In an era dominated by digital technologies and social media, Hong Kong secondary students are increasingly immersed in visually saturated yet fragmented information streams. This phenomenon has contributed to waning interest in sustained reading and deteriorating language competencies among most learners, leaving many with weak foundational literacy skills.

This symposium proposes an innovative pedagogical approach that merges close textual analysis with transmedia teaching materials—including films, animations, and comics—to rekindle students’ engagement with reading. Through interactive, multimodal instruction, we demonstrate how to guide students in developing unique interpretive perspectives by transforming their sensory experiences and personal memories into narrative raw materials. The framework progresses systematically, first teaching students to articulate thoughts through writing, then to express their identities, and ultimately to achieve empathetic engagement with texts.

Effective language learning must be rooted in students’ lived experiences. Without cultivating what we term “literary sensibility”—the ability to mobilize personal narratives for textual comprehension and empathy—both teachers and students will struggle to achieve genuine understanding. Our workshop equips educators with multimedia tools and experiential learning strategies, beginning with foundational reading skills and advancing to Life Writing. This holistic approach nurtures students’ literacy development by encouraging them to document both personal and collective life stories, thereby enhancing their academic language proficiency, literary appreciation, and social-emotional awareness as they grow through the learning process.