多模態英文閱讀--利用功能語法之後設語言增進大學生之產生與建構意義之能力(2/2)

Abstract Multimodal resources allow language learners to access wider range of semiotic resources for meaning making. Multimodal literacy also allows deeper engagement with content and is therefore conducive to content learning. However, it remains unclear how textual and visual resources may facilitate multimodal literacy development. Numerous scholars have recommended an explicit approach to multimodal language learning, which often engages learners in text analysis and has great potential to scaffold language learning. However, studies implementing explicit instruction are few and most studies investigated cases or rather small sample size. The current study explored the instruction of ideational meaning-making across modes by introducing sets of relevant metalanguage to raise EFL learners’ awareness in making ideational meanings. Ideational meaning speaks to people’s experience of the external and internal world and is explored by investigating the ‘Participants’ or the nominal groups and ‘Processes’ or the verbal groups. Additionally, intersemiotic ideational meanings were investigated through sense relations comprising six types: ‘repetition’, ‘synonymy’, ‘antonymy’, ‘hyponymy’, ‘meronymy’ and ‘collocation’. The instruction was contrasted to an implicit approach where visuals were also widely used to support text where the participants used both modes intuitively. The results revealed that the experimental group showed more disciplined use of ‘participants’ and ‘processes’ whereas the control group tended to write abstract concepts not grounded on the images they saw. The experimental group also showed more sense relations which connect their response with the images. The more frequent types of sense relations also vary between the groups. The experimental group showed more ‘collocate’ (i.e., words that commonly co-occur in this topic) in relating their response to images while the control group had more ‘repetition’. By investigating larger sample size and employing an experimental approach, the results provide more solid evidence to support past research, mostly case studies, which proposed that explicit approach has great potential to raise language learner’s awareness by introducing metalanguage to guide and better control their ideational meaning-making across modes.