The Impact of Visual Literacy Instruction on EFL Students’ Comprehension of Multimodal Texts

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: EFL in Global Contexts: Shared Reading, Visual Narratives, and Innovative Approaches to Literacy

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigates how explicit visual literacy instruction influences upper elementary EFL students’ comprehension and retelling of narrative multimodal texts. Drawing on Dual Coding Theory, the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, and the DeFT framework, a four-week intervention was implemented with 120 sixth-grade students across four instructional conditions: visual literacy instruction (VLI), picturebook reading, wordless picturebook reading, and a control group. Results from repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed that while all groups improved in inferential comprehension, only the VLI group demonstrated significant gains in visual comprehension and retelling abilities. These findings underscore the importance of explicitly teaching visual conventions and interpretive strategies, rather than relying on incidental exposure, to support EFL learners' engagement with multimodal texts.

Authors

• Daibao Guo, Boise State University

• Lin Gou, Boise State University

• Eun Hye Son, Boise State University

• Qizhen Deng, Boise State University

• Michelle A. Satterfield, Boise State University