The Effect Of Multimodal Input On English Majors’ Oral Reproduction

The rapid development of digitalized technologies help people to enjoy easier access to various semiotic resources in communication, from traditional mono-modal resources (e.g. the aural or the visual) to the integration of two or more into new multimodal resources. The evolving multimodal and multimedia features in pedagogic context have aroused considerable interest of researchers and practitioners in language teaching. One of their challenges is how to balance verbal and other meaning-making semiotics to develop students’multimedia and multimodal learning ability and help them become multiliterate so that they are eventually able to communicate more effectively. Traditionally, reading and listening have been regarded as the most effective modes of input in EFL learning and teaching. However, the new generation of students is adapted to multimodal learning environments, and thereby the issue arises as to how to make proper use of multimodal input in EFL learning and teaching.The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of different conditions of multimodal input on English majors’ oral reproduction. The research questions include:(1) What are the form-oriented characteristics represented in the English majors" oral reproduction prompted by different information processing conditions of multimodal input?(2) What are the information-oriented characteristics represented in the English majors’ oral reproduction prompted by different information processing conditions of multimodal input?(3) What are the differences in the effect of the conditions of multimodal input on the oral reproduction by the learners of different linguistic proficiency levels?The research subjects were32Year One English majors. The materials employed in the present study were their oral reproductions elicited by a multimodal clip of the public speech of New Year Greetings2012by President Obama, the clip in which the multimodes are represented visually, aurally and verbally in the form of narration, image, scene and subtitles. In the main study, the clip was presented to the students in the following four conditions:multimodal input with no subtitles, with Chinese subtitles, with English subtitles and with bilingual subtitles. The students were asked to reproduce orally in the different information processing conditions of input. The students’oral reproductions were recorded and transcribed. The data analysis focused on the occurrences of errors made by the students as regards to pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and information retrieving. The conceptual framework in this study is based on Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning, Krashen’s input hypothesis and Swain’s output hypothesis.The quantitative data analysis generated the following major findings:The results of independent samples T-test indicate that the effect of multimodal input on English major’s oral reproduction varies to some degree in four different conditions, but the differences were not statistically significant, suggesting the different multimodal inputs produce no obvious effect in the learners’linguistic forms and information structuring in their reproduction.However, the detailed case analysis reveals that, of four groups of students, the group receiving the input with English subtitles outperformed the other three groups, and the students without the aid of any subtitles were found to perform least successful in that they made more errors in linguistic forms and information restructuring than those in the other three processing conditions. The possible explanation for these differences may go to the varying influences of the input may promote or hold back the learners’output, which somehow confirms Krashen’s input hypothesis and Swain’s output hypothesis.The analysis of the oral reproductions by higher achievers and lower achievers reveals that across the two groups form-oriented characteristics in pronunciation, grammar and lexical usage show no significant difference; In terms of information restructuring, there is likewise no significant difference in the retrieval of information. Lower achievers made more mistakes in pronunciation, grammar and lexical usage, which showed their disadvantages in the basic abilities and skills in language learning. It was found that in the retrieval of message both groups were similar. This indicates that in the present study their oral reproduction is also influenced by their proficiency levels.This study taking multimodal input as an elicitation of oral reproduction is a new issue in Chinese context against the multimodal discourse era. which provides insights into multimodality and multiliteracies. Theoretically and practically speaking, the study putting the subjects exposed to multimodal input also set us rethinking about the strong claims which have been advanced that SLA is aided by two-way communication in which comprehensible input is provided by means of interactional adjustments. Finally, some findings may also provide some insights for the issue of LI influence of on L2teaching and learning.