psicolinguÃstica e a linguÃstica, com especial destaque para os aspectos formais, de sorte que os socioculturais perpassam infimamente a prÃtica docente. Ademais, o trato dado à imagem, em geral, à de natureza secundÃria na composiÃÃo do texto multimodal, quando nÃo percebida, embora os professores tenham consciÃncia de que a imagem à texto e de que a relaÃÃo entre texto verbal e nÃo verbal à de complementaridade. Portanto, o fomento do letramento visual, desde uma perspectiva sociocultural, à incipiente no ensino de lÃnguas materna e estrangeiras no contexto investigado. / The image becomes a constituent part of various genres, integrating the vast discursive fields present in the social sphere of human communication and interaction. Therefore, the reader/producer of meanings is required to have specific skills so that he can insert himself in that chain of meaning production, since, as any text, images should be read, and not just displayed/observed. In what concerns education it is known that reading approaches in the classroom are based on assumptions that support the development of the reading comprehension of the learners of native and foreign languages. As the multimodal component is part of the textual displaying mode, it is important that in language classes, from a given reading approach, visual literacy be promoted and, in particular, that it be guided by a sociocultural perspective of reading which makes it possible to explore the image as text. Thus, this research aims at diagnosing reading approaches present in language teaching in the educational context and its implications for the visual literacy. To do so we have investigated the practice of three language teachers (a Portuguese one, a Spanish one and an English one) in a public school, paying attention to the teacher-material-student relationship, and the material used by the teachers. Our research is a qualitative-interpretative one and diagnostic based; and, with regard to the materials and methods used, a field study; we have resorted thus to the questionnaire, to the class observation, to the field notes and to the analysis of teaching materials as methodological tools to complete the investigation. At the end of the collection and generation of the corpus, we triangulated the data. As to the theoretical foundation, we have based this study, with regard to visual literacy (ELKINS, 2009), in the theoretical and analytical assumptions of the Grammar of Visual Design (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 2006) and, in respect to reading approaches, in the studies of Cassany (2006), as well as in the studies on critical literacy (BAPTISTA, 2010, 2012, 2014; LUKE, 2012; CAZDEN et al., 1996). After the analysis, it is possible to say that the concept of reading established in the classroom is primarily psycholinguistic and linguistic, focusing thereby in formal aspects, so that the sociocultural aspects permeate the teaching practice infinitely. Moreover, the treatment given to the image is in general of an accessorial nature in the composition of the multimodal text when it is not perceived, although teachers are aware that the image is text and that the relationship between verbal and non-verbal text is one of complementation. Therefore, the development of visual literacy, from a sociocultural perspective, is incipient in the teaching of native and foreign languages in the context investigated.