Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (MEd)
First Supervisor/Advisor
Dr. Jane Rarieya
Second Supervisor/Advisor
Dr. Fortidas Bakuza
Department
Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
Abstract
In the recent past, rapid technological advancements coupled with the increasing learner diversity as a result of social, economic, political, and cultural factors have completely altered the meaning process. The use of multiple representations of educational content would therefore, appropriate these learner differences and the multiplicity of text. A considerable body of knowledge indicates that multimodality provides affordance to multiple means of representation, expression, perception, and engagement thus promoting active learning. Numerous studies in the English language continue to indicate that multimodality is used in the teaching and learning of varied aspects of the English language. Based on other studies of multimodality as literacy pedagogy, I employed an action research design and qualitative data collection methods (Focus Group Discussion, document analysis, observation, and interviews) to investigate how I could enhance learners reading comprehension skills using multimodality. This study comprised 29 form two students and one teacher of English in a semi-urban girl boarding secondary school in Taita-Taveta county- Kenya. The study findings indicate that multimodality enhances reading comprehension skills, learner engagement motivation and autonomy. Although there are numerous benefits accrued to a multimodal instruction of reading comprehension, multimodality has not been fully embraced as a literacy pedagogy. Study findings indicate that teachers have continued to use the top-down reading comprehension instructional strategies. Inadequate teacher preparedness and unwillingness to employ multimodality remains the biggest impediment in the multimodal instruction of reading comprehension. The study therefore recommends that teachers of English should be explicitly taught how to teach reading comprehension using multimodality during the preservice and in-service training. Similarly, teachers should constantly evaluate their practice and look for ways of improving on their areas of weakness. As a result, they will gain a deep understanding of the multimodal reading comprehension instructional strategies as well as factors supporting and impeding a multimodal pedagogy in the ESL classrooms.
Recommended Citation
Mandilla, Lilian. (2021). Enhancing learners’ reading comprehension skills using multimodality in a form two classroom in a public secondary school in Taita Taveta County: an action research (Unpublished Masters Thesis). Dar es salaam: Aga Khan University