DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.12349

Published:

2018-02-16

Issue:

Vol 20, No 1 (2018) January-June

Section:

Research Articles

Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies

Videoconferencia, escucha y literacidades múltiples

Authors

  • Jhon Jairo Losada Rivas Surcolombiana University - MA Graduate Student http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2204-0658
  • David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo Surcolombiana University - MA Graduate Student Professor at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

Keywords:

aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera, proceso de la construcción de significado, multiliteracidades, escucha video-mediada (es).

Keywords:

Video-mediated listening, meaning-making process, multiliteracies, EFL learning. (en).

Author Biographies

Jhon Jairo Losada Rivas, Surcolombiana University - MA Graduate Student

Jhon Losada holds a B.A. degree in English Language Teaching from Universidad Surcolombiana (2014) and a M.A. in English Didactics from the same University. He works as the Head of the English department in a private school in Rivera, Huila.

David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo, Surcolombiana University - MA Graduate Student Professor at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

David Suaza is a B.A. in English Language Teaching from Universidad Surcolombiana (2015) and recently finished a M.A. in English Didactics at the same University. He lives in Baraya where he works at a public school, he also works as a teacher at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia in Neiva.

References

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Campoy-Cubillo, M., & Querol-Julián, M. (2015). Assessing multimodal listening. In B. Crawford, & I. Fortanet-Gómez, Multimodal Analysis in Academic Setting: From Research to Teaching (pp. 193-212). London: Routledge.

Cárdenas, M. L. (2000). Helping students develop Listening Comprehension. PROFILE, 1(1), 8-16.

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Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2000). Designs for social futures. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis, Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 201-232). New York: Routledge.

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). "Multiliteracies": New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An international journal, 4(3), 164-195.

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2015). The things you do to know: An introduction to the pedagogy of multiliteracies. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Learning by design (pp. 1-36). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

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Fairclough, N. (2000). Multiliteracies and language orders of discourse and intertextuality. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis, Multiliteracies (pp. 160-178). New York: Routledge.

Fajardo-Mora, N. R. (2013). Pre-service Teachers’ construction of meaning: An interpretive qualitative study. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 15(1), 43-57.

Ferrance, E. (2000). Action Research. Providence: LAB.

Guth, S., & Helm, F. (2011). Developing multiliteracies in ELT through telecollaboration. ELT Journal, 42-51.

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Ho, C. M. (2011). Multimodal meaning-making in the new media age: The case of a language-based design research intervention. NIE Research Brief Series, 1-6. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10497/4660

Jiang, L., & Luk, J. (2016). Multimodal composing as a learning activity in English classroms. System, 59, 1-11.

Jiang, Y. (2009). Predicting strategy and listening comprehension. Asian Social Science, 5(1), 93-97.

Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2008). Language Education and Multiliteracies. In Encyclopedia of Language and Education (pp. 195-211). Springer US.

Kress, G. (2000a). Design and transformation: New theories of Meaning. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis, Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 149-157). New York: Routledge.

Kress, G. (2000b). Multimodality. In C. Bill, & M. Kalantzis, Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 179-199). New York: Routledge.

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2006). New literacies: Everyday practices and classroom learning. Buckingham: Open University press.

Lin, A. M. (2008). Code-switching in the classroom: Research paradigms and approaches. In N. Hornberger, Encyclopedia of language and education (pp. 273-286). Springer US.

McKernan, J. (1996). Curriculum Action Research: A handbook of methods and resources for the reflective practicioner. Adingdon: Routledge.

Mertler, C. A. (2008). Action Research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom (Second ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Nachoua, H. (2012). Computer-Assisted Language Learning for improving students' listening sKill. Procedia-Social and Bahavioral Sciences, 69, 1150-1159.

Nation, I., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking. New York: Routledge.

Nunan, D. (2002). Listening in language learning. In J. C. Richards, & W. A. Renandya, Methodology in language teaching: An Anthology of current practice (pp. 238-241).

Paesani, K., Allen, H. W., & Dupuy, B. (2016). A Multiliteracies Framework for collegiate foreign language teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: PEARSON.

Richards, J. C. (2008). Teaching listening and speaking: From theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.

Rincón, J., & Clavijo-Olarte, A. (2016). Fostering EFL learners’ literacies through local inquiry in a multimodal experience. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 18(2), 67-82.

Rubin, J. (1994). A review of Second Language Comprehension Research. The Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 199-221.

Saito, K., & Akiyama, Y. (2017). Effects of video-based interaction on the development of second language listening. TESOL quarterly, 2-20.

The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-93.

Twiner, A., Littleton, K., Coffin, C., & Whitelock, D. (2013). Meaning making as an interactional accomplishment: A temporal analysis of intentionality and improvisation in classroom dialogue. Internation Journal Of Educational Research, 63, 94-106.

Wellington, J. (2000). Educational Research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches. A&C Black.

How to Cite

APA

Losada Rivas, J. J., and Suaza Cardozo, D. A. (2018). Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 20(1), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.12349

ACM

[1]
Losada Rivas, J.J. and Suaza Cardozo, D.A. 2018. Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal. 20, 1 (Feb. 2018), 11–24. DOI:https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.12349.

ACS

(1)
Losada Rivas, J. J.; Suaza Cardozo, D. A. Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies. Colomb. appl. linguist. j 2018, 20, 11-24.

ABNT

LOSADA RIVAS, Jhon Jairo; SUAZA CARDOZO, David Alfonso. Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, [S. l.], v. 20, n. 1, p. 11–24, 2018. DOI: 10.14483/22487085.12349. Disponível em: https://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/index.php/calj/article/view/12349. Acesso em: 29 mar. 2024.

Chicago

Losada Rivas, Jhon Jairo, and David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo. 2018. “Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies”. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal 20 (1):11-24. https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.12349.

Harvard

Losada Rivas, J. J. and Suaza Cardozo, D. A. (2018) “Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies”, Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 20(1), pp. 11–24. doi: 10.14483/22487085.12349.

IEEE

[1]
J. J. Losada Rivas and D. A. Suaza Cardozo, “Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies”, Colomb. appl. linguist. j, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 11–24, Feb. 2018.

MLA

Losada Rivas, Jhon Jairo, and David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo. “Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies”. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, vol. 20, no. 1, Feb. 2018, pp. 11-24, doi:10.14483/22487085.12349.

Turabian

Losada Rivas, Jhon Jairo, and David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo. “Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies”. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal 20, no. 1 (February 16, 2018): 11–24. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/index.php/calj/article/view/12349.

Vancouver

1.
Losada Rivas JJ, Suaza Cardozo DA. Video-mediated listening and multiliteracies. Colomb. appl. linguist. j [Internet]. 2018 Feb. 16 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];20(1):11-24. Available from: https://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/index.php/calj/article/view/12349

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Video-Mediated Listening and Multiliteracies
Videoconferencia, escucha y literacidades múltiples


Jhon Jairo Losada Rivas1
David Alfonso Suaza Cardozo2


Citation/ Para citar este Artículo: Losada, J. & Suaza, D. (2018). Video-Mediated Listening and Multiliteracies. Colomb. appl. linguist. j., 20(1), pp. 11-24.
Received: 01-Ag.-2017 / Accepted: 20-Dec.-2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.12349


Abstract
Based on the need to explore the incidence of multiliteracies in EFL education, this study presents the ways in which video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of new meanings in an EFL setting. This qualitative action research was carried out at a private school from Huila, Colombia with 11th grade students who had difficulties with their foreign language listening skills. Pedagogical interventions involved all students from the course (16 pupils); nonetheless, convenience sampling was used to narrow research data to six participants. Our research objective was to analyze how the construction of meaning was developed through the implementation of video-mediated listening activities under a multiliteracies approach. Findings show that students established interactions with different sources of information provided by the videos that enabled them to create and disclose new meanings derived from their transformed interpretations. The results also shed light on how video-mediated listening activities foster students’ understandings of their own learning processes.
Keywords: EFL learning, meaning-making process, multiliteracies, video-mediated listening


Resumen
Teniendo en cuenta la necesidad de explorar la incidencia del enfoque de multiliteracidades dentro del salón de clase de lengua extranjera inglés, este estudio presenta las maneras en las cuales actividades de escucha video mediadas contribuyen a la construcción de nuevos significados en un escenario de inglés como lengua extranjera. Esta investigación acción cualitativa se llevó a cabo en un colegio privado de Huila, Colombia con estudiantes de grado once, que presentaban dificultades con su habilidad de escucha en lengua inglesa. Las intervenciones pedagógicas involucraron a todos los estudiantes del curso (16 estudiantes); no obstante, se utilizó una muestra de conveniencia para enfocar los datos de investigación a seis participantes. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar cómo se desarrollaba la construcción de significado a través de actividades de escucha video mediadas dentro del enfoque de multiliteracies. Los hallazgos muestran que los estudiantes establecieron interacciones con las diferentes fuentes de información que proveían los videos, permitiendo crear y convenir nuevo significado de la transformación de sus interpretaciones. Los resultados muestran como las actividades video mediadas fomentan el entendimiento de los estudiantes sobre su propio proceso de aprendizaje.
Palabras clave: aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera, proceso de la construcción de significado, multiliteracidades, escucha video-mediada

Introduction

Most frequently, our role as teachers has been solely devoted towards developing the four language skills in our students (reading, listening, writing, and speaking), while other sociocultural features found within our learning environments have not been given the required importance. Nonetheless, the ongoing development of technology and the continuous changes in language education have generated a special interest among researchers and educators towards the use of multiple literacies to understand how students learn a foreign language and communicate in specific contexts. In the past, literacy was defined as the ability to read and write. However, this seems to be no longer the case. In Cope and Kalantzis’ (2009) view, literacy does not currently focus on teaching skills and competences but on developing an ‘active designer of meaning’ that accepts and understands differences. Bearing this in mind, this article presents a qualitative action research study conducted with a group of eleventh grade students aimed at exploring the contribution of video-mediated listening activities to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English.

Studies looking into listening skills have historically focused on understanding the nature of listening and finding new ways of enhancing comprehension in language learners (Cárdenas, 2000; Nachoua, 2012; Nation & Newton, 2009; Nunan, 2002; Richards, 2008; Rubin, 1994). Few of them, however, have considered listening in connection with the meaning-making process. Instead, they have placed these language skills in isolated positions and thus left the responsibility of constructing meaning to each individual. As a consequence, we place special emphasis on the idea that the social context and cultural aspects involved in language instruction contribute in the meaning-making process that individuals undertake when learning.

This study stems from a need identified by the researcher working in the capacity of classroom teacher and his 11th grade students concerning their difficulty in understanding and constructing meaning when listening in English. Grounded in constant reflection and assessment of the students’ performance at the initial phases of the school year, we realized students were having serious difficulties with their listening skills, which limited them from constructing meaning within the classroom. It was evident that the exercises used for the assessment of this language ability were giving them little chance of improvement and did not seem appealing and motivating for them. To confirm these considerations, we employed three different instruments—a diagnostic test, a survey and a questionnaire— with all students from the same course. In the first place, the results from the diagnostic test evidenced students’ lack of understanding when listening in English. In the same way, the survey which centered on obtaining students’ insights on the development of their listening skills and the type of tasks usually implemented in the classroom, showed that students felt generally doubtful when addressing a listening task. Similarly, the third instrument also supported the idea that listening was the most difficult language skill to develop.

As a way to address this issue, we used authentic videos to foster listening skills and the meaning-making process under a multiliteracies approach. Consequently, we regard language from an integrative perspective and not from an isolated skills perspective. With this in mind, this study was guided by the following research question: How do video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English? Based on the research question, the general objective posed was to analyze how the construction of meaning is developed through the implementation of video-mediated listening activities. In addition, two specific objectives were also considered, (a) to identify the factors that allow meaning construction through videos under a multiliteracies framework, and (b) to describe how a multiliteracies-oriented approach allows students to develop their listening comprehension.

Theoretical Framework

In order to theoretically support this research, we reviewed the related literature regarding the use of videos as material to enhance language instruction (Bueno, 2009; Campoy-Cubillo &

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Querol-Julián, 2015; Chao, 2013; Paesani, Allen, & Dupuy, 2016), the meaning construction process (Fajardo-Mora, 2013; Guth & Helm, 2011; Saito & Akiyama, in press) and the use of multiliteracies in language learning (Jiang & Luk, 2016; Rincón & Clavijo-Olarte, 2016). What is more, a connection is made with the act of listening and the role played by video-mediated listening in the development of this language skill. It is worth mentioning that the orientations provided by the New London Group (1996), Kress (2000a), and Cope and Kalantzis (2000a) guided us towards understanding the underlying foundations of meaning construction in EFL learning.

Video-Mediated Listening

With the advancement of technology and new devices, resources such as videos, internet, chat applications, etc. have shortened distances. Furthermore, these resources have also equipped teachers with a variety of elements to design learning activities in which students approach language learning in multiple ways. In light of these issues, the use of videotexts aligns with our research purposes in the sense that they give students opportunities to build meaning through the interaction with aural and visual input. According to Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016), videos are regarded as texts that “are important resources for challenging students’ imagination and helping them consider alternative ways of seeing, feeling and understanding things” (p. 200). What is more, Paesani et al. (2016) highlight that “videotexts in lower-level FL courses... can lend support to the merging of communication and textual analysis at all levels of the FL’ (p. 211). From this view, videotexts are helpful for all courses as they can help to merge communication no matter the level students have or the course they are taking.

Similarly, other scholars have pointed out the importance of videotexts for the development of listening. Campoy-Cubillo & Querol-Julían (2015) assert that “in most situations, listening implies watching” (p. 203). They establish differences on the use of audiotexts and videotexts, centering the discussion on the issue that audiotexts offer limited options for learners to take advantage of the information given as well as partial interaction.

Meanwhile, videotexts themselves offer learners a broader variety of elements to engage students in comprehension development which enable them to gather new ideas from the situations presented. Having this in mind, not only does listening imply more than recording and analyzing speech, but also identifying in a multimodal manner other aspects in the interaction that facilitate the negotiation of meaning to later on benefit its construction.

Other authors have conceived of listening as a tool to engage learners with other cultures, as videos unveil diverse situations that are present in different contexts. Bueno (2009) advocates that films have cultural aspects and situations which foster language and intercultural learning. From this view, when videotexts are used for classroom activities, students are not only able to learn the language, but also convey and construct meaning (Saito & Akiyama, in press). In the same line of thought, Chao (2013) suggests that a videotext “involves the exchange of ideas and maintenance of appropriate relationships between people from various linguistic backgrounds” (p. 262). This notion gives sustenance to the premise that videotexts allow interaction with other cultures, establishing bonds with people whose linguistic backgrounds differ.

Videos have proved to be meaningful items for students’ learning. Li, Gao, and Zhang (2016) suggest that “students do not only retell what they have heard from the video, but also integrate their own idea to create their own speech” (p. 56). From this perspective, students are able to become creative language users since they start to incorporate features from the videos into their conversations and interactions. Furthermore, videotexts have been shown to enhance students listening comprehension. In a quantitative study carried out in Thailand, researchers concluded that authentic materials provide more useful language and input for students to achieve higher levels of comprehension and proficiency (Woottipong, 2014). Thus, videotexts introduce students to real situations that lead them to understand language and its dynamics. All these enlighten the significant role videos may play in language classroom to help students appropriate language from a holistic perspective that allow understanding and later interaction.

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Meaning Construction

One of the foundations addressed by the New London Group (1996) in the field of ELT is meaning construction. Through this concept, the New London Group (1996), Kress (2000a), Cope and Kalantzis (2000a), Kalantzis and Cope (2008), and Paesani et al. (2016) have explained how learning a language is undertaken by language users. The New London Group (1996) first described the notion of design as “the interactive nature of meaning making” (p. 76), which signifies that these designs help people to make meaning through the interaction with others. Besides, Cope and Kalantzis (2000a) conceptualized design “as a process in which the individual and culture are inseparable” (p. 201). Considering this, interaction with cultures gives individuals opportunities for meaning making.

Kalantzis and Cope (2008) mention that the starting point for meaning making is “available designs,” which are the conventions and resources of meaning. After appropriating and interacting with different resources, there is a process of reshaping meaning known as “designing,” which implies the act of making new interpretations from the information and existing elements one has interacted with. Finally, there is a last progression in which the individual critically creates or gives a new meaning to those resources, known as “redesigning.” In this respect, Paesani et al. (2016) add that “transformation is not rote, mechanical or repetitive; it is instead creative, open ended and evolving” (p. 24). In this manner, the objective of this process is to allow individuals to make meaning from their contexts, by interacting and negotiating the existing available resources.

In addition to this, students can use language to make meaning from their interaction with unlimited resources such as technology, literature, language conventions, symbols, art, newspapers, etc. All of these resources allow them to design their own meaning using language as a mediational tool for conveying, reshaping, and creating new knowledge. Twiner, Littleton, Coffin and Whitelock (2013) have remarked “the importance of pupils’ participation in meaning making of their learning experiences” (p. 104). From this view, students’ interactions in the classroom are highly necessary to make meaning.

Through a dialogic interaction with peers and teachers, students create meaning.

The abovementioned aspects are reflected in Guth and Helm’s (2011) work, who undertook a qualitative action research study with the aim of identifying how non-native speakers exchanged information from their culture in regard to local and global issues. The study was carried out with English learners from both Germany and Italy who belonged to two English programs. In Guth and Helm’s view, the concept of ‘telecollaboration’ is one of the essential elements developed throughout the study, due to the fact that in addition to comprising a sociocultural perspective of language learning, it regards learning as social interaction between language users and their contexts. The study’s findings evidenced that learners were able to construct meaning from their interaction with others, sharing information from their own culture and ideas through the use of a second language as a means of communication. These results were essential for our project since they reflected how the process of meaning construction is supported by communication among students and other resources to construct and convey meaning through interaction.

Similarly, Fajardo-Mora (2013) conducted an interpretive qualitative study concerning the construction of meaning in English. It aimed at studying how a group of pre-service social studies teachers created meaning from texts in English related to their subject matter. Based on Fajardo-Mora’s (2013) findings, teachers constructed meaning from the integration of their background knowledge, intertextuality and beliefs, shaped continuously through the aforementioned aspects categorized as habitus. These results are essential for our study because they give an account of the complexity of understandings a person has when constructing new meanings, starting from the characteristics of social environments and personal assumptions that contribute to the development of new thoughts and conceptions.

Likewise, Jiang and Luk (2016) undertook a qualitative action research project with the aim of examining the implementation of multimodality in the construction of meaning in an undergraduate

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EFL course in China. In Jiang and Luk’s (2016) view, multimodal compositions engage students with their process of conveying and constructing meaning from their interactions with other students while being supported by digital literacies. The study’s findings evidenced that while students were carrying out the multimodal activities, they perceived an array of aspects that motivated them to accomplish the proposed tasks. In this manner, students experienced different sensations related to the type of activities, which helped them in their learning process, as well as the construction of meaning through different literacy types. These results are essential for our study since we intend to understand how video-mediated listening benefits students meaning construction.

Meaning is important for making sense of what surrounds people and understanding human relationships. In this respect, Fairclough (2000) argues that meaning is dynamic and that it interrelates from text to text. This call for the use of hybrid texts aims at providing students opportunities to use multimodality to understand the meaning making process, since in this way students will be able to explore texts to obtain different meanings from them.

Multiliteracies

Multiliteracies is the main axis for the realization of the objectives proposed in this research study. This term, coined by the New London Group (1996), represents a shift in the paradigm of education, as it no longer regards education as a transfer of knowledge or content but as a continuous construction of meanings derived from varied resources in different contexts. Historically speaking, many scholars have tried to give definitions of the word literacy. In the first place, literacy was regarded as the ability to read and write, a concept that limited literacy to information transfer practices (Kern, 2003). Besides displaying a singular and individualized act, this concept did not recognize the role played by social factors within the interpretation of new meanings. Thus, this view led to a turning point in the definition of literacy. Instead of being considered as a single way of interpreting the world, it started to be defined as a social practice where multiple contexts and modes of interpretation intertwined. With the emergence of new technologies, the dynamic changes in communication and the development of media information, the notion of literacy changed for good and, as a result, different authors gave major value to the great range of possibilities offered by the interaction of human development and the context where such relationships occurred. From Lotherington’s (2007) view, researchers have proposed alternative conceptions of múltiple Uteracies that evidence the diversity of language modalities, in which written, oral, and social contexts are interwoven.

üsing this as a reference, the New London Group (1996) coined the term multiliteracies, which refers to “the multiplicity of communications channels and media... [and] the increas ing salience of cultural and linguistic diversity” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000b, p. 5). In this line of thought, people are regarded as ‘makers of meaning’ (Kalantzis & Cope, 2008, p. 196) who take advantage of diverse elements such as “language, symbols, or behavior that mediate interactions with others and facilitate the ability to construct meaning in various culturally dependent discourse contexts” (Paesani et al., 2016, p. 11). In this sense, a pedagogy of multiliteracies was developed prioritizing meaning construction through interaction. Hall defines it as a “socially responsive pedagogy that helps us understand how to connect a sociocultural perspective of learning to classroom teaching” (as cited in Paesani et al., 2016, pp. 21-22). From this perspective, literacy does not only account for “the context of our culturally and linguistically diverse and increasingly globalized societies... [but also] for the multifarious cultures that interrelate and the plurality of texts that circulate” (The New London Group, 1996, p. 61).

Concerning the multiliteracies approach and a multimodal perspective of language learning, Rincón and Clavijo-Olarte (2016) carried out a qualitative action research study based on three fundamental aspects:    community-based

pedagogies, inquiry, and multimodality. The main goal of the study was to reflect upon the possibilities created by an inquiry process when exploring social and cultural aspects from a given community at a

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public school in Bogotá, Colombia. The results of this study show that working under the approach of community-based pedagogies (CBP) allowed students to have opportunities to analyze authentic information from their own contexts and realities in a multimodal manner (texts, presentations, and blog posts). Besides this, language instruction changed from traditional teaching approaches (grammar-based) to a positively meaningful and contextualized research-based education. This study contributed significantly towards the development of varied and contextualized sources of information that help students reflect on their own realities.

Kress (2000a) asserts that nowadays texts are everywhere: in pictures, videos, leaflets, etc. Therefore, he proposes what he calls “multimodality,” a term that is related to how people now count on different ways to access sources which allow them to later on build meaning. Multimodality is vital to support the construction of meaning since it includes different modes to understand and create designs. Kress (2000b) asserted that humans have a disposition to engage the world through their senses, giving them the ability to understand and create meaning from their contexts. Kress proposes the following designs for such purposes: “Linguistic Design, Visual Design, Audio Design, Gestural Design, Spatial Design, and Multimodal Design” (1996, p. 78). These designs help students to understand better and engage in their contexts, as well as the existing sources to build meaning per their interactions.

Methodology

This research study is framed in a qualitative approach which seeks to describe and analyze problems or situations at a much-focalized point. According to Hernández-Sampieri, Fernández, and Baptista (2014), the importance of this research approach is that its foundations are centered on interpretations of a reality or realities lived by the participants, with the possibility of being redefined according to their needs. In order to achieve the expectations set through the research question and the objectives, the type of study chosen was action research, which follows a cyclical process involving (a) planning, (b) acting, (c) observing, and (d) reflecting (Burns, 2015). In this regard, this type of research is merely pedagogical and by using it, we had the opportunity to empower our regular practices by making sense of our daily interaction with students to adjust our teaching and create an appropriate learning-environment. It is worth mentioning that the activities designed were conducted by one of the researchers who assumed the role of teacher-researcher in the setting mentioned, while the other played the role of an observer who registered class sessions and collected data.

This study comprised the implementation of video-mediated listening activities using the multiliteracies framework as its main strategy. These implementations were conducted throughout a period of six sessions (one week each) and two weeks solely devoted to the evaluation stage at the end of each loop of implementation (each cycle embraced the implementation of three sessions). What is more, four basic stages were followed for the development of this study: (1) an inventory of needs; (2) the creation of activities that favor meaning construction; (3) the class implementation; and (4) evaluation and reflection.

First, it was necessary to carry out an inventory of needs to understand students’ difficulties and the topics of interests to be taken into account in the design of the activities. To do this, a survey was administered to all the students that belonged to the course where the study was conducted. With this information, the videos for each of the implementations were selected. Among these were documentaries, reports, educational, and instructional videos. Subsequently, researchers created activities that allowed students to construct meaning through the interaction with their partners and the analysis of the videotexts presented. Once these activities had been planned, researchers applied the class implementations aiming at recording students’ interactions with the activities scheduled. Finally, researchers reflected upon the information collected to adjust activities that favored students’ meaning construction process prior to the application of the second loop of implementation. Once this had been done, the second cycle started and the process was implemented as previously mentioned.

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Context and Participants

The participants that took part in this research were learners in the eleventh grade at a private school in Huila, Colombia. They belonged to a high strata, their ages ranged from 16 to 17 years old, and they showed a special interest in learning English. For the purposes of this study, the pedagogical intervention was carried out with all 16 students from 11th A. From these 16 students, six were selected for the data collection and analysis. The technique we followed to select the participants of this research was ‘convenience sampling’ that allowed us to choose a population that met some criteria, “such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given time, or the willingness to particípate... for the purpose of study” (Etikan, Musa, & Alkassim, 2016, p. 2). The aforementioned criteria let us to take a closer look at the students’ performance when conducting the tasks proposed for each of the class sessions. In addition, having this number of students also helped us obtain direct data from pupils previously demonstrating difficulty with their listening level.

Instruments

The research instruments used to collect data in this study were students’ artifacts, pupil diaries, teacher’s field notes and interviews. Different students’ interactions were recorded by video, such as debates, presentations, class interventions, among others. Also, students’ products from the different interventions such as posters, videos, leaflets, and maps were used to analyze their growth and the development of the meaning construction process. Data from this study were collected to understand the construction of meaning undergone in the classroom throughout the pedagogical implementations (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009).

Artifacts are students’ products derived from class activities that were used in the present study. These activities allowed the researchers to obtain data first hand. In this sense, Mertler (2008) asserts that “artifacts include any written or visual sources of data, contained within the classroom, that contribute to our understanding of what is occurring in classrooms and school” (p. 114). Following this idea, artifacts would become valuable tools to comprehend students’ learning processes in the classroom.

Regarding pupil diaries, McKernan (1996) claims that “diaries can be used as an historical account, a tool for personal redirection and growth” (p. 88). This instrument allowed us to gather information about students’ experiences in the different tasks they were facing. This instrument was appropriate and important because it involved students as active agents of this study; thus their feelings, opinions, and thoughts about the interventions were gathered to identify their change of perception about the classes, and to see their progress in their meaning construction development.

Additionally, field notes were used to obtain data from the researchers in regard to attitudes/ behaviors shown by students at the moment of the interventions. Field notes are a type of observation, which Creswell (2012) defines as “text (words) recorded by the researcher during an observation” (p. 217). These observations had the intention of recording what was going on during the classes, being mainly descriptive with the aim to later reflect upon the actions evidenced.

Finally, interviews were also implemented to obtain further information about students’ feelings and perceptions towards the class activities, their view on their listening skills’ development, and the construction of meaning. According to Wellington (2015), the main purpose of the interviews is “to probe a respondent’s views, perspectives or life-history. it is rather more than a conversation with a purpose” (p. 139).

Findings

This study analyzed the contribution of video-mediated listening activities in the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English among eleventh graders at a Colombian private school. In order to collect the data, field notes, pupil diaries, students’ artifacts and interviews were conducted and collected throughout the stages of the research implementation. Students’ perceptions, teachers’ observations, class

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reflections, feelings, thoughts and behaviors were analyzed through the administration of the aforementioned instruments.

After having completed the pedagogical implementations and research data collection process, the software ATLAS.ti was used as the supporting tool for the analysis of the obtained data. By creating codes based on the information gathered and bearing closely in mind the objectives set at the beginning of the research study, we came up with the categories that answered the research question. Consequently, a hermeneutic unit was created in ATLAS.ti to organize and create a systematic and consistent codifying process.

The approach we used to analyze the data collected was the Grounded Theory. Based on Creswell’s assertions (2012), “a grounded theory design is a systematic, qualitative procedure used to generate a theory that explains, at a broad conceptual level, a process, an action, or an interaction about a substantive topic” (p. 423). The use of this approach led us towards the identification of a number of contributions that the use of video-mediated activities have in language learning.

Table 1 evidences the analytical model resultant from the analysis of the hermeneutic unit called “multiliteracies.” In this unit, two major categories are displayed as follows: (a) meaning construction, and (b) contribution of video-mediated listening activities to EFL learning. The former category is composed of three sub-categories:    initial

interaction with sources of meaning; building new interpretations; and disclosing new meaning. The latter category unveils three sub-categories as well: appropriating the context of the media sources;

becoming acquainted with video information; and understanding processes and methodologies, as seen in the table below.

The excerpts displayed below make reference to documents registered in the data collected that help understand the subsequent categories. Such excerpts have different acronyms in each of the quotations included, which indicate the source from which the data were obtained. They stand for FN (field notes), PD (pupil diary), STA (student’s artifacts), TP (transcriptions), and FG (focus group interview). Furthermore, there is also an acronym for each one of the activities created as the pedagogical strategy, such as PV (pre-viewing), SV (silent viewing), IV (Initial viewing), DV (detailed viewing), CV (critical viewing) and IC (into context).

Meaning construction. This first category elicits the process students undertook to construct new understandings from a great variety of sources of information. This process is explained based on three specific features represented as the sub-categories of this first classification.

Initial interaction with sources of meaning.

This first sub-category represents the initial contact students had with multiple sources of information, from which learners began to develop and connect preceding interpretations with the new realities presented.

P72: TP4_PV_TI_02_CAS_29_08_2016.rtf-72:3 (11:13) JCVH:

In this picture they show people fighting for freedom or something like that, so they have to fight other prisoner and whoever wins is going to be free again.

Table 1. Research Categories and Sub-Categories.

Research Question


Categories


How do video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English?


Meaning construction


Contribution of video-mediated listening activities to EFL learning


Subcategories

Initial interaction with sources of meaning Building new interpretations Disclosing new meaning Appropriating the context of media sources Becoming acquainted with video information Understanding processes and methodologies.


P75: PD_TI_05_CAS_LPM_03_10_2016.rtf-75:5 (12:12)

... al ver el video en silencio tuvimos que interpretarlo para poder responder lo que las imágenes presentadas significaban para mí.

In sample 72:3, the participant describes what he can see from a picture presented during one of the pedagogical implementations. Similarly, in sample 75:5, another student expresses the opportunity provided throughout the activity to create their first interpretations based on what they were seeing. Thus, initial interpretations are generated when being exposed to diverse sources of information. In this regard, Fairclough (2000) suggests that “meaning-making is a creative application of resources of meaning (designs of meaning) in negotiating the constantly shifting occasions and needs of communication” (p. 159). Building on this idea, visual resources allow students to have an initial interaction with the meanings immersed in images which illustrates the way students used video resources to attain a broader overview of the issues addressed in previous activities.

According to Paesani et al. (2016), audiovisual interpretations from videos unveil “the critical role played by the listener-viewer, and the interaction between listener-viewers’ knowledge and the videotext” (p. 205). In this sense, students’ interpretations are shaped through multiple bases that encourage the grasping of diverse perspectives concerning the sort of resource used for such purposes.

Building new interpretations. This second sub-category features the process of designing new understandings. In the classroom, students usually attempted to describe their ideas by using their first language (L1 hereafter). However, when instruction was guided and activities nurtured their interactions, a need for communication arose creating suitable opportunities for second language use (L2). The following samples evidence the aforementioned condition.

P84:    TP_CV_TI_05_CAS_03_10_2016.rtf-
84:10 (66:66)

I think that they are different because they have a different religion and culture and if we have had... Bueno, si hubieramos tenido... the same culture, maybe we could be like them.

P85:    TP_IC_TI_05_CAS_03_10_2016.rtf-
85:9 (17:17)

As you know, the news and the newspaper, there are a lot of problems in that country, like ‘falta de comida’.

In samples 84:10 and 85:9, examples of code-switching are evidenced throughout students’ interactions. In all of the activities that produced such encounters, students changed from their L2 to their mother tongue (or L1), thus allowing communication to continue instead of generating an abrupt interruption. In spite of this uncertainty and doubt caused by a lack of knowledge in terms of grammar or vocabulary, students ended up conveying the intended interpretation. Following Lin’s description (2008), “code-switching refers to the alternating use of more than one linguistic code in the classroom by any of the classroom participants” (p. 273). From this perspective, students may use their mother tongue to express a point of view that they cannot fully describe in their L2. Consequently, code-switching becomes a fundamental strategy for communication.

Besides relying on code-switching and requesting L2 words/expressions throughout class activities, new interpretations were also built by connecting prior knowledge with the information presented through new input.

P65:    TP_CV_TI_04_CAS_26_09_2016.rtf-
65:26 (46:46)

In a series “Modern Family,” there are two characters that are gay and it’s still normal because the family and the others create like a normal family. They are special. They already have a girl and is very normal. The girl is growing up like a normal kid and without problems.

In sample 65:26, a student makes reference to a TV show he had seen which somehow represents the ideas addressed in the videotext provided. The data shown above exhibit how essential it is to relate one’s prior knowledge with the information given by specific means of representation.

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Following Campbell and Campbell’s (2009) views, “background knowledge is the raw material. It acts as the conceptual hooks for the lodging of new information and is the basic building block of content and skill knowledge” (p. 9). Taking this into consideration, we believe that previous knowledge may be situated as a fundamental element in the construction of meanings and interpretations in connection with other contexts.

Disclosing new meaning. This third sub-category represents the multiple manners in which learners unveil the understandings previously built throughout the process in a much more expanded and complex manner. Furthermore, learners’ appreciations in this stage are not only more elaborated but also are directed towards new contexts where this new knowledge can be utilized.

Apart from creating new resources of meaning, students shared their opinions and made critical interpretations of the issues tackled in the class sessions. The following are some reflections made by students when holistically using the information gathered during the pedagogical implementations.

P14: PD_TI_01_CAS_LPM_22_08_2016.rtf-14:3 (14:14)

Colombia es conocido por ser el país donde vivió Pablo Escobar, esto nos han traído un estereotipo de ser el país que exporta coca, este video nos mostró como Colombia trata con los traficantes en su aeropuerto.

P64:    TP_CV_TI_03_CAS_05_09_2016.rtf-
64:10 (22:22)

LDP: I think that in all around the world the womans are the victims and also the boys and we can see a lot of this in our country and in the world like in the wars that happen like in like the group of ISIS and FARC here in Colombia, so it happens a lot. We have a lot of violence.

In sample 14:3, one of the participants expresses through his pupil diary a personal interpretation he gives to an issue that has been nationally recognized. In the same way, sample 64:10 documents a comment made by a student during one of the class activities where he relates his background knowledge of a problematic situation being addressed to similar existing situations in other contexts. Seemingly, these critical interpretations are formed when students bear in mind the concerns, contexts and experiences that represent their own interests. Salient underlying differences are found between giving opinions and providing critical interpretations.

Up to this point, it is worth highlighting how evident it is that new meaning-making resources are created when disclosing new meaning. It is important to bear in mind, though, that meanings can be shaped in different ways. In Cope and Kalantzis’ (2015) view, “meaning is made in ways that are increasingly multimodal—in which written-linguistic modes of meaning interface with oral, visual, audio, gestural, tactile, and spatial patterns of meaning” (p. 3).

Figure 1 demonstrates the previous statements as students were using their L2 to express their ideas in regard to the topic being addressed. Becoming aware of the role played by multimodal designs in effectively communicating meaning involves the identification and recognition of the fact that “all meaning-making is multimodal” (p. 81). Developing pedagogical practices that lead students to view the relevance of using multimodal texts to disclose meaning is essential for the reshaping of available sources. In this respect, Ho (2011) argues that “students’ sensitivities... include a critical awareness of how different modes shape and reshape what is represented, with attention to specific shifts across modes and how these mode differences interact with media variations to affect ways of learning” (p. 5). Learners create new meaning artifacts, which reflect their own construction process grounded in their viewpoints and critical interpretations. The artifact presented above exhibits a sample of students’ visual representations that became tools for fostering reflections and understandings about reality.

Contribution of video-mediated listening to EFL learning. The second category analyzes the way videos influenced the meaning construction process and further development of students’ listening comprehension skills in English.

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Figure 1. Students’ artifacts, different implementations, into-context activity.


Appropriating the context of the media sources. This sub-category entails students’ abstractions and identification of salient features from media sources that guided them towards making sense of the issues presented. Students engaged themselves in characterizing contexts, relating settings and cultures with the aspects shown through the videos.

Becoming acquainted with video information. This sub-category refers to the learner’s mastery and dominance of the information provided by the videotexts. Different from simply identifying certain aspects involved in the sources presented, this sub-category encompasses the assimilation of those and further development of such information. Aside from learning new vocabulary, students portrayed the relevance of the materials presented in their EFL learning.

P95:    FG_EVA_02_CAS_31_10_2016.rtf-

95:30 (102:102)

LPM: ... en vez de estar solo escuchando también estamos observando y comprendiendo lo que nos quería decir, no solo lo que nos dice, sino también las expresiones o las imágenes que nos muestran.

The previous data show how students have interacted with videotexts finding them relevant for their English learning and their construction of meaning. In sample 95:30, the learners agreed with the idea that videos do offer a variety of features that boost their listening comprehension and engage them fully with the topics. Regarding these aspects, Paesani et al. (2016) express that video-mediated listening offers a constructive environment, since the viewer-listener can interact with videotexts by assuming critical roles which lead learners towards finding their own relevance to the sources given. From this view, learners’ interaction with videos becomes fundamental when fostering the recognition of significant issues concerning language and their own-interests.

Understanding    processes    and

methodologies. This last sub-category denotes students’ appreciations and understandings of the processes realized throughout the pedagogical implementations. Their thoughts, beliefs, and experiences were especially taken into consideration as part of the analysis. Bearing in mind the previous ideas, Cope and Kalantzis (2009) advocate that learners are meaning-designers. Thus, when students become aware of what seemingly are the

21

underpinnings of the meaning-making process, they are able to describe them and boost their learning of the language.

P 1: FG_EVA_01 CAS 20 09 2016. rtf-1:9 (21:21)

MSP: Para mi antes era más rutinario todo, siempre era como abran el libro y hacer tal página o cosas así, con este tipo de actividades es muy bueno el hecho estar intercalando lo didáctico y el momento en el que se involucra el libro, ya no hay que dejarlo a un lado. Pues me parece una buena combinación entre las dos cosas porque en las dos se manejan temas que son parecidos, así que me parece que una complementa la otra.

P90: PD_TI_06_CAS_LPM_24_10_2016.rtf-90:9 (14:14)

Para mí las actividades fueron muy buenas, ya que aprendíamos pero de una forma más didáctica que con un libro o viendo el video sin realizar nada más, el video fue interesante y las actividades fueron entretenidas.

In sample 1:9, a student compares past methodologies with the new ones by claiming that the mixture of didactic activities and book activities are a good combination. The learner also refers to the topic connection in both the book and the videos. Accordingly, in sample 90:9, the student mentions that activities contributed to making videos more interesting for them due to the didactic focus which generated a clear difference from the previous methodologies used in class. In this line of thought, the advantage of using multiliteracies is that students get acquainted with the manners in which learning is approached. Seemingly, these guided students to finding videotexts’ information more appropriate for EFL learning.

In support of this analysis, Kress (2000b) argues that multimodality brings a much more complete experience for language learners. What is more, students count on this multiplicity of elements to unveil contexts explicitly or implicitly in videos. Therefore, the meaning construction process lead them to become critical about different relationships in their realities (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000a; Lankshear & Knobel, 2006;

Paesani et al., 2016). Thus, students are able to construct meaning when they are presented with multimodal sources of information that allow them to experience different perspectives on the videotext through creative activities.

Conclusions

Bearing in mind the research question how do video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English?, we discovered that video-mediated listening activities involved students in having interactions with multiple sources of meaning by developing visual and audiovisual interpretations (Kress, 2000b) that led learners to make predictions and references to past experiences in connection with the exposed situations. Thus, the interaction of supplementary sources of meaning was fundamental for the development of initial understandings in the learner’s mind (Twiner et al., 2013).

Secondly, we evidenced that video-mediated listening activities contributed to the construction of meaning by involving students in an ongoing development of new interpretations. This was demonstrated when students not only associated their prior knowledge (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009) but also established hypothetical situations with the information provided by the sources of meaning (Kalantzis & Cope, 2008). Additionally, students also gave reasons that engage them in critically analyzing the new constructed meanings (Cazden, 2006).

Thirdly, it is worth mentioning that video-mediated listening activities provided students with opportunities to disclose new meanings creatively (Paesani et al., 2016). Students did this by taking advantage of the multifaceted characteristics of language (The New London Group, 1996); assuming new roles creatively, sharing their experiences with others (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009) and constructing critical interpretations of their own realities (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006) through the creation of new resources of meaning (Kress, 2000a).

Finally, we conclude that video-mediated listening activities grant students’ possibilities to

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appropriate the contexts presented through the media sources and become aware of their meaning construction process through the creation of new elements that elicit their reflections (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000a; Kalantzis & Cope, 2008). This is achieved by characterizing their own environments and making comparisons with other contexts (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006).

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Rincón, J., & Clavijo-Olarte, A. (2016). Fostering EFL learners’ literacies through local inquiry in a multimodal experience. Colomb. appl. linguist. j., 18(2), 67-82.

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Saito, K., & Akiyama, Y (in press). Effects of video-based interaction on the development of second language listening. TESOL Quarterly, 2-20. doi:10.1002/ tesq.362

https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.362

The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-93.

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Twiner, A., Littleton, K., Coffin, C., & Whitelock, D. (2013). Meaning making as an interactional accomplishment: A temporal analysis of intentionality and improvisation in classroom dialogue. Internation Journal Of Educational Research, 63, 94-106.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.02.009

Wellington, J. (2015). Educational Research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches (2nd ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Woottipong, K. (2014). Effect of using video materials in the teaching of listening skills for university students. International Journal of Linguistics, 6(4), 200-213.

https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v6i4.5870


24

Recibido: 1 de agosto de 2017; Aceptado: 20 de diciembre de 2017

Abstract

Based on the need to explore the incidence of multiliteracies in EFL education, this study presents the ways in which video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of new meanings in an EFL setting. This qualitative action research was carried out at a private school from Huila, Colombia with 11th grade students who had difficulties with their foreign language listening skills. Pedagogical interventions involved all students from the course (16 pupils); nonetheless, convenience sampling was used to narrow research data to six participants. Our research objective was to analyze how the construction of meaning was developed through the implementation of video-mediated listening activities under a multiliteracies approach. Findings show that students established interactions with different sources of information provided by the videos that enabled them to create and disclose new meanings derived from their transformed interpretations. The results also shed light on how video-mediated listening activities foster students’ understandings of their own learning processes.

Keywords:

EFL learning, meaning-making process, multiliteracies, video-mediated listening.

Resumen

Teniendo en cuenta la necesidad de explorar la incidencia del enfoque de multiliteracidades dentro del salón de clase de lengua extranjera inglés, este estudio presenta las maneras en las cuales actividades de escucha video mediadas contribuyen a la construcción de nuevos significados en un escenario de inglés como lengua extranjera. Esta investigación acción cualitativa se llevó a cabo en un colegio privado de Huila, Colombia con estudiantes de grado once, que presentaban dificultades con su habilidad de escucha en lengua inglesa. Las intervenciones pedagógicas involucraron a todos los estudiantes del curso (16 estudiantes); no obstante, se utilizó una muestra de conveniencia para enfocar los datos de investigación a seis participantes. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar cómo se desarrollaba la construcción de significado a través de actividades de escucha video mediadas dentro del enfoque de multiliteracies. Los hallazgos muestran que los estudiantes establecieron interacciones con las diferentes fuentes de información que proveían los videos, permitiendo crear y convenir nuevo significado de la transformación de sus interpretaciones. Los resultados muestran como las actividades video mediadas fomentan el entendimiento de los estudiantes sobre su propio proceso de aprendizaje.

Palabras clave:

aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera, proceso de la construcción de significado, multiliteracidades, escucha video-mediada.

Introduction

Most frequently, our role as teachers has been solely devoted towards developing the four language skills in our students (reading, listening, writing, and speaking), while other sociocultural features found within our learning environments have not been given the required importance. Nonetheless, the ongoing development of technology and the continuous changes in language education have generated a special interest among researchers and educators towards the use of multiple literacies to understand how students learn a foreign language and communicate in specific contexts. In the past, literacy was defined as the ability to read and write. However, this seems to be no longer the case. In Cope and Kalantzis’ (2009) view, literacy does not currently focus on teaching skills and competences but on developing an ‘active designer of meaning’ that accepts and understands differences. Bearing this in mind, this article presents a qualitative action research study conducted with a group of eleventh grade students aimed at exploring the contribution of video-mediated listening activities to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English.

Studies looking into listening skills have historically focused on understanding the nature of listening and finding new ways of enhancing comprehension in language learners (Cárdenas, 2000; Nachoua, 2012; Nation & Newton, 2009; Nunan, 2002; Richards, 2008; Rubin, 1994). Few of them, however, have considered listening in connection with the meaning-making process. Instead, they have placed these language skills in isolated positions and thus left the responsibility of constructing meaning to each individual. As a consequence, we place special emphasis on the idea that the social context and cultural aspects involved in language instruction contribute in the meaning-making process that individuals undertake when learning.

This study stems from a need identified by the researcher working in the capacity of classroom teacher and his 11th grade students concerning their difficulty in understanding and constructing meaning when listening in English. Grounded in constant reflection and assessment of the students’ performance at the initial phases of the school year, we realized students were having serious difficulties with their listening skills, which limited them from constructing meaning within the classroom. It was evident that the exercises used for the assessment of this language ability were giving them little chance of improvement and did not seem appealing and motivating for them. To confirm these considerations, we employed three different instruments-a diagnostic test, a survey and a questionnaire-with all students from the same course. In the first place, the results from the diagnostic test evidenced students’ lack of understanding when listening in English. In the same way, the survey which centered on obtaining students’ insights on the development of their listening skills and the type of tasks usually implemented in the classroom, showed that students felt generally doubtful when addressing a listening task. Similarly, the third instrument also supported the idea that listening was the most difficult language skill to develop.

As a way to address this issue, we used authentic videos to foster listening skills and the meaning-making process under a multiliteracies approach. Consequently, we regard language from an integrative perspective and not from an isolated skills perspective. With this in mind, this study was guided by the following research question: How do video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English? Based on the research question, the general objective posed was to analyze how the construction of meaning is developed through the implementation of video-mediated listening activities. In addition, two specific objectives were also considered, (a) to identify the factors that allow meaning construction through videos under a multiliteracies framework, and (b) to describe how a multiliteracies-oriented approach allows students to develop their listening comprehension.

Theoretical Framework

In order to theoretically support this research, we reviewed the related literature regarding the use of videos as material to enhance language instruction (Bueno, 2009; Campoy-Cubillo & Querol-Julián, 2015; Chao, 2013; Paesani, Allen, & Dupuy, 2016), the meaning construction process (Fajardo-Mora, 2013; Guth & Helm, 2011; Saito & Akiyama, in press) and the use of multiliteracies in language learning (Jiang & Luk, 2016; Rincón & Clavijo-Olarte, 2016). What is more, a connection is made with the act of listening and the role played by video-mediated listening in the development of this language skill. It is worth mentioning that the orientations provided by the New London Group (1996), Kress (2000a) , and Cope and Kalantzis (2000a) guided us towards understanding the underlying foundations of meaning construction in EFL learning.

Video-Mediated Listening

With the advancement of technology and new devices, resources such as videos, internet, chat applications, etc. have shortened distances. Furthermore, these resources have also equipped teachers with a variety of elements to design learning activities in which students approach language learning in multiple ways. In light of these issues, the use of videotexts aligns with our research purposes in the sense that they give students opportunities to build meaning through the interaction with aural and visual input. According to Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016) , videos are regarded as texts that “are important resources for challenging students’ imagination and helping them consider alternative ways of seeing, feeling and understanding things” (p. 200). What is more, Paesani et al. (2016) highlight that “videotexts in lower-level FL courses… can lend support to the merging of communication and textual analysis at all levels of the FL” (p. 211). From this view, videotexts are helpful for all courses as they can help to merge communication no matter the level students have or the course they are taking.

Similarly, other scholars have pointed out the importance of videotexts for the development of listening. Campoy-Cubillo & Querol-Julían (2015) assert that “in most situations, listening implies watching” (p. 203). They establish differences on the use of audiotexts and videotexts, centering the discussion on the issue that audiotexts offer limited options for learners to take advantage of the information given as well as partial interaction. Meanwhile, videotexts themselves offer learners a broader variety of elements to engage students in comprehension development which enable them to gather new ideas from the situations presented. Having this in mind, not only does listening imply more than recording and analyzing speech, but also identifying in a multimodal manner other aspects in the interaction that facilitate the negotiation of meaning to later on benefit its construction.

Other authors have conceived of listening as a tool to engage learners with other cultures, as videos unveil diverse situations that are present in different contexts. Bueno (2009) advocates that films have cultural aspects and situations which foster language and intercultural learning. From this view, when videotexts are used for classroom activities, students are not only able to learn the language, but also convey and construct meaning (Saito & Akiyama, in press). In the same line of thought, Chao (2013) suggests that a videotext “involves the exchange of ideas and maintenance of appropriate relationships between people from various linguistic backgrounds” (p. 262). This notion gives sustenance to the premise that videotexts allow interaction with other cultures, establishing bonds with people whose linguistic backgrounds differ.

Videos have proved to be meaningful items for students’ learning. Li, Gao, and Zhang (2016) suggest that “students do not only retell what they have heard from the video, but also integrate their own idea to create their own speech” (p. 56). From this perspective, students are able to become creative language users since they start to incorporate features from the videos into their conversations and interactions. Furthermore, videotexts have been shown to enhance students listening comprehension. In a quantitative study carried out in Thailand, researchers concluded that authentic materials provide more useful language and input for students to achieve higher levels of comprehension and proficiency (Woottipong, 2014). Thus, videotexts introduce students to real situations that lead them to understand language and its dynamics. All these enlighten the significant role videos may play in language classroom to help students appropriate language from a holistic perspective that allow understanding and later interaction.

Meaning Construction

One of the foundations addressed by the New London Group (1996) in the field of ELT is meaning construction. Through this concept, the New London Group (1996), Kress (2000a) , Cope and Kalantzis (2000a) , Kalantzis and Cope (2008), and Paesani et al. (2016) have explained how learning a language is undertaken by language users. The New London Group (1996) first described the notion of design as “the interactive nature of meaning making” (p. 76), which signifies that these designs help people to make meaning through the interaction with others. Besides, Cope and Kalantzis (2000a) conceptualized design “as a process in which the individual and culture are inseparable” (p. 201). Considering this, interaction with cultures gives individuals opportunities for meaning making.

Kalantzis and Cope (2008) mention that the starting point for meaning making is “available designs,” which are the conventions and resources of meaning. After appropriating and interacting with different resources, there is a process of reshaping meaning known as “designing,” which implies the act of making new interpretations from the information and existing elements one has interacted with. Finally, there is a last progression in which the individual critically creates or gives a new meaning to those resources, known as “redesigning.” In this respect, Paesani et al. (2016) add that “transformation is not rote, mechanical or repetitive; it is instead creative, open ended and evolving” (p. 24). In this manner, the objective of this process is to allow individuals to make meaning from their contexts, by interacting and negotiating the existing available resources.

In addition to this, students can use language to make meaning from their interaction with unlimited resources such as technology, literature, language conventions, symbols, art, newspapers, etc. All of these resources allow them to design their own meaning using language as a mediational tool for conveying, reshaping, and creating new knowledge. Twiner, Littleton, Coffin and Whitelock (2013) have remarked “the importance of pupils’ participation in meaning making of their learning experiences” (p. 104). From this view, students’ interactions in the classroom are highly necessary to make meaning. Through a dialogic interaction with peers and teachers, students create meaning.

The abovementioned aspects are reflected in Guth and Helm’s (2011) work, who undertook a qualitative action research study with the aim of identifying how non-native speakers exchanged information from their culture in regard to local and global issues. The study was carried out with English learners from both Germany and Italy who belonged to two English programs. In Guth and Helm’s view, the concept of ‘telecollaboration’ is one of the essential elements developed throughout the study, due to the fact that in addition to comprising a sociocultural perspective of language learning, it regards learning as social interaction between language users and their contexts. The study’s findings evidenced that learners were able to construct meaning from their interaction with others, sharing information from their own culture and ideas through the use of a second language as a means of communication. These results were essential for our project since they reflected how the process of meaning construction is supported by communication among students and other resources to construct and convey meaning through interaction.

Similarly, Fajardo-Mora (2013) conducted an interpretive qualitative study concerning the construction of meaning in English. It aimed at studying how a group of pre-service social studies teachers created meaning from texts in English related to their subject matter. Based on Fajardo-Mora’s (2013) findings, teachers constructed meaning from the integration of their background knowledge, intertextuality and beliefs, shaped continuously through the aforementioned aspects categorized as habitus. These results are essential for our study because they give an account of the complexity of understandings a person has when constructing new meanings, starting from the characteristics of social environments and personal assumptions that contribute to the development of new thoughts and conceptions.

Likewise, Jiang and Luk (2016) undertook a qualitative action research project with the aim of examining the implementation of multimodality in the construction of meaning in an undergraduate EFL course in China. In Jiang and Luk’s (2016) view, multimodal compositions engage students with their process of conveying and constructing meaning from their interactions with other students while being supported by digital literacies. The study’s findings evidenced that while students were carrying out the multimodal activities, they perceived an array of aspects that motivated them to accomplish the proposed tasks. In this manner, students experienced different sensations related to the type of activities, which helped them in their learning process, as well as the construction of meaning through different literacy types. These results are essential for our study since we intend to understand how video-mediated listening benefits students meaning construction.

Meaning is important for making sense of what surrounds people and understanding human relationships. In this respect, Fairclough (2000) argues that meaning is dynamic and that it interrelates from text to text. This call for the use of hybrid texts aims at providing students opportunities to use multimodality to understand the meaning making process, since in this way students will be able to explore texts to obtain different meanings from them.

Multiliteracies

Multiliteracies is the main axis for the realization of the objectives proposed in this research study. This term, coined by the New London Group (1996), represents a shift in the paradigm of education, as it no longer regards education as a transfer of knowledge or content but as a continuous construction of meanings derived from varied resources in different contexts. Historically speaking, many scholars have tried to give definitions of the word literacy. In the first place, literacy was regarded as the ability to read and write, a concept that limited literacy to information transfer practices (Kern, 2003). Besides displaying a singular and individualized act, this concept did not recognize the role played by social factors within the interpretation of new meanings. Thus, this view led to a turning point in the definition of literacy. Instead of being considered as a single way of interpreting the world, it started to be defined as a social practice where multiple contexts and modes of interpretation intertwined. With the emergence of new technologies, the dynamic changes in communication and the development of media information, the notion of literacy changed for good and, as a result, different authors gave major value to the great range of possibilities offered by the interaction of human development and the context where such relationships occurred. From Lotherington’s (2007) view, researchers have proposed alternative conceptions of multiple literacies that evidence the diversity of language modalities, in which written, oral, and social contexts are interwoven.

Using this as a reference, the New London Group (1996) coined the term multiliteracies, which refers to “the multiplicity of communications channels and media… [and] the increasing salience of cultural and linguistic diversity” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000b, p. 5). In this line of thought, people are regarded as ‘makers of meaning’ (Kalantzis & Cope, 2008, p. 196) who take advantage of diverse elements such as “language, symbols, or behavior that mediate interactions with others and facilitate the ability to construct meaning in various culturally dependent discourse contexts” (Paesani et al., 2016, p. 11). In this sense, a pedagogy of multiliteracies was developed prioritizing meaning construction through interaction. Hall defines it as a “socially responsive pedagogy that helps us understand how to connect a sociocultural perspective of learning to classroom teaching” (as cited in Paesani et al., 2016, pp. 21-22). From this perspective, literacy does not only account for “the context of our culturally and linguistically diverse and increasingly globalized societies… [but also] for the multifarious cultures that interrelate and the plurality of texts that circulate” (The New London Group, 1996, p. 61).

Concerning the multiliteracies approach and a multimodal perspective of language learning, Rincón and Clavijo-Olarte (2016) carried out a qualitative action research study based on three fundamental aspects: community-based pedagogies, inquiry, and multimodality. The main goal of the study was to reflect upon the possibilities created by an inquiry process when exploring social and cultural aspects from a given community at a public school in Bogotá, Colombia. The results of this study show that working under the approach of community-based pedagogies (CBP) allowed students to have opportunities to analyze authentic information from their own contexts and realities in a multimodal manner (texts, presentations, and blog posts). Besides this, language instruction changed from traditional teaching approaches (grammar-based) to a positively meaningful and contextualized research-based education. This study contributed significantly towards the development of varied and contextualized sources of information that help students reflect on their own realities.

Kress (2000a) asserts that nowadays texts are everywhere: in pictures, videos, leaflets, etc. Therefore, he proposes what he calls “multimodality,” a term that is related to how people now count on different ways to access sources which allow them to later on build meaning. Multimodality is vital to support the construction of meaning since it includes different modes to understand and create designs. Kress (2000b) asserted that humans have a disposition to engage the world through their senses, giving them the ability to understand and create meaning from their contexts. Kress proposes the following designs for such purposes: “Linguistic Design, Visual Design, Audio Design, Gestural Design, Spatial Design, and Multimodal Design” (1996, p. 78). These designs help students to understand better and engage in their contexts, as well as the existing sources to build meaning per their interactions.

Methodology

This research study is framed in a qualitative approach which seeks to describe and analyze problems or situations at a much-focalized point. According to Hernández-Sampieri, Fernández, and Baptista (2014) , the importance of this research approach is that its foundations are centered on interpretations of a reality or realities lived by the participants, with the possibility of being redefined according to their needs. In order to achieve the expectations set through the research question and the objectives, the type of study chosen was action research, which follows a cyclical process involving (a) planning, (b) acting, (c) observing, and (d) reflecting (Burns, 2015). In this regard, this type of research is merely pedagogical and by using it, we had the opportunity to empower our regular practices by making sense of our daily interaction with students to adjust our teaching and create an appropriate learning environment. It is worth mentioning that the activities designed were conducted by one of the researchers who assumed the role of teacher-researcher in the setting mentioned, while the other played the role of an observer who registered class sessions and collected data.

This study comprised the implementation of video-mediated listening activities using the multiliteracies framework as its main strategy. These implementations were conducted throughout a period of six sessions (one week each) and two weeks solely devoted to the evaluation stage at the end of each loop of implementation (each cycle embraced the implementation of three sessions). What is more, four basic stages were followed for the development of this study: (1) an inventory of needs; (2) the creation of activities that favor meaning construction; (3) the class implementation; and (4) evaluation and reflection.

First, it was necessary to carry out an inventory of needs to understand students’ difficulties and the topics of interests to be taken into account in the design of the activities. To do this, a survey was administered to all the students that belonged to the course where the study was conducted. With this information, the videos for each of the implementations were selected. Among these were documentaries, reports, educational, and instructional videos. Subsequently, researchers created activities that allowed students to construct meaning through the interaction with their partners and the analysis of the videotexts presented. Once these activities had been planned, researchers applied the class implementations aiming at recording students’ interactions with the activities scheduled. Finally, researchers reflected upon the information collected to adjust activities that favored students’ meaning construction process prior to the application of the second loop of implementation. Once this had been done, the second cycle started and the process was implemented as previously mentioned.

Context and Participants

The participants that took part in this research were learners in the eleventh grade at a private school in Huila, Colombia. They belonged to a high strata, their ages ranged from 16 to 17 years old, and they showed a special interest in learning English. For the purposes of this study, the pedagogical intervention was carried out with all 16 students from 11th A. From these 16 students, six were selected for the data collection and analysis. The technique we followed to select the participants of this research was ‘convenience sampling’ that allowed us to choose a population that met some criteria, “such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a given time, or the willingness to participate… for the purpose of study” (Etikan, Musa, & Alkassim, 2016, p. 2). The aforementioned criteria let us to take a closer look at the students’ performance when conducting the tasks proposed for each of the class sessions. In addition, having this number of students also helped us obtain direct data from pupils previously demonstrating difficulty with their listening level.

Instruments

The research instruments used to collect data in this study were students’ artifacts, pupil diaries, teacher’s field notes and interviews. Different students’ interactions were recorded by video, such as debates, presentations, class interventions, among others. Also, students’ products from the different interventions such as posters, videos, leaflets, and maps were used to analyze their growth and the development of the meaning construction process. Data from this study were collected to understand the construction of meaning undergone in the classroom throughout the pedagogical implementations (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009).

Artifacts are students’ products derived from class activities that were used in the present study. These activities allowed the researchers to obtain data first hand. In this sense, Mertler (2008) asserts that “artifacts include any written or visual sources of data, contained within the classroom, that contribute to our understanding of what is occurring in classrooms and school” (p. 114). Following this idea, artifacts would become valuable tools to comprehend students’ learning processes in the classroom.

Regarding pupil diaries, McKernan (1996) claims that “diaries can be used as an historical account, a tool for personal redirection and growth” (p. 88). This instrument allowed us to gather information about students’ experiences in the different tasks they were facing. This instrument was appropriate and important because it involved students as active agents of this study; thus their feelings, opinions, and thoughts about the interventions were gathered to identify their change of perception about the classes, and to see their progress in their meaning construction development.

Additionally, field notes were used to obtain data from the researchers in regard to attitudes/behaviors shown by students at the moment of the interventions. Field notes are a type of observation, which Creswell (2012) defines as “text (words) recorded by the researcher during an observation” (p. 217). These observations had the intention of recording what was going on during the classes, being mainly descriptive with the aim to later reflect upon the actions evidenced.

Finally, interviews were also implemented to obtain further information about students’ feelings and perceptions towards the class activities, their view on their listening skills’ development, and the construction of meaning. According to Wellington (2015) , the main purpose of the interviews is “to probe a respondent’s views, perspectives or life-history… it is rather more than a conversation with a purpose” (p. 139).

Findings

This study analyzed the contribution of video-mediated listening activities in the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English among eleventh graders at a Colombian private school. In order to collect the data, field notes, pupil diaries, students’ artifacts and interviews were conducted and collected throughout the stages of the research implementation. Students’ perceptions, teachers’ observations, class reflections, feelings, thoughts and behaviors were analyzed through the administration of the aforementioned instruments.

After having completed the pedagogical implementations and research data collection process, the software ATLAS.ti was used as the supporting tool for the analysis of the obtained data. By creating codes based on the information gathered and bearing closely in mind the objectives set at the beginning of the research study, we came up with the categories that answered the research question. Consequently, a hermeneutic unit was created in ATLAS.ti to organize and create a systematic and consistent codifying process.

The approach we used to analyze the data collected was the Grounded Theory. Based on Creswell’s assertions (2012) , “a grounded theory design is a systematic, qualitative procedure used to generate a theory that explains, at a broad conceptual level, a process, an action, or an interaction about a substantive topic” (p. 423). The use of this approach led us towards the identification of a number of contributions that the use of video-mediated activities have in language learning.

Table 1 evidences the analytical model resultant from the analysis of the hermeneutic unit called “multiliteracies.” In this unit, two major categories are displayed as follows: (a) meaning construction, and (b) contribution of video-mediated listening activities to EFL learning. The former category is composed of three sub-categories: initial interaction with sources of meaning; building new interpretations; and disclosing new meaning. The latter category unveils three sub-categories as well: appropriating the context of the media sources; becoming acquainted with video information; and understanding processes and methodologies, as seen in the table below.

Table 1: Research Categories and Sub-Categories

The excerpts displayed below make reference to documents registered in the data collected that help understand the subsequent categories. Such excerpts have different acronyms in each of the quotations included, which indicate the source from which the data were obtained. They stand for FN (field notes), PD (pupil diary), STA (student’s artifacts), TP (transcriptions), and FG (focus group interview). Furthermore, there is also an acronym for each one of the activities created as the pedagogical strategy, such as PV (pre-viewing), SV (silent viewing), IV (Initial viewing), DV (detailed viewing), CV (critical viewing) and IC (into context).

Meaning construction. This first category elicits the process students undertook to construct new understandings from a great variety of sources of information. This process is explained based on three specific features represented as the sub-categories of this first classification.

Initial interaction with sources of meaning. This first sub-category represents the initial contact students had with multiple sources of information, from which learners began to develop and connect preceding interpretations with the new realities presented.

P72: TP4_PV_TI_02_CAS_29_08_2016.rtf-72:3 (11:13) JCVH:

In this picture they show people fighting for freedom or something like that, so they have to fight other prisoner and whoever wins is going to be free again.

P75: PD_TI_05_CAS_LPM_03_10_2016.rtf-75:5 (12:12)

… al ver el video en silencio tuvimos que interpretarlo para poder responder lo que las imágenes presentadas significaban para mí.

In sample 72:3, the participant describes what he can see from a picture presented during one of the pedagogical implementations. Similarly, in sample 75:5, another student expresses the opportunity provided throughout the activity to create their first interpretations based on what they were seeing. Thus, initial interpretations are generated when being exposed to diverse sources of information. In this regard, Fairclough (2000) suggests that “meaning-making is a creative application of resources of meaning (designs of meaning) in negotiating the constantly shifting occasions and needs of communication” (p. 159). Building on this idea, visual resources allow students to have an initial interaction with the meanings immersed in images which illustrates the way students used video resources to attain a broader overview of the issues addressed in previous activities.

According to Paesani et al. (2016) , audiovisual interpretations from videos unveil “the critical role played by the listener-viewer, and the interaction between listener-viewers’ knowledge and the videotext” (p. 205). In this sense, students’ interpretations are shaped through multiple bases that encourage the grasping of diverse perspectives concerning the sort of resource used for such purposes.

Building new interpretations. This second sub-category features the process of designing new understandings. In the classroom, students usually attempted to describe their ideas by using their first language (L1 hereafter). However, when instruction was guided and activities nurtured their interactions, a need for communication arose creating suitable opportunities for second language use (L2). The following samples evidence the aforementioned condition.

P84: TP_CV_TI_05_CAS_03_10_2016.rtf-84:10 (66:66)

I think that they are different because they have a different religion and culture and if we have had… Bueno, si hubieramos tenido… the same culture, maybe we could be like them.

P85: TP_IC_TI_05_CAS_03_10_2016.rtf-85:9 (17:17)

As you know, the news and the newspaper, there are a lot of problems in that country, like ‘falta de comida’.

In samples 84:10 and 85:9, examples of code-switching are evidenced throughout students’ interactions. In all of the activities that produced such encounters, students changed from their L2 to their mother tongue (or L1), thus allowing communication to continue instead of generating an abrupt interruption. In spite of this uncertainty and doubt caused by a lack of knowledge in terms of grammar or vocabulary, students ended up conveying the intended interpretation. Following Lin’s description (2008) , “code-switching refers to the alternating use of more than one linguistic code in the classroom by any of the classroom participants” (p. 273). From this perspective, students may use their mother tongue to express a point of view that they cannot fully describe in their L2. Consequently, code-switching becomes a fundamental strategy for communication.

Besides relying on code-switching and requesting L2 words/expressions throughout class activities, new interpretations were also built by connecting prior knowledge with the information presented through new input.

P65: TP_CV_TI_04_CAS_26_09_2016.rtf-65:26 (46:46)

In a series “Modern Family,” there are two characters that are gay and it’s still normal because the family and the others create like a normal family. They are special. They already have a girl and is very normal. The girl is growing up like a normal kid and without problems.

In sample 65:26, a student makes reference to a TV show he had seen which somehow represents the ideas addressed in the videotext provided. The data shown above exhibit how essential it is to relate one’s prior knowledge with the information given by specific means of representation. Following Campbell and Campbell’s (2009) views, “background knowledge is the raw material. It acts as the conceptual hooks for the lodging of new information and is the basic building block of content and skill knowledge” (p. 9). Taking this into consideration, we believe that previous knowledge may be situated as a fundamental element in the construction of meanings and interpretations in connection with other contexts.

Disclosing new meaning. This third sub-category represents the multiple manners in which learners unveil the understandings previously built throughout the process in a much more expanded and complex manner. Furthermore, learners’ appreciations in this stage are not only more elaborated but also are directed towards new contexts where this new knowledge can be utilized.

Apart from creating new resources of meaning, students shared their opinions and made critical interpretations of the issues tackled in the class sessions. The following are some reflections made by students when holistically using the information gathered during the pedagogical implementations.

P14: PD_TI_01_CAS_LPM_22_08_2016.rtf-14:3 (14:14)

Colombia es conocido por ser el país donde vivió Pablo Escobar, esto nos han traído un estereotipo de ser el país que exporta coca, este video nos mostró como Colombia trata con los traficantes en su aeropuerto.

P64: TP_CV_TI_03_CAS_05_09_2016.rtf-64:10 (22:22)

LDP: I think that in all around the world the womans are the victims and also the boys and we can see a lot of this in our country and in the world like in the wars that happen like in like the group of ISIS and FARC here in Colombia, so it happens a lot. We have a lot of violence.

In sample 14:3, one of the participants expresses through his pupil diary a personal interpretation he gives to an issue that has been nationally recognized. In the same way, sample 64:10 documents a comment made by a student during one of the class activities where he relates his background knowledge of a problematic situation being addressed to similar existing situations in other contexts. Seemingly, these critical interpretations are formed when students bear in mind the concerns, contexts and experiences that represent their own interests. Salient underlying differences are found between giving opinions and providing critical interpretations.

Up to this point, it is worth highlighting how evident it is that new meaning-making resources are created when disclosing new meaning. It is important to bear in mind, though, that meanings can be shaped in different ways. In Cope and Kalantzis’ (2015) view, “meaning is made in ways that are increasingly multimodal-in which written-linguistic modes of meaning interface with oral, visual, audio, gestural, tactile, and spatial patterns of meaning” (p. 3).

Figure 1 demonstrates the previous statements as students were using their L2 to express their ideas in regard to the topic being addressed. Becoming aware of the role played by multimodal designs in effectively communicating meaning involves the identification and recognition of the fact that “all meaning-making is multimodal” (p. 81). Developing pedagogical practices that lead students to view the relevance of using multimodal texts to disclose meaning is essential for the reshaping of available sources. In this respect, Ho (2011) argues that “students’ sensitivities… include a critical awareness of how different modes shape and reshape what is represented, with attention to specific shifts across modes and how these mode differences interact with media variations to affect ways of learning” (p. 5). Learners create new meaning artifacts, which reflect their own construction process grounded in their viewpoints and critical interpretations. The artifact presented above exhibits a sample of students’ visual representations that became tools for fostering reflections and understandings about reality.

Students’ artifacts, different implementations, into-context activity.

Figure 1: Students’ artifacts, different implementations, into-context activity.

Contribution of video-mediated listening to EFL learning. The second category analyzes the way videos influenced the meaning construction process and further development of students’ listening comprehension skills in English.

Appropriating the context of the media sources. This sub-category entails students’ abstractions and identification of salient features from media sources that guided them towards making sense of the issues presented. Students engaged themselves in characterizing contexts, relating settings and cultures with the aspects shown through the videos.

Becoming acquainted with video information. This sub-category refers to the learner’s mastery and dominance of the information provided by the videotexts. Different from simply identifying certain aspects involved in the sources presented, this sub-category encompasses the assimilation of those and further development of such information. Aside from learning new vocabulary, students portrayed the relevance of the materials presented in their EFL learning.

P95: FG_EVA_02_CAS_31_10_2016.rtf-95:30 (102:102)

LPM: … en vez de estar solo escuchando también estamos observando y comprendiendo lo que nos quería decir, no solo lo que nos dice, sino también las expresiones o las imágenes que nos muestran.

The previous data show how students have interacted with videotexts finding them relevant for their English learning and their construction of meaning. In sample 95:30, the learners agreed with the idea that videos do offer a variety of features that boost their listening comprehension and engage them fully with the topics. Regarding these aspects, Paesani et al. (2016) express that video-mediated listening offers a constructive environment, since the viewer-listener can interact with videotexts by assuming critical roles which lead learners towards finding their own relevance to the sources given. From this view, learners’ interaction with videos becomes fundamental when fostering the recognition of significant issues concerning language and their own-interests.

Understanding processes and methodologies. This last sub-category denotes students’ appreciations and understandings of the processes realized throughout the pedagogical implementations. Their thoughts, beliefs, and experiences were especially taken into consideration as part of the analysis. Bearing in mind the previous ideas, Cope and Kalantzis (2009) advocate that learners are meaning-designers. Thus, when students become aware of what seemingly are the underpinnings of the meaning-making process, they are able to describe them and boost their learning of the language.

P 1: FG_EVA_01_CAS_20_09_2016.rtf-1:9 (21:21)

MSP: Para mi antes era más rutinario todo, siempre era como abran el libro y hacer tal página o cosas así, con este tipo de actividades es muy bueno el hecho estar intercalando lo didáctico y el momento en el que se involucra el libro, ya no hay que dejarlo a un lado. Pues me parece una buena combinación entre las dos cosas porque en las dos se manejan temas que son parecidos, así que me parece que una complementa la otra.

P90: PD_TI_06_CAS_LPM_24_10_2016.rtf-90:9 (14:14)

Para mí las actividades fueron muy buenas, ya que aprendíamos pero de una forma más didáctica que con un libro o viendo el video sin realizar nada más, el video fue interesante y las actividades fueron entretenidas.

In sample 1:9, a student compares past methodologies with the new ones by claiming that the mixture of didactic activities and book activities are a good combination. The learner also refers to the topic connection in both the book and the videos. Accordingly, in sample 90:9, the student mentions that activities contributed to making videos more interesting for them due to the didactic focus which generated a clear difference from the previous methodologies used in class. In this line of thought, the advantage of using multiliteracies is that students get acquainted with the manners in which learning is approached. Seemingly, these guided students to finding videotexts’ information more appropriate for EFL learning.

In support of this analysis, Kress (2000b) argues that multimodality brings a much more complete experience for language learners. What is more, students count on this multiplicity of elements to unveil contexts explicitly or implicitly in videos. Therefore, the meaning construction process lead them to become critical about different relationships in their realities (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000a; Lankshear & Knobel, 2006; Paesani et al., 2016). Thus, students are able to construct meaning when they are presented with multimodal sources of information that allow them to experience different perspectives on the videotext through creative activities.

Conclusions

Bearing in mind the research question how do video-mediated listening activities contribute to the construction of meaning under a multiliteracies approach in English?, we discovered that video-mediated listening activities involved students in having interactions with multiple sources of meaning by developing visual and audiovisual interpretations (Kress, 2000b) that led learners to make predictions and references to past experiences in connection with the exposed situations. Thus, the interaction of supplementary sources of meaning was fundamental for the development of initial understandings in the learner’s mind (Twiner et al., 2013).

Secondly, we evidenced that video-mediated listening activities contributed to the construction of meaning by involving students in an ongoing development of new interpretations. This was demonstrated when students not only associated their prior knowledge (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009) but also established hypothetical situations with the information provided by the sources of meaning (Kalantzis & Cope, 2008). Additionally, students also gave reasons that engage them in critically analyzing the new constructed meanings (Cazden, 2006).

Thirdly, it is worth mentioning that video-mediated listening activities provided students with opportunities to disclose new meanings creatively (Paesani et al., 2016). Students did this by taking advantage of the multifaceted characteristics of language (The New London Group, 1996); assuming new roles creatively, sharing their experiences with others (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009) and constructing critical interpretations of their own realities (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006) through the creation of new resources of meaning (Kress, 2000a).

Finally, we conclude that video-mediated listening activities grant students’ possibilities to appropriate the contexts presented through the media sources and become aware of their meaning construction process through the creation of new elements that elicit their reflections (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000a; Kalantzis & Cope, 2008). This is achieved by characterizing their own environments and making comparisons with other contexts (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006).

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