Multimodal Pedagogy and L2 Vocabulary Retention

One of the major problems learners face in vocabulary learning either in EFL or ESL settings is the issue of vocabulary retention in which vocabulary items are mostly forgotten in the first hours or days since learning or memorizing occurs. Although many studies offer the effects of different modes of meaning making such as print mode or visual mode on vocabulary retention, there is a paucity of research on the relative effectiveness of the combination of different modes in comparison with the application of one specific mode. In the present study, the application of multiple modes of meaning-making i.e. a combination of linguistic, visual, audio, spatial, and gestural communicative modes in the new century in learning skills and sub-skills has been referred to as Multimodal Pedagogy. In order to fill in the gap by investigating the effect of multimodal pedagogy on L2 vocabulary retention, an experimental study was done on 60 Iranian EFL female pre-intermediate learners in an English Language Institute in Gonbad-e-Kavous, a northern city in Iran. The treatment sessions lasted for ten ones during which the experimental group received vocabulary presentation using Multimodal Pedagogy. The control group followed the conventional pedagogy based on which they just received the library dictionary definition of vocabularies using print-based educational materials. The findings suggested that students who were exposed with a variety of modes of meaning making displayed better long-term vocabulary retention. This may be due to the fact that learners learn vocabulary items more efficiently as the experimental group pedagogy makes connections between their in-class and out-of-class language practices. This study is also of pedagogical implications for curriculum designers and English language teachers to redefine and reconsider their notions of vocabulary learning and teaching based on new pedagogies.