ELTOC-24

Video and multimodal literacy in the language classroom

Nik Peachey

What is Multimodal Literacy?

The Modes

Image Sourse: OUP - Multimodalityin ELT: Communication Skills for Today's Generation

"Multimodal literacy means the ability to comprehend and respond to multimodal texts and to compose multimodal texts."

Kieran Donaghy - Multimodality in ELT: Communication Skills for Today's Generation -OUP

Representing

Viewing

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/users/cuncon-3452518/

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/work-workaholic-writer-programmer-1627703/

How do you usually use video with your students?

Focusing on the visual

Silent Viewing

Lesson structure

Pre-viewing

Access and/or build on students' existing knowledge.

Students need tasks that focus their attention

While viewing

Engage students with content and develop their understanding.

Post viewing

Analyse, reflect on and respond to content.

Pre-viewing tasks

Before Viewing

• Order images or segements from the video.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@magda-ehlers-pexels/

Before Viewing

• Predict content based on questions.

Image course: https://www.pexels.com/@cvele

Before Viewing

• Predict character or relationships from images.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@fauxels/

While viewing tasks

While viewing

Read body language - thoughts and feelings

• What are they thinking?
• What are they feeling?
• How do you know?

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@redhaste/

While viewing

Find the conflict Narrative is usually based on some form of conflict.

• Character vs Character
• Character vs Nature
• Character vs Society
• Character vs Self

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@vera-arsic-304265/

While viewing

5 Part plot structure

• Understanding plot structure
• Many narratives follow a 5 part plot structure

Resolution

Rising Action

Step 1

Step 4

Step 2

Step 3

Step 5

Dénouement

Climax

Exposition

Map your emotional response as you watch video.

While viewing

Love

• Mapping emotions

Like

Dislike

Hate

While viewing

Look for parallels with your own world or life

• How are you similar?
• How is your life similar?

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@olly

Post viewing tasks

After viewing

Analysing characters

• Use Jung's 12 character archetypes

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@fauxels/

After viewing

Write the backstory

• Get students to create the story that happened leading up to the video they watched

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@kindelmedia/

After viewing

The childhood of characters

• Get students to think about the life of one of the characters as a child and how it influenced their behaviour.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@ajaybhargavguduru/

After viewing

Interview people from the video

• Get students to create questions they would like to ask the characters.
• Get them to work in pairs and use the questions as a role-play.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@mjlo/

After viewing

Flash Forward

• Get students to think about the lives of the character(s) in 5, 10 or 15 years time.
• What will they be doing?
• What will their life be like?

• Flash forward

https://www.pexels.com/@thisisengineering/

After viewing

What’s their motivation?

• Get students to think about what motivated each of the people and why they take various actions.
• What do they want?
• What are they trying to achieve?

Focus on understanding rather than judging.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/@pixabay/

Finding video clips

Q&A

Thank you for listening

Story questions

1. How long had the robot Simon been looking after the old woman?
2. Why did she get angry with Simon?
3. How did she find out about the SOS 9000?
4. What did the SOS 9000 give to the woman to make her healthy?
5. What did the SOS 9000 do with Simon?
6. Where did Simon go to live?
7. Why did the old woman scream for help?
8. How did Simon rescue the woman?
9. What happened to the SOS 9000?
10. How did the woman’s relationship with Simon change?