An Exploration into Young Twins’ Journey Toward Multi-Literacy Development via Digital Multimodal Composing

Digital multimodal compositing (DMC) has recently garnered considerable interest in second language education. There is an increasing demand for L۲ teachers to invest in DMC. This instructional activity engages students through digital tools for integrating texts with other semiotic modalities, including images, sounds, and motion. The proposed approach in this study included choosing a topic, planning a narrative, collecting authentic resources, employing digital platforms, incorporating dialogue-based multimodal elements, peer reviewing and revising for quality, exporting the final product, and reflecting on the creative process. While DMC is predominantly designed to entertain players, it may significantly impact multi-literacy development. This qualitative study employs narrative inquiry, which entails collecting data from the experiences of young twins who have spent a substantial amount of time creating DMCs. The data was compiled from various sources, including individual interviews, diaries, and observation. In this study, the twins describe how creating digital multimodal composition led to their subconsciously developing multi-literacy and acquiring English. A narrative analysis reveals how creating DMCs contributes to multi-literacy development, language acquisition, and cultural knowledge of digital native twins. The implications of incorporating DMC into language learning and multiple literacy skills were considered.