The Influence of Multimodality in the Digital Era for Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language

Abstract

The global proliferation of technology is rapidly changing the form of instruction and the way content is delivered, inspiring educators to innovate their teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of students. Today's students are increasingly engaged with multimodal texts through social media and are able to learn from different sources on the Internet. However, they also need guidance in the critical use of technology. Teachers of English face challenges in integrating educational applications and embedding multimodal texts in the language classroom. They also face difficulties in using digital devices or creating multimodal products themselves, making it difficult to explain them well to students. Based on the articles related to multimodality or multimodal pedagogy in recent years, the authors analyse the importance and benefits of promoting multimodal texts and improving digital literacy for students and teachers. After comparison, the authors find that the use of technology to enhance the learning experience of students in a diverse society is an inevitable trend that educators must adapt to. On the one hand, students are willing to use technological devices such as the Ipad to facilitate their learning through instant communication and efficient reception of information; on the other hand, teachers can use audio, visual or written texts to connect with students from different backgrounds and learning levels. This paper has implications for evaluating the effectiveness of multimodality or digital multimodal composing in English education.