Resumen de Bilingual English language teachers’ multimodal pedagogies: implications for professional learning in mainland China

Yu Sherry Xiang, Fei Victor Lim

• Our study examines the multimodal pedagogies of two bilingual English language teachers in primary-level classrooms in Shanghai, Mainland China, in light of the recent updates to the Chinese Compulsory Education’s English Curriculum Standards, which now include viewing multimodal text as part of English language learning. Multimodal pedagogies involve the strategic and artful use of various semiotic resources, such as images, videos, animations, gestures, and spatial movements, to design meaningful learning experiences for students. This qualitative study draws on triangulated data sources, including video-recorded classroom observations, detailed field notes, and individual post-lesson stimulated-recall interviews in which teachers reflected on their multimodal pedagogies. Through these reflections and analyses using the Lesson Microgenres framework and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, our study examines the teachers’ multimodal pedagogies from the perspectives of multimodality for language learning, the development of multimodal literacy, and the teachers’ embodied teaching. We reflect on our findings and articulate the need for professional learning that equips teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to incorporate multimodal pedagogies effectively. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of how multimodal pedagogies can be harnessed to foster language learning, multimodal literacy, and the design of meaningful learning experiences in the classroom.