Literacy is an invaluable asset to have, and has allowed for communication, documentation and the spreading of ideas since the beginning of the written language. With technological advancements, and new possibilities to communicate, it is important to question the degree to which people’s abilities to utilise these new methods have developed in relation to these emerging technologies. The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to analyse the state of students’ at Dalarna University mulitimodal literacy, as well as their experience of multimodality in their education. This has led to the two main research questions: What is the state of the students at Dalarna University multimodal literacy? And: How have the students at Dalarna University experienced multimodality in education? The paper is based on a mixed-method study that incorporates both a quantitative and qualitative aspect to it. The main thrust of the research paper is, however, based on a quantitative study that was conducted online and emailed to students via their program coordinators. The scope of the research is in audio-visual modes, i.e. audio, video and images, while textual literacy is presumed and serves as an inspiration to the study. The purpose of the study is to analyse the state of the students’ multimodal literacy and their experience of multimodality in education. The study revealed that the students at Dalarna University have most skill in image editing, while not being very literate in audio or video editing. The students seem to have had mediocre experience creating meaning through multimodality both in private use and in their respective educational institutions. The study also reveals that students prefer learning by means of video (rather than text or audio), yet are not able to create meaning (communicate) through it.

Working with different media in language teaching is increasingly popular. Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland originally used two different media: text and images. This essay investigates how the novel, published in 1865 with illustrations by John Tenniel, and Tim Burton’s film adaptation (2010) relate to each other, and how the different media in which the story is presented can be used in teaching. The main objective is to see what parts were illustrated in the original novel, and how those illustrations and Tim Burton’s film adaptation (Alice in Wonderland 2010) are related. The essay also looks at how the results from this analysis can be used in teaching multimodal literacy – that is the ability to understand the meaning created through different media. The analysis shows that Tenniel’s illustrations mainly depict Alice and the meetings she has during her adventures, that his illustrations were more often than not taken into consideration in the film adaptation and that the film differs from the original story. The latter makes the juxtaposition of the illustrations and the novel even more suitable for using in multimodal teaching English in the upper education.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to investigate early childhood teachers’ perceptions of how technology integration contributes to the development of young children’s literacy. I sought to understand their perspectives on the differences between traditional and digital literacies, the benefits of using technology for this purpose, and how they perceived their role in planning and implementing technology-integrated literacy activities. Finally, the study examined how teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, teaching experiences, and technology knowledge influenced their classroom practices. The study drew from sociocultural and multimodal perspectives that view children’s use of digital devices as tools to make meaning and engage with multimodal texts as social practice influenced by their interactions and conversations with teachers and peers in classrooms. Ten early childhood teachers from three different elementary schools agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and reviews of lesson plans and instructional PowerPoints. The data were analyzed through two cycles of coding that generated four overarching themes: 1) teachers’ beliefs and understanding of digital literacies, 2) digital literacy experiences in early childhood classrooms, 3) teachers’ roles in technology-enhanced instruction, and 4) facilitators and barriers to digital technology integration. The study found that participating teachers recognized the importance of integrating digital technologies into their traditional literacy instruction in moderation with the exception of pre-K teachers who asserted that digital technology was inappropriate in pre-K classrooms. The teachers tended to conceptualize digital literacies as the absence of physical aspects and materials and the consumption of digital texts. In addition, teachers observed common benefits related to technology integration including providing audio and visual modes to supplement print-centric literacy, maintaining students ‘attention by projecting stories and letters on an interactive whiteboard, and facilitating individualized learning using apps that assess students’ reading levels. The teachers provided opportunities for students to watch videos about letters and sight words and play literacy games on tablets and Chromebooks. With guidance and modeling, most teachers encouraged the students to read e-books and play literacy games. The findings suggest implications for teachers, administrators, teacher educators, policymakers for effective integration of technology in early childhood classrooms and to overcome obstacles that teachers might encounter. The findings could be used to guide professional development based on teachers’ perspectives and classroom experiences to better meet their needs because they are the key to more productive technology integration. Such support is needed to help teachers realize the potential of digital technology to transform literacy learning and prepare young children to be literate in the 21st century.

The aim of this study is to investigate how the semiotic modalities interact (or not) in two ’domestic science- and consumer knowledge’ books. Unfortunately this interaction is often lost when the multimodal perspective is forgotten. The fact that this type of literature often is uninspiring and poorly designed does not make things better. This paper will use a wider text concept as a stepping stone toward an understanding of the interplay between multimodalities and semiotic resources in the books. A theoretical literature study combined with an empirical analysis will lay the foundation to answering my research questions: how do the modalities in two ’domestic science- and consumer knowledge’ books interact and how do these books relate to earlier research on multimodal texts? The result was somewhat surprising as it showed that from a collaboration point of view, the book that was perceived as the least inspiring was as good as the one that was perceived as the more interesting. The conclusion drawn was that design plays a greater role than one might think and that is just as important as as a well functioning interaction between modalities. In textbooks, all parts are important to create meaning.

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This thesis inquiries into the public libraries and librarians attitude towards and use of alternative methods in their reading promotion work for children aged 10–18. The statistics show that children's reading comprehension has decreased in surveys of PIRLS. Furthermore, highlights that children find it boring to read and experience reading as an obligation. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into if librarians at public libraries use alternative methods to inspire reading for children.    The study uses the theories Literacy Studies and the Sociocultural Perspective together with qualitative interviews as a method for obtaining empirical data for analysis. The findings that emerge from the informants' account of their reading promotion work are that they work with multimodal tools such as computer games, theater, puzzles, music, storyyoga and more. These tools are used as aids to both attract children to cross the threshold of the library and to take the story to another level. The digitization of their activities has enabled children to participate in public library activities on their own terms. It turns out that the story is more important to the children than reading the printed book. The public libraries also collaborate with other associations to reach out to children where they are located and work together to motivate the children to read. The movement activities for children aged 10–18 that are available and offered are, for example, yoga and interactive walking theaters. The children can be involved and their perspectives are taken advantage of in the development of the library activities that are aimed at the children.   The conclusion shows that librarians at public libraries use multimodal tools as alternative methods to stimulate children aged 10–18 to become readers and that children appreciate the public library.

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The concepts of multimodality and genre and a critical perspective on language have been recurrent in contemporary debates, both in the local context (BRASIL, 2006; MOTTA-ROTH, 2008b; NASCIMENTO, 2012; to name a few) and global (COPE; KALANTZIS, 2000, 2008, 2012; KRESS, 2003; JEWITT, 2005, 2008; O'HALLORAN, 2008, to name a few). However, little is known about how to implement these concepts through explicit and interrelated ways in the pedagogical context. Informed by the concept of recontextualization of these concepts, related to current knowledge of language science, this study aimed at investigating to what extent and how activities based on comics genres offer potential to promote what I call critical multimodal literacy for English teaching. Based on the proposal of Critical Genre Analysis (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008b), by combining a language theory based on a systemic functional and a social semiotic approach, a genre-based pedagogical perspective and a critical approach to language, I intend to verify critical multimodal literacy practices in English textbooks, part of the National Textbook Program for Modern Foreign Language in high school level education (BRASIL, 2009b, 2011). In order to meet the objective of the research: 1) the contexts of production, circulation and consumption of the textbooks, considered under the concept of genre, were investigated in search of references to the concepts of genre, multimodality and critical literacy (guided by the perspective of multiliteracies), which theoretically and methodologically associated generate a proposal for critical multimodal literacy; 2) activities that explore comics genres were selected and analyzed on the basis of linguistic and contextual strata of Systemic Functional Linguistics exploited in combination with epistemic moves which describe the analytical and pedagogical objectives of the activities; 3) contextual and textual data were combined to interpret and explain to what extent and how the activities have the potential to promote critical multimodal literacy. The results showed that the activities offer great potential to explore practices of critical multimodal literacy, although they lack systematic application of the concepts of multimodality and critical literacy. Occurrences of activities were observed across all strata, although the visual semiotic resources were usually explored in graphic and lexicogrammatical strata. Although fewer occurrences of activities focused on the analysis of the contextual stratum of discourse were identified, there is potential for expansion of the discussions, as the teacher s guide and the evaluation presented in the Textbooks Guide indicate. In this sense, the emphasis lies in the role of teachers as language experts and key players in the educational process and not in the textbook. The textbook functions as a mediator genre of social practices of the school context, which appears to be displaced from the center of this process, as one of many discursive practices which recontextualize discourses from language science in the educational context. / Os conceitos de multimodalidade e gênero discursivo e uma perspectiva crítica sobre a linguagem tem sido recorrentes em debates contemporâneos, tanto no contexto local (BRASIL, 2006; MOTTA-ROTH, 2008b; NASCIMENTO, 2012; para citar apenas alguns) quanto global (COPE; KALANTZIS, 2000, 2008, 2012; KRESS, 2003; JEWITT, 2005, 2008; O HALLORAN, 2008, para citar apenas alguns). No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre práticas de aplicação desses conceitos de forma explícita e inter-relacionada no contexto pedagógico. Com base em um processo de recontextualização desses conceitos, como conhecimentos contemporâneos da ciência da linguagem, investigo na presente pesquisa em que medida e como atividades didáticas sobre gêneros dos quadrinhos oferecem potencial para promover o que denomino letramento multimodal crítico para o ensino de inglês. Com base na proposta da Análise Crítica de Gêneros (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008b), ao associar uma teoria de linguagem de base sistêmico-funcional e sociossemiótica, uma perspectiva de ensino e aprendizagem baseada em gêneros discursivos e uma abordagem crítica sobre o discurso, pretendo verificar práticas de letramento multimodal crítico em livros didáticos de inglês (LDI) integrantes ao Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD) de Língua Estrangeira Moderna (LEM) para o Ensino Médio (BRASIL, 2009b, 2011). Para responder ao objetivo da pesquisa, 1) os contextos de produção, circulação e consumo do gênero LDI do PNLD foram investigados em busca de referências aos conceitos de gênero discursivo, multimodalidade e letramento crítico, orientados pela perspectiva dos multiletramentos, os quais teórica e metodologicamente associados compõem uma proposta de letramento multimodal crítico; 2) atividades didáticas que exploram os gêneros dos quadrinhos foram selecionadas e analisadas com base nos estratos linguísticos e contextuais da Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional acionados em combinação a movimentos epistêmicos, os quais descrevem os objetivos analíticos e pedagógicos das atividades; 3) os dados contextuais e textuais encontrados foram combinados para interpretar e explicar em que medida e como a organização das atividades didáticas oferece potencial para promover letramento multimodal crítico. Os resultados revelaram que as atividades apresentam potencial para explorar práticas de letramento multimodal crítico, no entanto carecem de expansão em relação à aplicação dos conceitos de multimodalidade e letramento crítico de maneira sistemática. Foram observadas ocorrências de atividades relacionadas a todos os estratos dos sistemas semióticos, apesar do sistema semiótico imagético ser sistematicamente explorado nos estratos gráfico e lexicogramatical. Embora tenham sido identificadas poucas ocorrências de atividades voltadas para a análise do estrato do discurso, há potencial de expansão das discussões, conforme apontam as orientações ao professor e a avaliação apresentada no Guia de Livros Didáticos. Nesse sentido, a ênfase situa-se no papel de professores, como especialistas em linguagem e principais agentes no processo educacional e não no LDI. O LDI funcionaria como um gênero mediador das práticas sociais da esfera escolar, o qual parece estar sendo deslocado do centro desse processo, como uma das muitas práticas discursivas de recontextualização do discurso da ciência da linguagem no contexto educacional.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Considering the multimodal nature of genres (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 2006), the study about how the different semiotic resources articulate is essential, in the sense of motivating the development of knowledge about the semiotic resources that constitute genres, that is, critical multimodal literacy (CML). In order to understand how this knowledge is considered in the school context, the objective of this study is to verify (with focus on static imagetic semiotic resources) how textbooks (TBs) and teachers, of English and Biology, recontextualize the concept of CML. This study is based theoretically and methodologically on the Critical Genre Analysis perspective (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008a), with focus on Multimodal Discourse Analysis (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 1996; 2006). The corpus of this research comprehends a) didactic activities of text comprehension and production from two TBs, one of English language (ELTB) (AGA, 2010) and one of Biology TB (BTB) (AMABIS; MARTHO, 2009), offered by PNLD; and b) interview answers from public school teachers, from Santa Maria, that adopt the selected TBs. The study followed two steps, a contextual and a textual step. In the contextual analysis, the investigation of the TBs contexts of production and distribution involved the analysis of documents related to the TBs in search for linguistic exponents that refer to visual semiotic resources. The analysis of the context of consumption comprehended teachers interviews in order to verify to what extent and how CML is approached in classroom by using TBs. In the textual analysis, we analyzed the activities instructions from the selected TBs in order to find linguistic exponents that make reference to static imagetic semiotic resources. Based on this analysis, we classified the activities according to their focus on CML knowledge that is related to the language levels. The results of the contextual analysis show that the need to consider the visual semiotic resources of texts is recognized in the TBs contexts. In the textual analysis, we verified that the ELTB activities reflect, in part, the contextual results once 50% of the activities refer to visual semiotic resources. Differently, in the BTB, these resources are referred by only 20% of the activities. Regarding the types of knowledge of CML referred by the activities from the TBs and the ones suggested by the teachers on the interviews, we identified a divergence in relation to the contexts of production and distribution: while the TBs and the interviews analysis suggest a focus on lexicogrammar and semantics and pragmatics levels, the analysis of the contexts of production and distribution reveals the focus on the ideological level. The ideological perspective, in the context of production and distribution of TBs, derives from the premise that the knowledge developed in class should not be only related to the propositional content of the area (BRASIL, 2006a; 2006b), but should be in service for an informed participation of the students in society. In this sense, this study shows the urgency of reflecting upon the material we use in class, in order to adapt it, especially considering the development of CML. / Dada a natureza multimodal dos gêneros discursivos (KRESS; van LEEUWEN, 2006), o estudo sobre como os diferentes recursos semióticos se articulam é essencial no sentido de motivar o desenvolvimento de conhecimentos em relação aos recursos semióticos que constituem os gêneros, ou seja, de letramento multimodal crítico (LMC). No intuito de entender como esses conhecimentos são abordados no contexto escolar, o objetivo deste estudo é verificar (com foco nos recursos semióticos imagéticos estáticos) como livros didáticos (LDs) e professores, de inglês e de biologia, recontextualizam o conceito de LMC. Este trabalho tem como base teórica e metodológica a Análise Crítica de Gênero (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008a), com foco na Análise do Discurso Multimodal (KRESS; van LEEUWEN, 2006). O corpus desta pesquisa compreende: a) atividades didáticas de compreensão e produção textual de dois LDs, um de inglês (LDI) e um de biologia (LDB), oferecidos pelo PNLD; e b) respostas a entrevistas de professores de escolas públicas estaduais de Santa Maria, que adotam os LDs selecionados. O estudo se deu em duas etapas: uma contextual e uma textual. Na etapa contextual, a investigação do contexto de produção e de distribuição envolveu a análise de documentos referentes aos LDs em busca de índices linguísticos que se referem a recursos semióticos visuais. A análise do contexto de consumo dos LDs compreendeu entrevistas com professores, no intuito de verificar em que medida e como o LMC é abordado em sala de aula por meio de LDs. Na etapa textual, analisamos os enunciados das atividades didáticas de ambos os LDs a fim de encontrar expoentes linguísticos que fizessem referência a recursos semióticos imagéticos estáticos. A partir dessa verificação, classificamos as atividades de acordo com seu enfoque aos conhecimentos de LMC, que estão relacionados aos estratos linguísticos. Os resultados contextuais apontam que a necessidade de se considerar os recursos semióticos visuais dos textos é reconhecida nos contextos dos LDs. Na análise textual, verificamos que as atividades do LDI refletem, em parte, os resultados da análise contextual, uma vez que 50% das atividades se refere a recursos semióticos visuais. Diferentemente, no LDB, esses recursos são abordados em apenas 20% das atividades. Com relação aos tipos de conhecimentos de LMC abordados pelas atividades dos LDs e pelas atividades sugeridas pelos professores, identificamos uma divergência com relação à análise do contexto de produção e de distribuição: enquanto a análise dos LDs e das entrevistas sugerem um foco nos estratos da lexicogramática e da semântica e pragmática, as análises do contexto de produção e de distribuição revelam o foco no estrato ideológico. Essa perspectiva ideológica, em documentos do contexto de produção e distribuição dos LDs, deriva da premissa de que os conhecimentos desenvolvidos em sala de aula não deveriam estar atrelados apenas ao conteúdo proposicional da área (BRASIL, 2006a; 2006b), mas estar a serviço de uma participação informada do aluno na sociedade. Este estudo, portanto, evidencia a urgência de se refletir sobre o material didático que utilizamos em sala de aula, de modo a adaptá-lo, principalmente no que diz respeito ao desenvolvimento de LMC.