Abstract
The contemporary media landscape is full of false and alternative truths, often linked to the discourse of conspiracy theories. For example, while some dismiss scientists' warnings about climate change as mere hysteria, others claim that the food industry is poisoning the population. In some respects, it can be difficult for students to navigate through the plethora of conflicting information. Therefore, students must be equipped with critical thinking skills and the ability to evaluate information accurately. This paper first examines the phenomenon of conspiracy theory discourse using climate change as a case study. The empirical basis for this study consists of texts from three German online newspapers - Rubikon, Manova, and Nachdenkseiten - from the years 2022 and 2023. A frequency corpus analysis with the help of Sketch Engine is used to examine the vocabulary of conspiracy theories. In a second step, the selected texts are used as examples to analyze the argumentative patterns of conspiratorial texts. Finally, we try to propose methodologies for using the results of this analysis in an educational setting. We propose a methodology for the comparative reading of conspiratorial texts with scholarly sources combined with online research. From a pedagogical point of view, we attempt to propose recommendations for project and active learning. We contend that students will then be able to independently examine the texts, evaluate the information presented, and identify inconsistencies and falsehoods presented to them in the media.
Author Information
Ján Demčišák, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia
Paper Information
Conference: SEACE2025
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
This paper is part of the SEACE2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Demčišák J. (2025) Critical Reading in the Classroom Using the Example of Conspiratorial Texts on Environmental Issues ISSN: 2435-5240 The Southeast Asian Conference on Education 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 343-356) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2025.30
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2025.30
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