DIGITAL DISCOURSES AND MULTIMODAL EXPRESSIONS: NEW FRONTIERS IN LINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENT

This study examines the relationship between digital discourse and multimodal meaning-making, both of which are pivotal for twenty-first-century language learning. It argues that the digital domain recasts meaning-making and opportunities for meaning-making across text types via composites of graphics, sound and materiality as complex semiotic ensembles. Developments are framed via multimodal discourse analysis, social semiotics, cognitive load theory and multiliteracies pedagogy. In the history of discourse in print and the digital domain, a new reality emerges, marked by features of hypertextuality, instability, convergence, algorithmically mediated interaction, and transience, which suggest a definitive shift in what it means to communicate intentionally. From emojis, GIFs, memes, to podcasts, video interactions, and virtual realities, the shifting features of multimodal meaning-making expand the flexibility of language skills beyond alphabetic intersections. Digital discourse and modalities impact literacy development, as well as pragmatic awareness and multilingual expression, thereby enabling learners to develop an extensive repertoire of language abilities. This study assesses the significance of these findings for pedagogical applications, encompassing the prevalence of multimodal meaning-making in the classroom and the subsequent evaluation of such works, as well as ethical considerations related to digital citizenship, nuance, misinformation, and bias. It concludes with a future-oriented perspective shaped by artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual realities, and multimodal learning analytics, yet existing in a perpetual state of limbo regarding equity and access.