AGUSAN DEL SUR STATE COLLEGE OF

AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

MULTI-MODAL
COMMUNICATION
Teacher Cherry's Class
NEW WAYS OF READING,
NEW WAYS OF WRITING
‘literacy teaching and learning needs to change
because the world is changing’
Cope and Kalantzis. 2000: 41
 MULTIMODALITY
Multimodality involves the complex
interweaving of word, image, gesture
and movement, and sound, including
speech. These can be combined in
different ways and presented
through a range of media.

Bearne, E. And Wolstencroft, H. 2007

MULTIMODALITY
Mode – signs: sound, graphic material, print
Media – the manner of dissemination

A traffic sign as the medium

of communication and the red
border and the image inside
it as the mode.

Kress, G.1997

MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION
•The computer: internet information
and software presentations
•
•Paper-based texts: picture books,
magazines, novels, information books

•Sound and visual media: radio,

television, videos, CDs, and DVDs

MODES OF COMMUNICATION
 FIVE MODES
LINGUISTIC/ALPHABETIC ― written and spoken
words
VISUAL ― images (moving or still)
AURAL ― sound, music
GESTURAL ― movement, expression, body language
SPATIAL ― position, physical arrangement, proximity

F
I
V
E

M
O
D
E
S
 LINGUISTIC/ALPHABETIC MODE
INCLUDES WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORDS, WORD CHOICE, VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR,
STRUCTURE, AND ORGANIZATION OF SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS

Writers use words to communicate.

This mode is the most widely used, is
a form that most people are familiar
with, and can be delivered through
print and audio.
 VISUAL MODE
INCLUDES IMAGES, VIDEO, COLOR, VISUAL LAYOUT, DESIGN, FONT, SIZE,
FORMATTING, SYMBOLS, VISUAL DATA (CHARTS, GRAPHS), ANIMATION (LIKE GIFS)

The visual mode helps writers

communicate meaning in a way that
can be seen by the audience.
 AURAL MODE

INCLUDES SPOKEN WORDS, SOUND, MUSIC, VOLUME, RHYTHM, SPEED OF DELIVERY,

PITCH, TONE, VOICE

Sound catches people’s attention,

and writers use the aural mode to
bring their words to life.
 GESTURAL MODE

INCLUDES MOVEMENT, SPEED, EXPRESSION, BODY LANGUAGE, FACIAL EXPRESSION,

PHYSICAL PROXIMITY, INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE

The gestural mode of

communication allows writers to
communicate meaning through
movement.
 SPATIAL MODE

INCLUDES PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT―SPACING, POSITION, ORGANIZATION,

PROXIMITY, DIRECTION, AND DISTANCE OF ELEMENTS IN A TEXT

Writers use the spatial mode of

communication in the physical layout
and organization of a text.
WATCH THESE ADVERTS...
Links to the adverts
Diadora Advert (1983)
http://www.youtube.com/wat
Adidas Advert: Right Here
ch?v=fNi7S_fBMRY
Right Now (1999)

Adidas Advert: Little Red
Riding Hood Chase (2008/9)
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?
v=2ym6HYOTie0&p=E1809B5A
E04FDC75&playnext=1&index=
10

v=ZQ_pP6qv1hc&p=E155646F3
E1781FA&playnext=1&index=16

REFELECTION
•How are the modes of communication used in each of
the adverts?
•How have they changed over time?
TYPES OF MULTIM​​ODAL
TEXTS
PAPER-​​BASED
MULTIMODAL TEXTS
picture books, text books, graphic novels, comics,
and posters.
LIVE ​MULTIMODAL TEXTS
Dance, performance, and oral storytelling.

Convey meaning through combinations of various

modes such as gestural, spatial, audio, and oral
language.
DIGITAL MULTIMODAL TEXTS
The film, animation, slide shows, e-posters, digital
stories, podcasts, and web pages

May include hyperlinks to external pronunciation

guides or translations.
 MODES AND MEAN​
ING MAKING: THREE
SUB-STRANDS

Expressing and developing

ideas

Interactin​​g and relating with ​

others

Text structure and ​

organisation