Exploring Multimodal Meaning-making in Multilingual Science Classrooms: the Case of Lebanon

Abstract Book of the 9th World Conference on Research in Teaching and Education

Year: 2025

[PDF]

Exploring Multimodal Meaning-making in Multilingual Science Classrooms: the Case of Lebanon

Salwa Ali

ABSTRACT:

Science education has long emphasized using multiple modes of representation—including verbal explanations, mathematical formulas, visual diagrams, and hands-on experimentation—to communicate complex concepts. However, most research on multimodal teaching focuses on monolingual contexts. This study investigates how multimodal teaching strategies support meaning-making in multilingual secondary chemistry classrooms, where science is taught in a second language different from students’ home language. In such contexts, students’ limited proficiency in the language of instruction poses additional challenges to understanding scientific discourse, increasing their reliance on non-verbal and semiotic resources. Drawing on Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism and utterances, alongside Lemke’s multimodal meaning-making framework, this qualitative study explores how diverse modes are orchestrated in three Grade 11 chemistry classrooms. Data collection, currently underway, includes classroom observations and video recordings of six consecutive chemistry sessions, complemented by teacher and student interviews. Multimodal interaction analysis will be employed to identify verbal, visual, gestural, and symbolic utterances, examining their dialogic functions and interplay with language for meaning-making. This research contributes to understanding how teachers can effectively leverage multimodal resources to support science learning in linguistically diverse classrooms, with implications for pedagogy in multilingual educational contexts.

Keywords: Multimodal Teaching; Multilingual Classrooms; Chemistry Education; Meaning-Making; Dialogism