Innovating Multimodal Pedagogy Through Face-Free Video Tasks: Enhancing Linguistic Competence and Multimodal Strategies Among Saudi Female English Learners



Author Information

Shafya Alqahtani, Dublin City University, Ireland

Abstract

Previous studies have examined the influence of multimodal tools on language learning; however, few have examined how sociocultural restrictions shape learners’ multimodal strategic choices to make meaning. This paper presents a pilot study that investigates how the affordances of video editing tools impact the Saudi female learners' choices of multimodal strategies and the development of their linguistic competence, especially since they cannot show their faces on video due to sociocultural norms. The study reveals how such sociocultural norms can be transformed into opportunities for creative multimodal practices. Using a mixed-method design, participants complete a pre-task questionnaire, a pre-video, a series of multimodal workshops, and a post-video and questionnaire sequence. Videos are analyzed through a rubric grounded in Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) Social Semiotic Theory of Multimodality to examine how learners integrate text, voice, gesture, and visual design to make meaning. The pre- and post-questionnaires and videos are designed to measure changes in linguistic accuracy, fluency, pragmatic awareness, and learners' creativity. Although data collection is still in progress and will be discussed in the presentation, this study is essential for showing how learners use multimodal modes under cultural limitations. Furthermore, it expands our understanding of how tool affordances influence learners’ strategic choices, linguistic competence, and creativity in certain sociocultural environments.


Paper Information

Conference: SEACAH2026
Stream: Humanities - Language, Linguistics

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon