A study on the direction of basic literacy education in the subject of English based on multimodal literacy

Objectives This study aims to explore the direction of literacy education in the English subject from the perspective of multimodal literacy, as presented in the 2022 revised national curriculum, based on the analysis of existing research on basic literacy. Methods A review of the 2022 revised national curriculum and prior studies on literacy and multimodal literacy was conducted. Based on this review, a literacy analysis tool for the English subject was developed. Research materials on literacy in English education from 2005 to 2024 were collected using the academic information search service (RISS), and trends in literacy research were analyzed using the developed tool. Results Analysis of data from 2005-2024 shows that while research on digital literacy and multimodal literacy has increased significantly in the past four years, overall research on English subject literacy has been minimal. There were few studies that included multimodality in content or systematic literacy education procedures in form, and specific instructional models or evaluation tools for literacy education applicable for the actual English classroom were also scarce. Conclusions Current literacy research on teaching methods or activities in English education that can be applied in the field is lacking. Therefore, with the introduction of the 2022 revised national English curriculum, research is needed on the development of instructional models and evaluation instruments that reflect the field's needs to systematically enhance multimodal literacy.