We argue that the literacy landscape today demands that teachers understand what language is and that it is important for both teachers and students to develop the metalanguage to negotiate multimodal texts. We present our exploratory study in a Singapore high school whereby a multiliteracies curriculum was designed and implemented. We describe the strategies we took to infuse critical multimedia literacy in two English language classrooms of 14-year-old students. We also present examples of critical moments whereby shifts and tensions in classroom practices were observed. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)