One Does Not Simply Teach Idioms: Meme Creation as Innovative Practice for Virtual EFL Learners

Abstract

To maximize the advantages of virtual learning, the present study highlights the potential for Internet meme design and creation in English language learning (ELL) courses as an innovative activity that raises student agency, increases multimodal literacy, inculcates intercultural communication, and teaches idiomatic expression. Memes resonate a multimodal feedback loop of popular culture. In the context of language education, multimodal literacy is a necessity for 21st-century education because the affordances of digital learning platforms present the world told alongside the world shown. While some studies feature the usefulness of memes in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, none have underscored meme creation as a learning activity. To demonstrate the activity in situ, a vignette at two Korean universities features two instructors who ask their respective students ( N = 49) to design one meme using an idiom discovered in their ELL materials from a prescribed list, then asks: 1) What common power relations and ideologies emerge in the multimodal discourse of the collected pool of student “idiomemes”? 2) What do the findings tell us about student attitudes and engagement with the activity? 3) What do the findings tell us about the importance of multimodal discourse in EFL learning? Using a multimodal critical discourse analysis of the student-created Internet memes, the findings reveal that students chose culturally familiar images to complete the assignment, suggesting that their engagement and understanding of multimodal, English discourse increases commensurately with content intuitive to their culture. The implications suggest that empowering students with a measure of agency in expressing culturally relevant, multimodal discourse in ELL course content increases their engagement in virtual classrooms. Designing idiomemes, as a virtual learning activity, is further explored as a curricular augmentation that increases the value of a student's language-learning investment.

A review on digital multimodal composing in post-secondary EFL context: Practices and implications

“…This article reviewed 20 empirical studies on digital multimodal composing, especially to examine the DMC tasks implemented in the post-secondary EFL context and what implications are yielded from the implementations. Borrowing from the research strands found in Li and Akoto (2021), the findings showed that the DMC projects practiced in the post-secondary EFL context involved multimodal appropriating such as meme creation (Smith, 2021) and multimodal presentation (Seau, Azamn, & Noor, 2018), multimodal remixing and code-meshing such as mixing cultural resources (Jiang, 2022), and voice/identity/attitude expression such as learning investment and identity development of EFL learner from ethic Chinese minority group (Jiang, Yang, & Yu, 2020) and students' willingness to participate (Shen, Hao, & Peng, 2022). The results on DMC tasks in the studies were reported to afford students' improvement on digital literacy skills, English language skills, engagement and investment, critical thinking and creativity, and overall attitude in composing.…”

“…The DMC tasks that were described in the studies incorporated the use of various multimodal resources to create videos (e.g., Kim & Belcher, 2020;Chen, 2018;Jiang, 2018), to develop presentation materials (e.g., Li, 2022;Seau, Azamn, & Noor, 2018;Shen, Hao, & Peng, 2022), to write collaboratively (e.g., Zenouzagh, 2022), and to create memes (e.g., Smith, 2021). In addition, there was one study focusing on students' DMC tasks within the researcher's developed application (Lin et al, 2021) and one study focusing on the resemiotization of one type of text into another one (Lo, Lee, & Tien, 2020).…”

“…Moreover, research on DMC have indicated the benefits it brings to the language learning such as writing skill development and genre awareness (Yeh, et. al., 2021;Balaman, 2018;Yiqin, 2022), improved learning engagement and investment (Jiang, 2020;Smith, 2021), development of digital literacy skills (Yeh, 2018;Jiang, 2020), and practice on authorship (Hafner, 2015) and digital empathy (Chen, 2018;Christopher, 2021).…”

Harmonizing Linguistics with Melody: An Analysis of Lexemic Idioms in Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' and Their Pedagogical Implications for EFL

“…However, this challenge also presents an opportunity. If harnessed effectively in EFL pedagogy, these idiomatic expressions can serve as gateways to deeper linguistic understanding, cultural immersion, and authentic language engagement (Namaziandost et al, 2021;Smith, 2021;Rodríguez-Muñoz, 2022).…”

Pedagogical Potential of Online Dictionaries in Metaphor and Idiom Language Instruction

“…A case in point is Al-Ramahi and Smadi's study [12] suggesting that video games could positively influence the learning of idioms, as they raise students' motivation and force them to use idiomatic expressions in an authentic context while interacting with other players. In the same vein, Smith [13] examined meme design and creation as a novel activity for fostering students' autonomous learning, multimodal literacy, instilling intercultural communication and mastering idiomatic expressions. With regard to messaging apps, Batianeh [14] explored the effects of utilizing online chats together with word processors on the students' writing skills, including aspects as punctuation, phrasal verbs, idioms and figures of speech, among others.…”