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Article In: ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics: Online-First Articles

The limitations of active embodiment in preschool classrooms

Evaluating the effectiveness of multimodality in a classroom-based narrative intervention

ORCiD logo with link | Universitat Pompeu Fabra
 | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
 | Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats | Universitat Pompeu Fabra
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Abstract
This study assesses the MultiModal Narrative (MMN) intervention aimed at enhancing children’s oral narrative skills, focusing on its multimodal component, which includes story enactment by teachers and children, and an audiovisual multimodal narration by a storyteller. A cluster randomized trial was conducted (nine classrooms, 115 children), comparing a control group, a multimodal narrative-based group (complete MMN), and a narrative-based group (MMN without controlling for multimodality). The children’s oral narrative macrostructure, microstructure, and perspective-taking skills were measured pre- and post-intervention. Results revealed that only the narrative-based group improved in narrative macrostructure and microstructure skills. No significant effects were found for the multimodal narrative-based group. Further analyses indicated that the children’s active embodiment involved in the multimodal component introduced changes in classroom dynamics, thereby constraining children’s narrative learning opportunities. The study suggests that multimodality should be integrated in a way that complements, and does not affect, the narrative intervention activities.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Narrative development and the need for narrative interventions
    • Narrative intervention outcomes: Narrative macrostructure, microstructure and perspective-taking
    • Educational strategies in narrative interventions
    • Multimodality in language development and learning: An embodied cognition perspective
    • Multimodality as an educational strategy in narrative intervention
    • The present study
  • Method
    • Design
    • Participants
    • Pre- and post-intervention assessment
      • Materials
      • Procedure
      • Coding
      • Inter-rater reliability
    • Intervention phase
      • The MultiModal Narrative (MMN) intervention
        • Intervention protocol
        • Differences between the two experimental groups
        • Intervention fidelity
      • Control group: Treatment as usual
    • Statistical analyses
  • Results
    • Descriptives
    • Narrative macrostructure
    • Narrative microstructure
      • Total Number of Words (TNW)
      • Number of Different Words (NDW)
    • Narrative perspective-taking
    • Exploratory assessment of potential differences between the experimental groups
    • Narrative skills of children with language and communication needs
  • Discussion
    • Effects of the intervention on narrative macrostructure and microstructure
    • Effects of the intervention on narrative perspective-taking
    • The role of the multimodal component
    • Limitations and future directions
    • Implications for practice and conclusions
  • Note
  • Appendices
    • Appendix I.Consort flow diagram
    • Appendix II.Narrative macrostructure coding scheme (adapted from Demir et al., 2014)
    • Appendix III.Narrative perspective-taking coding scheme (adapted from Dodd et al., 2011)
    • Appendix IV.Example of narrative macrostructure and perspective-taking coding: Target elements and a sample child story
    • Appendix V.Storyteller scripts for the three stories used during the MMN intervention
  • References
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