Understanding Learners’ Civic Participation via Digital Multimodal Composing: A Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis Approach

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Meaning-making as Social Action across Media, Disciplines, and Identities

Abstract

Learners' civic engagement has been increasingly acknowledged as an important component in the language curricula, especially in second/foreign language contexts. This study attempts to investigate how five Chinese EFL undergraduates demonstrated their understanding of indigenous language preservation in digital multimodal composing artefacts, video assignments in this case. Data were collected from students’ videos and post-interviews. Videos were analysed in the systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis approach, with interview responses triangulated to interpret students' decision-making in constructing three meta-functions (textual, ideational and interpersonal). Findings reveal that learners combined semiotic resources in multiple and creative ways when constructing the meta-functions in different generic stages. Pedagogical implications regarding DMC use in facilitating learners’ civic participation in language curricula will be discussed in the presentation.

Authors

• Bonnie Xuehua FU, University of Auckland

• Lawrence Jun Zhang, University of Auckland