Effects of Multimodal Texts on Grade 7 Learners’ Intensive Reading of Literature Texts in English First Additional Language Classroom

This study investigated the effects of multimodal texts on Grade 7 English First Additional Language (EFAL) learners’ reading proficiency. A qualitative research approach was used, and ten Grade 7 EFAL learners and four EFAL teachers were sampled to participate in this study. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews to determine the effects of using multimodal texts on learners’ reading proficiency during intensive reading lessons, and the data was inductively analysed. The findings revealed that learners become bored when they only read traditional texts, but they find the use of multimodal texts interesting. This study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should organise workshops on strategies to improve reading comprehension in EFAL by using multimodal texts, and teachers should implement different teaching modes in classrooms to deal with different learners who have different learning needs. Future research should focus on the comparison of the effectiveness of different types of multimodal texts (e.g., videos, graphic novels, digital storybooks) across various age groups and proficiency levels.