Exploring the perceived benefits of the process of multimodal video making in developing multiliteracies

Abstract

The digital technology era has profoundly evolved and changed the ways that people consume and produce information. As language itself is recognized as a multimodal resource for communicative purposes, different forms of multimodality have been advocated to nurture students’ multiliteracies in educational contexts. This study aims to investigate students’ perceived benefits with respect to the process of their multimodal video making. The participants were 69 advanced English as a foreign language undergraduate students who took a course titled Multimedia English for one-semester (18 weeks) at a university in Taiwan. The students were trained to utilize a wide range of multimedia affordances to facilitate their English learning. They were asked to produce a digital video employing multiple modalities for their final project. The collected data for the scope of the paper included students’ uploaded reflective essays and videos of their final oral presentations with their PowerPoint slides based upon their overall perceptions regarding their video creation processes and the perceived benefits they experienced. The findings showed that a multitude of students perceived that the video making process nurtured their multiliteracies to different degrees and expanded their awareness of the interplay between different modes of semiotic resources for meaning construction. This study also highlights pedagogical implications for language teachers regarding the provision of opportunities for students to become involved in the creation of multimodal artifacts in developing their multiliteracies.