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Multimodal Mediation and Argumentative Writing: A Case Study of a Multilingual Learner’s Metalanguage Awareness Development

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Bilingual Learners and Social Equity

Part of the book series: Educational Linguistics ((EDUL,volume 33))

Abstract

This case study investigates the designing processes of the argumentative multimodal writing of a sixth grade bilingual student in an English language arts class. Drawing on social semiotics, it looks at how one student appropriated the semiotic affordances available in multimodal writing with digital technologies and how multimodal writing practices shaped his argumentative writing process and metalanguage development. Findings show that the student’s developing awareness of metafunctions and metalanguages of various semiotic modes and intermodal relations allowed him to realize the register of argument (i.e., that there should be a memorial for the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting tragedy) in his text.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The names of the school, student, and teacher in this paper are pseudonyms.

  2. 2.

    Spandel and Stiggins (1990) developed this method outlining how teachers could teach students “specific criteria and for writing” and “perceptions of their writing skills.” The six traits include ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Later, publication is added, which becomes 6 + 1 traits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cincinatti, Cincinatti, OH, USA

    Dong-shin Shin

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  1. Dong-shin Shin
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Correspondence to Dong-shin Shin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Language and Literacy Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Ruth Harman

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Shin, Ds. (2018). Multimodal Mediation and Argumentative Writing: A Case Study of a Multilingual Learner’s Metalanguage Awareness Development. In: Harman, R. (eds) Bilingual Learners and Social Equity. Educational Linguistics, vol 33. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60953-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60953-9_11

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60953-9

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