Full Paper

Abstract

What effect does the use of multimodality in a lesson have on retention in elementary-age students?

I chose to research this topic because I am using this pedagogical technique, and want to share what I have learned. I am currently teaching Spanish to a second/third grade after-school program, and a fifth grade class (each are once per week). Each lesson involves some sort of art project, and I have noticed the students retaining a great amount of Spanish language from week to week. I want to analyze this research and discover exactly what types of effects art has on students. I believe that this topic is relevant because not only will it help me, but it can also help teachers figure out if implementing art into their lessons is a good technique.

Multimodality is especially useful in language classrooms because using different learning styles can help students better conceptualize the language in their own ways. (For example, visual learners can learn by watching videos, bodily-kinesthetic learners can learn by getting up and playing games, linguistic learners can learn by reading or writing in the target language, etc.).
This paper will analyze multimodality, including research such as Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences.” It will examine how the use of multimodal elements in a classroom can encourage maximum retention. 

Literature Review

Multimodality is a great, yet underutilized technique that can help teachers appeal to their entire audience. Without a solid understanding of what multimodality is, one cannot thoroughly know how to use it in the classroom. Through an understanding of multimodality, we can further understand how to use the information provided by Dr. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

In Dr. Gardner’s book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1993), he discusses the information that was published ten years prior (this copy is the tenth anniversary edition). He discusses his theory, and provides new information and changes to what he has previously stated.

Dr. Gardner begins his book by providing a scenario of a young girl going through an IQ test. He then defends the fact that he does not believe this is a sufficient way to gauge one’s intelligence, in relation to future success. He gives example scenarios to back this up. He asks, for example, how a sailor can possess such navigation and sailing skills, yet he may not be considered intelligent. Gardner says that in order to have sufficient assessment tools, we are going to have to change how we look at “intelligence.” Although (the original copy of) this book is nearly thirty years old, this information is still relevant, as additions are added, and the book republished. Dr. Gardner’s theory will be relevant for years to come, because there are so many people interested and researching this topic. As long as there are people to update the research as the times change, there will be a sufficient base of information for us to go by.

In a study by Granström, Karlsson, and House, they study speech systems and how they work. Most importantly to my work, they look at how visual cues are more important for foreign language acquisition than verbal cues.

Your Child’s Growing Mind (Healy, 2004) is a book geared toward parents who are trying to improve mental growth in their adolescent children. Healy provides tips and information for these parents, to help them understand how children grow, and how to help them learn. Her research supports my philosophy that languages should be taught in context.

CliffsNotes TExES: Generalist EC-6 is a test preparatory guide by Tubach and Henthorne (2010) that provides information as to how much time children spend with electronics and how much they spend with print media. This is important because students aren’t spending their time reading, they are spending their time playing video games and watching television, which is affecting not only their interpersonal skills, but also their verbal-linguistic skills. Although this book is only two years old and relevant today, I believe that its relevance will decrease over the next several years. As technology continues to evolve, children will become more and more engulfed in it. New studies related to this topic will need to be done in order for this information to remain current.

The literature supports my thinking that multimodality is an important technique in educating youth, especially within a language context.

How Multimodality Affects Retention in Foreign Language Learning

The word “multimodality” has many different meanings. For all purposes throughout this paper, the word will refer to using different types of media in a lesson. When used correctly, this pedagogical technique can have great effects on retention. I have verified this statement through first-hand research, as well as intensive reading on the subject. Using a combination of multimodal elements, with a strong preference to visuals, has proven to be an effective technique to maximize foreign language retention in elementary-aged students.

            My first-hand research involved teaching Spanish to a group of thirty fifth-grade students, as well as ten second-grade students. I developed lessons, such as “Mi Monstruo Tiene…” which allowed me to incorporate multiple visuals, and stimulated the visual learners in the room. In this lesson, students reviewed past knowledge of colors, numbers, and body parts, which they were able to infuse into a new sentence structure. By drawing, coloring, labeling, and color-coding, I successfully taught the fifth graders how to conjugate one of the Spanish language’s most irregular verbs, into two forms. “Tener” means “to have” and is irregular in almost every tense. During a brief forty-five minute lesson, I had a room of thirty fifth-graders writing comparative sentences in two languages. This proved to me that not only was I successfully getting the content across to my students, but more importantly that visual cues were aiding my learners.

            Because visuals were such a strong influence on student engagement, I decided that this would be an interesting path to take for many of my lessons. According to a study by Granström, House, and Karlsson (2002), “In learning a foreign language, visual signals may in many contexts be more important than verbal signals.” Why is this, some may ask? When one begins to learn their first language, they don’t learn by writing the words out. Most learn their native language by seeing what words mean in context. A child didn’t learn that “c-o-u-c-h” was a couch; they learned what a couch was by understanding, seeing, and using it. Why would an educator teach a second language differently than the first was taught naturally?

            A large part of my philosophy revolves around the idea that foreign languages should be taught visually, and in context. For this reason, I taught my Spanish class in this manner. When students learned vocabulary for different foods, I did not include English translations for the words; instead, I provided pictures. This allowed students to focus more on what the word meant, rather than how to translate it. It is important to use language in real context in order to ensure real semantic growth. (Healy, 2004). By only providing Spanish words, students are not overloaded with linguistic cues, but rather given an even balance of linguistics and visuals.

Retention can be defined as what a person can remember. As I was only in the elementary classroom once a week, retention was an important part of my lessons. One method that can be used to ensure retention is to continue the lesson outside of the classroom. Simple things such as asking students to talk to their parents about the lesson will continue the learning. The method I used most frequently was to ask my students to teach what they had learned to someone else. A few of the education classes at my school were pen-pals with this class, which gave me a perfect audience. I asked the fifth-grade students to teach something in Spanish to their pen-pal. As I had hoped, the students were teaching their pen-pals Spanish, sometimes words that we hadn’t covered in weeks.

            While most students reacted positively towards the visual aspects (which included many types of art projects), there were also some students who very strongly disliked this method of learning. I came to understand that there are students who cannot learn by just following a visual depiction. These students are stimulated by other types of activities, as explained by Dr. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Dr. Gardner’s research contends that there are eight types of intelligence: Bodily-Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial, Verbal-Linguistic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Musical-Rhythmical, Naturalistic, and Mathematical-Logical. As their names would suggest, every intelligence represents a specific learning style. While some students learn best by incorporating numbers or patterns (Mathematical-Logical), others may learn best by getting up and doing or making something (Bodily-Kinesthetic). These differences must be addressed, or an educator will not appeal to all of their students. Dr. Gardner defends his work by saying, “the score on an intelligence test does predict one’s ability to handle school subjects, though it foretells little of success in later life” (1993).

            Some may question, that  if I believe all of the intelligences are so important, I would not have focused so strongly on visual-spatial learners. I have to argue, however, that I did incorporate the other types of learners. For instance, the final lesson I taught with this class was based on the theme of a Spanish fiesta.

During the fiesta, one of the activities taught the students how to make guacamole.  I placed all of the students into small groups. They were given a paper bag containing all of their ingredients, as well as a foam bowl, plastic spoon, and plastic fork. As I told them how to go through all of the steps, they also had helpers (my classmates) at each table to assist in anything they didn’t understand. I used a document camera to show how to make the guacamole as well. This method addressed four of the eight intelligences (interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, and mathematical-logical), and that was just explaining how to do it! The lesson itself also addressed intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic, learners. There are many small steps that we, as teachers, can take to ensure that we are not leaving any students out.

            For instance, any assignment done in groups appeals to interpersonal learners (and improves upon interpersonal skills for those who are not). If a teacher  gives each member of the group a job, and has them put each small piece together in the end, one has just included intrapersonal learners. If they are making something, bodily-kinesthetic learners are added. As I have just demonstrated, it is not hard to incorporate many types of learners.

            Although addressing each type of learner is important for appealing to all students, there is another reason why it is so important: improving on the areas in which students are lacking. Today’s culture is so focused on television, video games, and the computer that children don’t have to spend much time formulating their own sentences. This lack of verbal-linguistic skills is a harsh reality for many students. In fact, U.S. children spend less than one-fifth of the time with print media, than they do with electronic media. (Tubach & Henthorne, 2010). Another deficiency this brings to the forefront is a serious lack of interpersonal skills. By implementing a variety of learning styles that students may be lacking, teachers can help their learners in all modalities.

            The arguments brought forth in this paper strongly suggest that multimodality and understanding Multiple Intelligences are two simple ways to improve retention of a foreign language. Why are educators not using these methods? We need to increase the availability of this information, as well as make the resources more available, so teachers may successfully reach all of their students with the content they are providing.

References

Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences – tenth anniversary edition. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Granström, B., House, D., & Karlsson, I. (2002). Multimodality in language and speech systems. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Healy, J. (2004). Your child’s growing mind: Brain development and learning from birth to adolescence. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.

Tubach, G., & Henthorne, K. D. (Eds.). (2010). CliffsNotes TExES: Generalist EC-6. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc.