Effectiveness Of Multimodality Pedagogies In College English Intensive Reading Classes

陈怡

【Abstract】Nowadays， teachers impart knowledge by means of various modalities， including videos， animation， diagrams， and PowerPoint （PPT）. Hence， developments in pedagogy have brought about the rise of multimodality pedagogy in the classroom. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of multimodality pedagogies in English-language intensive reading classes at the college level. It selects four cases from a national college English teaching contest and analyzes how teacher-contestants use verbal and nonverbal modalities to achieve their teaching objectives. Two standards are used to assess their teaching effectiveness： students reactions and judges comments. The study also makes recommendations for instructors who are interested in multimodality pedagogies in teaching activities.

【Key words】Multimodality； intensive reading； multimodality pedagogy

1. Introduction

In traditional English reading classes， the teachers job is to teach knowledge mainly by spoken language and written language. Therefore， teachers discourse is the main teaching method， which means the teacher plays the dominant role in class. Currently， people send information through graphics， pictures， audio messages， and videos instead of verbal language and writing. The same changes have occurred in the classroom that knowledge can be imparted by means of various modalities， including videos， animations， PowerPoint， or diagrams. With changing classroom settings， multimodality pedagogies have been widely utilized in college English classes. Some instructors teaching intensive reading classes have undoubtedly integrated multimodality pedagogies into their instructional activities.

2. Review of Literature

As to the previous studies on intensive reading from the traditional teaching method， there was also something about the reading strategy written by Anderson： Exploring Second Language Reading： Issues and Strategies （2004）； Key Issues in Teaching EFL/ESL Intensive Reading： A Videotaped Self-Observation Report （Widodo， 2009）.

Chinese researchers and instructors have conducted research in the context of multimodality pedagogies. Some scholars in the literature who study multimodality pedagogies， such as Lv and Mu （2014） and Song （2013）， put forward recommendations as to how the new pedagogies can stimulate students in their reading classes as well as enhancing students learning.

Scholars such as Lv and Mu （2014） have researched the effect of multimodal teaching on college students reading ability. The results indicated that multimodal pedagogies have positive effects on students reading ability.

Researchers have also studied the use of multimodal teaching of college reading in particular. Song （2013） explored multimodality pedagogies used in teaching intensive reading and addressed the question of effective application of multimodalities in the classroom： How does the multimodal design of class activities enhance the students learning input and make the output efficient？ The results implied that multimodality can be applied in English teaching to great effect.

These researchers have contributed to the development of multimodality pedagogies， which are the basis of the present study on how learners and teachers interact with multimodal materials in the English reading classroom. Previous scholars have noted that the application of multimodality has become a recent trend in foreign language teaching.

Researchers who have addressed this topic， including researchers abroad （Wyatt. Smith & K. Kimber， 2009） agree that multimodality pedagogies and research into modern-day multimodal texts and practices are still in their infancy （Lv & Mu， 2014； Song， 2013）， especially for the teaching of English intensive reading at the college level. Most research focuses on the methods application to language teaching， specifically with respect to listening and writing abilities， while a few studies address college intensive reading classes. Hence， it is of great necessity to probe into the multimodal pedagogies used in English intensive teaching. This thesis attempts to research effectiveness of multimodality pedagogies in a college English reading class and put forward methods to enhance the students reading ability.

3. Effectiveness of Multimodality Pedagogy： Case Analysis

Four cases were selected to examine the effectiveness of multimodality pedagogy in English reading classes. Each of the four contestants taught one of these four lessons： “How to fall in love with math，” “The liberator： Bill Grattan，” “Success，” and “Are we raising a generation of spoiled brats？”

Reading Objective： Skimming

This part analyzes how three teachers used multimodality activities to reach the reading objective of skimming. The researcher collected data by reviewing each class and assessing different modality combinations evident in the class activities.

The first teacher guided students through listening and reading tasks to fulfill the reading objective. Students were asked to listen to an audio recording and complete a fill-in-the-blank exercise with detailed information. The audio modality was used to attract students attention； its main purpose was to give students a general idea of what the beauty of math is and to supply background information on the reading topic. The students were able to complete most of the blanks； their success in finishing this task can be interpreted as a positive reaction to the modality.

The second teacher prepared different reading activities designed to accomplish the teaching objective， with modalities including word study and question-and-answer activities for the students. After the lead-in， the teacher used a box-style chart to show the relationship between two new words， “emigrate” and “immigrate，” and make it simple for students to understand their derivatives. Words play an important role in learning to read English， so students English vocabulary can be expanded by the use of a directive visual modality. When this method of word study proved effective， students nodded their heads， indicating they had learned the new words， and answered the word choice questions given on the PowerPoint （PPT） quickly.

In the third section of this demonstration class， students uncovered the main ideas of the essay they had been assigned， in which a former student reminsces about his professor， who he calls “The Liberator.” The students did this by constructing the liberators image through short sentences in text form， complemented by the visual modality of PPT. Both modalities can enhance students ability to read by skimming， which was developed further through logical questions asked them about the content.

The third teacher taught about parenting using video-based text analysis as well as structure analysis. The teacher led in by offering a humorous greeting that activated the atmosphere： “After seeing two gentlemen in a row， you guys must be glad to see a fairy lady here.” This greeting served an interpersonal function by narrowing the social gap between the teacher and her students. Her verbal introduction was also praised by judges， who observed that “the teacher has fluent oral English to communicate with students.”

Reading Objective： Scanning

Scanning is a reading technique that is used for finding specific information quickly. The last teacher taught about success. He made good use of charts to illustrate the logical order of the knowledge points. Next， four analytical questions about the text had been asked ahead of the class reading that were aimed at developing the learners scanning skill. The details the questions called for could be found easily by scanning through the passage， which was written across three parallel text boxes on the PPT slides. The PPT chart revealed a clear and proper logic to learners， telling them to skim a passage and comprehend only the main ideas within the text. He told students to read quickly only for the main points and gave encouragement to the students， telling them， for instance， “You have done a good job！” Teaching language appropriately can not only make class activities run smoothly but can also benefit the students learning.

In the comments on his class， the judges praised his good use of multimedia in support of teaching links and noted that pictures， videos， and PPT text were used properly to inspire higher participation rates in students. The teachers verbal language and the PPT text modality were utilized to achieve satisfactory class efficiency and to help them grasp this reading skill.

4. Major Findings

After doing empirical research and gathering data， the author found similarities across the classes that were beneficial for college English teaching from the multimodal perspective.

（1） In the classroom， teachers used a variety of modalities in teaching to help attain the teaching objective， among which the two most commonly used were visual and verbal language modalities.

（2） In different classes， teachers used different combinations of modalities that were most suitable for their respective instructional activities.

（3） PPT courseware design and flexible use of PPT courseware was another similarity across the teaching demonstrations.

5. Implications

Integrated use of multimodalities. Multimodal teaching is a method in which the teacher can use multimedia to the fullest. By selecting different modalities， the teacher is able to stimulate students to use a variety of senses to acquire knowledge through reading and achieve the main goals the teaching context presents to them as objectives. It is fundamental for the teacher to design and integrate different modalities according to students varying learning styles and their own teaching objectives.

The teachers body language was also very important， including posture， gestures， eye movements， and facial expressions. It was used to convey interpersonal meanings between teachers and students. In an example of gesture use， one teacher offered her hands to invite a boy to express his opinion with confidence. Similarly， a warm smile and an affirmative nod indicated a lot for students.

Teachers self-assessment. Teachers are advised to improve their teaching pedagogies and to reflect on their own styles of teachinpg to determine how best they can integrate the application of modalities. The crucial factor in teaching multimodal evaluation is teachers self-assessment.

First， teaching multimodal evaluation means assessing the teaching process， including the advantages and disadvantages of multimodal discourse. The foundation of successful teaching depends on the teachers gradual progress and critical self-reflection. This is especially true in college classrooms that are not dictated by clear teaching aims or that are subject to a strict examination and systemic evaluation system. Through self-assessment， the teacher can find and address problems and keep up with developments in multimodal pedagogy for improving their college classses.

References：

[1]Anderson，N.J.（2004）.Exploring Second Language Reading： Issues and Strategies.Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

[2]Lv，M.J.& Mu，W.J.（2014）.A Research on the Effect of the Multimodal Teaching on the College Students Reading Ability.China Educational Technology.21（35），128-131.

[3]Song，Q.Q.（2013）.Application of Multimodality to Teaching of College English Intensive Reading.Changchun University of Science and Technology Journal.56（3），49-51.

[4]Wyatt，Smith & K.Kimber，2009.Working multimodality： Challenges for assessment.Queensland： English Teaching： Practice and Critique.34（8），70-90.

[5]Widodo，H.P.（2009）.Issues in Teaching EFL/ESL Intensive Reading： A Videotaped Self- Observation Report.London： The Journal of Effective Teaching，11（4），56-67.