Using an arts-integrated multimodal approach to promote English learning: A case study of two Taiwanese junior college students

The theory of learning multimodality is receiving greater attention. Its application in language learning classes is also increasing in number. Since Chinese-speaking EFL learners are likely to be visual learners, as an instructor of Taiwanese EFL students, I have come to believe that artsintegrated, multimodal projects help less confident and less motivated students. In this article I report on two case-study students over the two successive years, when they were under my instruction and engaged in a series of multimodal English writing tasks, including an online literature circle, five first-person narratives with images, and digital storytelling. Using a case-study approach, I closely examined the two students’ course work and closing reflections each semester. The results of the qualitative data analysis revealed that the multimodal learning practices enhanced the two students’ motivation and confidence, after they had been discouraged by conventional language learning instructions. A discussion of the two students’ evolution into active English writers is presented in detail. Their compositions, constructed within multiple modes, are provided to exemplify that artsintegrated pedagogy can inspire and empower at-risk EFL students and lead them to a realm that a paper-and-pencil task can never match.