Social Relevance of EFL Digital Resources: Cultural, Linguistic, Pedagogical, and Semiotic Perspectives
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Date
Publisher
Universidad ORT Uruguay
DOI
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En
Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa; Vol. 16 No. especial (2025)
1688-9304
1510-2432
10.18861/cied.2025.16.especial
1688-9304
1510-2432
10.18861/cied.2025.16.especial
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Thesis degree name
Notes
This study examines the communicative affordances and limitations for culturally sensitive and linguistically relevant practices to the context and its population, inherent in the semiotic resources and communicative modes of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching digital platform used in an undergraduate program on Bilingualism and Bilingual Education at a private university in Colombia. Data were collected directly from the platform and analyzed through a multimodal lens, drawing on the frameworks proposed by Callow (2013) and Van Leeuwen (2005), from which a priori codes were identified and employed. Categorical themes of broader heuristic significance emerged from such coding processes, particularly concerning the intermodal relations present in the design and layout of the platform and their implications for student participation, collaboration, production, motivation, and inclusion. The findings revealed that analyzing instructional materials through a multimodal lens helps identify key areas for improvement, enhancing learner engagement and interaction in language learning. The integration of both verbal and visual elements in materials can enhance clarity, making content more accessible and reinforcing learning objectives when appropriately balanced. However, the LicBi platform reinforces cultural stereotypes and fails to promote intercultural awareness, limiting learners' ability to critically engage with diverse perspectives and develop essential skills like cultural sensitivity and global competence. The platform’s design prioritizes aesthetic symmetry over pedagogical interaction, creating a visual distance that reduces opportunities for meaningful communication and participation. Semiotic resources are underutilized, with visuals often serving decorative rather than instructional purposes, resulting in a lack of authentic, functional, and reflective language learning experiences.
Subject
higher education, English as a Foreign Language, virtual learning, social semiotics, cultural sensitivity
Type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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10.18861/cied.2025.16.especial.4066