An Analysis On Multi-modal Storybooks For Language Learning

On the basis of investigation of English storybooks,this thesis focuses on establishing a framework for beginning Chinese storybooks.The beginning storybooks should fulfill the following requirements:it is a story,the difficulty of the text is controlled and it can be used for language practice.Narrative theory,image-text relationship from the perspective of multi-modal theory and the theory of predictable books lay the theoretical foundation.Thus English storybooks,represented by Oxford Reading Tree(ORT),are coded and analyzed in these three fields.ORT presents fixed characters,most of whom have distinct profiles through series stories.Elements like a sudden change and suspension help to complete the plot in a length-limited story.There are seven ways to compose predictable books:familiar sequences,question and answer,pattern stories,rhythm,circular/chain stories,cumulative stories,and repetition.ORT emphasizes the predictability of the texts.Pattern stories and repetition are the main approaches used in beginning stage.The difficulty of text can be self-regulated,thus simplifies the cognitive process and increases the confidence of learners.To compare common Chinese beginning readers with Oxford Reading Tree,one book in the beginning stage of every set is chosen.Only one set shows the similar codes with ORT.The consults of ORT in three fields can inspire the design of the framework for beginning Chinese storybooks.Two approaches can be taken:re-write the traditional stories,and make them more predictable;or combine more story elements with predictable texts.Some examples are provided as well.As an ideogram system,Chinese characters are an important part in the learning of Chinese.For Chinese characters are rarely linked to the pronunciations,sound should be involved in the construction of multi-modal Chinese stories as a semiotic system.