Technology-assisted teachers’ multimodal repertoires in supporting low-proficiency EFL learners

The present study investigates the role of teachers’ multimodal repertoires in facilitating low-proficiency English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ classroom interaction. A qualitative analysis of video-recorded EFL lessons was conducted with a classroom discourse approach to investigate the mediation of meaning and participation through coordinated verbal, embodied, material, spatial and temporal resources. Results show that support for low-proficiency learners is not confined to verbal explanation but extends to multimodal scaffolding through gesture, gaze, body orientation, visual artifacts and interactional timing. These resources reduce cognitive load, avoid interactional breakdowns and maintain participation in face of limited linguistic resources. Multimodal resources are not used as isolated cues but are strategically orchestrated and carefully timed in response to learners displayed difficulties, demonstrating teachers’ interactional sensitivity. This paper reconceptualizes scaffolding as a fundamentally multimodal and interactional process, extending sociocultural perspectives on mediation and learning. The study foregrounds embodied and material actions as central to teachers’ interactional competence. Pedagogically, the findings indicate how teachers can design interactional environments to support participation, reduce affective risk and increase communicative opportunities for early-stage language learners.