“Je Suis Youtubeur”: Multilingual Multimodal Composing Abroad

ABSTRACT

This study examined how seven American undergraduate students leveraged multiple modes to reflect on language, culture, and identity while learning French in a study abroad program. Grounded in the social semiotic framework of multimodality, this qualitative study applied open, axial, and selective coding to analyze students’ interviews and digital multimodal compositions (e.g., blogs, vlogs, video reflections, and final projects) from two study abroad courses. Findings revealed how multimodal composing supported students in learning French through metalinguistic practices of rehearsal and repair. Students further problematized cultural stereotypes through multimodal compositions. Additionally, students developed identities as legitimate multilingual multimodal composers by using French and other semiotic modes to create personalized design aesthetics. These findings illustrate the important ways that semiotic modes can interact to develop language, cultural awareness, and identity during study abroad. The study holds implications for teaching and analyzing the inseparability of language and other modes of expression.

KEYWORDS:

• Language learning
• metalinguistic awareness
• multimodal composition
• study abroad
• vlogging

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the incredible students who participated in this study. My deepest thanks go to Blaine Smith for her feedback on earlier versions of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Natalie Amgott

Natalie Amgott is the Associate Director of Online Language Learning at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Her research centers on curriculum design, program evaluation, and digital multimodal composing in second language learning contexts.