Guest Editorial: Contextualized Multimodal Language Learning

We live in an era of digitally accessible multimodality for various purposes and practices. Researchers and educators agree that multimodal literacies are essential by human beings to communicate, work, and thrive in the global world of the 21st century (Gee, 2003; Jewitt & Kress, 2003; New Lond...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Meei-Ling Liaw, Hsin-I Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Forum of Educational Technology & Society 2023-07-01
Series:Educational Technology & Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.j-ets.net/collection/published-issues/26_3#h.tpwqyruhs0yp
Description
Summary:We live in an era of digitally accessible multimodality for various purposes and practices. Researchers and educators agree that multimodal literacies are essential by human beings to communicate, work, and thrive in the global world of the 21st century (Gee, 2003; Jewitt & Kress, 2003; New London Group, 1996). Along with this need, teachers need to be aware of “multimodal possibilities” (Lotherington & Jenson, 2011, p. 227) and their ramifications for teaching and learning. In second/foreign language education, multimodality has become even more central than ever. The interconnectedness among learning contexts, digital tools and materials, and learners is dynamic, multi-faceted, and, more importantly, awaits further exploration so language teachers and learners can transform the understandings into effective pedagogical practices. In this special issue, we present seven research efforts contributing to moving toward this goal. Under the overarching theme of contextualized multimodal language learning, the studies tackle issues in theoretical perspectives, methodological choices, educational contexts, and applications of innovative technological tools. Collectively, the studies revealed positive pedagogical values for language teachers of different educational contexts to enhance the learning experiences of different age groups by creatively taking advantage of multiple modes of knowing and meaning-making.
ISSN:1176-3647
1436-4522