EFFECT OF MULTIMODAL LITERACY ON READING ABILITY OF INDONESIAN JAVANESE LEARNERS

Abstract

Over the past few years, the use of multimodal literacy in education has emerged as an effective educational tool in language instruction worldwide. As a result, language instruction methods have been replaced by conventional instruction with multimodal literacy, which has the potential to enhance learners’ engagement and comprehension of reading, particularly Javanese script. This quasi-experimental study aims to determine the effect of using multimodal literacy on reading ability of Javanese script learners and to find out Javanese learners’ attitudes of using multimodal literacy on their reading ability. The sample included 72 language learners at a senior high school in central Java, Indonesia. The pretest and posttest mean scores in Javanese script reading ability between the control group and the experimental group were analysed. The results indicate that the use of multimodal literacy as an approach effectively enhances the ability and fluency of Javanese script reading in underperforming learners. Additionally, learners reported positive attitudes towards multimodal literacy. This study suggests that multimodal literacy may be integrated into the Javanese language curriculum as it is more relevant to students’ learning preferences, and it is more responsive to diverse learning modes.