by Rachael Krummel and Devin McCain

Today’s society rewards self-driven job seekers with technological aptitude, critical and creative thinking skills, and the tenacity to apply what they learn. Do adult intensive English programs meet the demands of the workforce by providing more than the usual English curriculum? Selfe and Selfe’s 2008 study suggests that the assignments given to today’s students are almost identical to the assignments of their parents and grandparents, and most adult intensive English programs do not offer courses on digital literacy or multimodal composition. If education is to be the great equalizer, perhaps it is time to turbo-charge that curriculum with digital multimodal literacy skills, so our students can be efficient consumers and literate producers of multimodal texts.

The reality is that students are already learning through multiple avenues of communication: YouTube and TikTok videos, Spotify podcasts, infographics, websites, and others. “Literacies are not static” (Selfe & Selfe, 2008). Literacy has gone digital, with multiple modes of communication, just like many aspects of life, and so should literacy education.

What Is Digital Multimodal Composition?

Communication itself consists of more than just written or spoken language (see Figure 1). Digital multimodal composition (DMC) involves communicative literacy in all five modes. DMC projects immerse multilingual learners of English (MLEs) in the current, sociocultural writing norms of different genres and communicative modes through research based on students’ interests and preferences. Table 1 illustrates some examples of digital project assignments.

Figure 1. Modes of communication. (Source: Alison Yang; Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License; click here to enlarge)

Table 1. Digital Multimodal Composition

(Click here to enlarge)

Though multimodal texts do not necessarily require digital tools, there is a strong incentive for MLEs to be proficient in DMC. When creating a podcast or similar text that emphasizes the aural mode, students must consider their audience, purpose, and context, and organize ideas for content coherently, just as their colleagues do in traditional writing classes. Some educators, students, and parents argue that teaching language skills using a project-based DMC may not be “academic,” but we see this methodology as relevant because multimodal communication is commonplace in real life.

In addition, students develop soft skills when working on a constructivist, project-based multimodal and digital assignment that are highly sought after by employers, such as

• communication,
• critical thinking and problem-solving,
• collaboration,
• self-directed initiative,
• metacognition,
• ownership and accountability,
• ethical responsibility,
• creativity, and
• punctuality.

Why Digital Multimodal Composition With Project-Based Learning?

Project-based learning (PBL) is almost synonymous with self-directed learning, which in turn results in a deeper and more relevant kind of learning, or the higher levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy: apply, analyze, evaluate, and create (see Figure 2). The engaging aspects of a DMC project not only excite learners, but also motivate and help them build a plethora of relevant and highly coveted soft skills. The traditional teacher-centered classroom emphasizes rote memorization and doesn’t provide the same affordance an engaging project-based curriculum does, or personalized project learning experience that focuses on student choice and voice. PBL gives more agency to develop self-efficacy and critical viewing competencies as students consider options, brainstorm ideas and solutions, iterate their projects, and defend their choices. All these activities engage higher order thinking skills and expose learners to transferrable 21st-century career readiness skills, thus helping them to excel in a world where digitally driven communication is fast replacing the pen and paper mode of communication.

Figure 2. Bloom’s Taxonomy. (Source: Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching; Creative Commons Attribution license; click here to enlarge)

The Backstory

After conducting rigorous research to establish the benefits of project-based DMC and forming a committee with two other colleagues, our next step was to find one or more courses into which we could incorporate it. Because there were few multimodal, project-based curricula for adult MLEs we could use to avoid reinventing the wheel, we pored through more research-based, open educational resources and tried and tested curricula from public schools and English as a foreign language programs. We also decided that a four-course series called Practical Language Applications (PLA) would most readily lend itself to adaptation. These 20-hour courses, which meet in computer labs on Fridays, were initially geared toward Continuing Education Intensive English F1 students with English proficiency levels A1 to B2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), as shown in Table 2.

Finally, we devised thoughtful student language objectives and implemented both formative and summative assessments—the former with a student proposal and action plan form, the latter with a rubric and final reflection essay. With our regular intensive English courses anchoring the necessary instruction of English language skills and strategies Monday to Thursday, the PLA curriculum supports English language application and digital literacy.

The Curriculum

Each MLE authors an original and relevant multimodal project that consists of a combination of motion, images, text, and/or audio (see Table 2 and Figure 3). Students have autonomy when selecting their topics and choosing whether to work alone or in a group. According to a recent review of student surveys, they consider this the best part of the process.

Table 2. Practical Language Application Courses

PLA Courses	Language Focus	CEFRL Scale	Digital Multimodal Project
PLA 1	Listening & Speaking	A1	PowerPoint presentation (with embedded images, voice-over audio or video clips)
PLA 2	Reading & Writing	A2	Blog
PLA 3	Listening & Speaking	B1	Podcast (scripted)
PLA 4	Reading & Writing	B2	E-portfolio

CEFRL = Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; PLA = Practical Language Application

MLEs are guided through every phase of the process and are expected to monitor their progress by completing a student proposal and action plan form and other assignment sheets in the learners’ Canvas LMS (see Figure 4). Some parts of the course follow the flipped teaching methodology as the instructor selects short video clips provided in each module for students to view before class. During class, learners work on their projects using the action plan form as a pacing tool. Learners also complete assignments designed to scaffold the project’s creation in each module of Canvas LMS. These activities are assigned to reinforce English language skills and can serve as a self-study where they can be extended as homework. The projects themselves are completed in five phases:

• Phase I: Ideation
• Phase II: Development
• Phase III: Share (peer review)
• Phase IV: Publication (complete project)
• Phase V: Reflection

The instructor’s role is to provide lessons on basic digital literacy, multimodal composition, and language skills through individual and/or group discussions. Before accepting a PLA course, instructors are given clear, standardized pacing guides (see Figure 5) that mirror the modules in the learners’ Canvas LMS and trained in aspects of digital modes of communication. In addition, instructors are provided with open educational resources to help them familiarize themselves with the aspects of DMC. One such resource is a peer-reviewed open textbook series called Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing; this is a treasure trove of free educational resources available under a Creative Commons license.

Figure 3. A student’s podcast.

Figure 4. Canvas LMS practical language application modules and assignment sheets.

Figure 5. Excerpt from the instructor pacing guide.

Conclusion

Literacy education doesn’t have to be static. PLA gives learners voice and choice on the projects they desire. The bonus to such instructional mentality is the relevance of it all: students gain genre awareness without feeling a sense of alienation from a static or monotonous curriculum, and “explore the context in which the texts are produced as well as reasons for the linguistic choices that students are making” (Partridge et al, 2009, p. 77). As John Dewey stated in 1897, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” We hope that the ideas espoused in this article help other instructors of MLEs plan lessons and design curricula that will hold up in today’s increasingly digitalized world.

References

Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogic creed. School Journal, 54(3), 77–80.

Partridge, B., Harbon, L., Hirsch, D., Shen, H., Stevenson, M., Phakiti, A., & Woodrow, L. (2009). Teaching academic writing: An introduction for teachers of second language writers. University of Michigan Press.

Selfe, R. J., & Selfe, C. L. (2008). “Convince me!” Valuing multimodal literacies and composing public service announcements. Theory Into Practice, 47(2), 83–92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40071528

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Rachael Krummel holds a Master of Education in TESOL from Sam Houston State University. As a lead faculty at Houston Community College CE Intensive English program, she brings over two decades of invaluable experience in teaching English language in Asia and the United States. Rachael is committed to empowering her students with the language skills and confidence to navigate our evolving world. Outside her professional life, she enjoys meaningful moments with her family and pets.

Devin McCain is one of the CE Intensive English lead faculty at Houston Community College. He previously tutored college and university students, taught at an English immersion camp in South Korea, and worked as an ESL and GED instructor at McLennan Community College in Waco. He has an MA in English from Baylor University, and his research interests include gamification of learning. His hobbies include traveling, reading, writing, and games of all sorts.

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