Transmediation as a Tool for English Language Learners to Access Academic Discourse

Abstract

Over the last several years, calls have been made for the inclusion of multimodal forms of literacy in classrooms (Bamford, 2007), where multimodal can be defined as referring to texts that combine more than one medium (e.g., textual and visual). As adolescents are increasingly interested in visual and hypertextual modes, research has placed the value of multimodality on promoting student motivation. Work on multimodality takes as its impetus the reality that students are living in an increasingly visual culture, which calls for different kinds of literacy skills to function effectively in contemporary society. Though this is undoubtedly true, teachers of English language learners (ELLs) may be less attentive to these issues and more concerned with helping adolescent ELLs acquire the academic discourse necessary for success in U.S. schools (Bartolome, 1998; Valdes, 2001). There has been a dearth of studies exploring the potential and actual merit of multimodal texts in increasing students' access to culturally valued forms of academic literacy. Those that have addressed this issue have focused on the concept of transmediation, or the process of translating complex ideas from one form (visual) into another (textual). This paper explores the field of multimodal literacy and offers examples of transmediation that may increase adolescent ELLs' access to academic discourse.