Uses and challenges of multimodality in language teaching

Abstract

Different ways of producing meaning through writing and reading undergo changes throughout time due to the emergence of new text compositional elements, as well as new forms of organizing and exposing texts, which, in turn, broaden the concept of text and writing. With the increasing access to technology, when students arrive at school they already display some knowledge of multimodality when challenged to produce written texts. In this article, the use of multimodality by 5th graders of a public school located in a small town of Rio Grande do Sul’s country side is discussed. It is also shown the need for teachers to be prepared to receive these clients and to provide them with activities that develop their skills, since it is the school’s role to teach students how to read and produce a variety of text genres. The different uses children make of multimodality make us reflect on what it means to read and produce texts in the present time.