EMBODIED MULTIMODALITY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: AFFORDANCES FOR ENRICHMENT AND EMPOWERMENT
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this conceptual article, we explore the possibilities of multimodality, both digital and non-digital, in English language teaching (ELT) and its capacity to enrich learning and empower learners. We draw on embodied cognition, digital multimodal composing (DMC), and semiotics to propose a way of thinking about multimodality as an entanglement of sensory, cognitive, and sociocultural processes. From an embodied cognition perspective, language learning is conceived as grounded in the body, with gesture, movement, and sensory engagement shaping meaning-making. DMC extends these embodied processes into digital spaces, where learners can weave together text, image, sound, and movement to communicate in authentic and creative ways. Semiotics offers a lens to analyse how meaning is produced and interpreted across modes, revealing the cultural and communicative affordances of multimodal expression. By bringing these perspectives together, we aim to show how multimodality can expand communicative repertoires, foster deeper engagement, and create inclusive opportunities for expression, especially for linguistically diverse learners. Three implications for ELT practice are offered: 1) the need to integrate multimodal design into everyday teaching, 2) to develop assessment practices that value the interplay of modes, and 3) to create learning environments that utilise learners' embodied and cultural resources.
Keywords
English language teaching (ELT), embodied cognition, multimodality, digital literacies
Article Details
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