Integrating Multimodality into Teaching Speaking: Iranian Novice and Experienced English Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices

There exists little systematic qualitative and exploratory research addressing the use of multimodality in Iranian EFL context, especially in the teaching of speaking skills. This study aimed to investigate the perception and experiences of Iranian high school English teachers with regard to multimodal teaching. To this end, the researchers collected data from 15 novice and 15 experienced English teachers through focus group interviews, face to face interviews, reflective journals, and classroom observations. The data were analyzed through content analysis, using MAXQDA software. Both novice and experiences English teachers believed that using multimodal teaching can increase students’ engagement, academic achievement, and motivation. They believed that multimodal teaching can create an engaging, interactive, and supportive atmosphere in which students thrive. Through using intercreative whiteboards, language learning apps, virtual reality, and audio-visual materials, teachers can implement task-based teaching, communicative language method, learner-centered approach, and differentiated instruction where students can experience real world tasks in simulated setting. Teachers can implement formative assessment, performance-based assessment, and rubrics and criteria for giving immediate feedback to the students during the course and for scoring their performances objectively. However, teachers might face difficulty in choosing the right multimodal tool and selecting the appropriate teaching method. Even worse, they experienced difficulties such as unequal access to technology for all students, any technological failure such as problems with internet connectivity or software glitches, and the wide range of digital literacy levels among students and teachers. Thus, ongoing professional development is essential for educators to remain knowledgeable about the most recent technology and methodologies.