MULTIMODALITY AND ITS IMPACT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AT UNIVERSITY

The article notes the relevance of using multimodal materials for teaching a foreign language at a university, due to modern trends in the development of communication. The purpose of the paper is to study the concept of multimodality, its constituent modes, review multimodal texts, and analyse how multimodality affects teaching a foreign language at a university. The research methods used in this paper include theoretical analysis, the method of associative experiment, generalisation of pedagogical experience and synthesis of pedagogical actions. The concept of multimodality is considered and different approaches to it are compared, the concept of mode as a means of communication is presented and its types are described (linguistic, visual, auditory, gestural, spatial and tactile). Then the importance of students’ awareness of combining different modes in transmitting information and the importance of focusing their attention on the use of constituent elements of different modes (for example, colour as an element of the visual mode) are indicated. As a result of the associative experiment, coincidences and differences in the cognitive features of basic colours among Russian and Chinese students are identified. An example of a multimodal text (a case study) developing students’ language and communication skills is described. The data from a students’ survey are provided, confirming the effectiveness of using such materials in foreign language classes. This paper attempts to analyse how multimodality affects foreign language teaching at a university. Taking into account her teaching experience, the author compares the advantages and disadvantages of using multimodal materials. Based on the theoretical provisions and practical application results presented in the paper, it is concluded that multimodality has a significant impact on the learning process in teaching a foreign language, since it allows students to work with educational materials in different ways, helping to speed up the acquisition of a foreign language. Pedagogical actions are proposed to include multimodality in the process of teaching a foreign language at a university.