The Impact of Using the Multimodal Approach in English for Academic Purpose Courses: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of a multimodal approach to teaching EAP courses, with a focus on a private university in Bangladesh, and whether this approach would improve learners’ attitudes toward learning English. An effective experiment was designed and presented to two groups of undergraduate learners at the Green University of Bangladesh to measure the impact of multimodal approach in teaching learning of English. To begin, one group of learners was taught English using a traditional approach, whereas the other group was taught English using a multimodal approach in their English for Academic Purpose courses. Approximately 90 learners from both groups and a few instructors of the course ‘English for Academic Purpose’ in each group took part in this experimental study. The results of this experiment revealed that learners in the English for Academic Purpose course prefer to use a variety of modes or semiotic resources simultaneously to better grasp a subject. This comprises a multimodal approach, which incorporates various modalities and aids in the learners’ acquisition of multiple language abilities simultaneously. Based on the participants’ suggestion, this study concludes that the multimodal approach is preferable to the conventional technique.