Creating multimodal texts in language education – an emerging practice at the boundary

Abstract

In this paper the emerging practice of making multimodal texts within language education is explored, in order to illuminate a boundary in which students negotiate what to include in a digital story produced in an educational setting. The making of multimodal texts originates in contexts outside of education and, accordingly, influences from these practices are incorporated into the activity system of making texts in language education. Through excerpts from interactions between students and their teacher, what is considered to belong, or not belong, in a school context, is illuminated as the negotiations between actors establish what are considered appropriate and meaningful actions. The digital stories created by the students within the activity system of schooling become a hybrid as influences from intersecting activity systems are incorporated into the multimodal texts they create.