Speaker
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
This presentation examines how students develop multimodal communicative competence through a multiliteracies-informed instructional design supported by a digital authoring platform. It addresses the following questions:
How do EFL students orchestrate linguistic, visual, and auditory resources in interactive multimodal projects?
What patterns of strengths and challenges emerge in their multimodal meaning-making?
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The study was conducted in a university CLIL course in Taiwan where students created interactive multimodal projects using ThingLink. Instruction followed four multiliteracies learning processes—encountering, exploring, evaluating, and expressing—implemented through teacher-directed, self-directed, group, and cross-group activities. Data sources included students’ multimodal ensembles, classroom performances, and reflective discussions, which were analyzed to examine how learners coordinated multiple semiotic resources for meaning-making.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Preliminary findings indicate that students demonstrated relative strengths in visual design and narrative organization. However, integrating linguistic, visual, and auditory elements to achieve intermodal cohesion and audience engagement remained challenging. These results suggest that multimodal communicative competence develops incrementally as learners experiment with coordinating diverse semiotic resources. The study underscores the pedagogical value of multiliteracies-oriented instruction and digital authoring tools in supporting multimodal meaning-making and fostering critical engagement with sustainability issues in higher education EFL contexts.
Abstract section 5: References
N/A
Abstract section 1: Relevance
As communication increasingly involves the orchestration of multiple semiotic modes, developing multimodal communicative competence has become a key goal in language education. However, classroom practices often remain linguistically oriented and provide limited support for multimodal meaning-making. Drawing on the multiliteracies framework, this study explores how multimodal pedagogical design can support EFL learners in coordinating linguistic, visual, and auditory resources. By integrating sustainability themes from the UN Sustainable Development Goals within a CLIL context, the study responds to current calls for language education that simultaneously promotes multimodal literacy and critical engagement with global issues.
| Title | Developing Multimodal Communicative Competence with ThingLin |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |