WHAT CAN YOU SEE: A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK

Abstract

This study investigates how knowledge is constructed in an English textbook through a multimodal perspective grounded in Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) theory of visual communication and informed by systemic functional views of meaning-making (Halliday, 1994). Framed by the inquiry “What Can You See?”, the research explores how visual and verbal elements interact to shape the organization, sequencing, and presentation of knowledge in primary-level English language learning materials. Rather than treating images as supplementary decorations, textbooks are approached as multimodal meaning-making environments in which images, layout, typography, and written language collaboratively structure how learners encounter, categorize, and interpret new concepts (Jewitt, 2009). Adopting a qualitative descriptive approach, the study analyzes selected units from a widely used primary English textbook to identify recurring patterns in visual representation and their relationship to knowledge types. The analysis reveals that knowledge is predominantly constructed through concrete visual categorization and structured textual reinforcement. Illustrations emphasize clear participant boundaries, frontal orientations, simplified backgrounds, and stable visual configurations that support recognition and conceptual grouping. Textual components function to guide labeling, identification, and short definitional statements, reinforcing foundational linguistic concepts through repetition and structured sequencing. Drawing on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001), the findings indicate that the textbook primarily facilitates factual and conceptual knowledge, with cognitive processes centered on remembering and understanding. Tasks and visual prompts are designed to encourage recognition, naming, matching, and basic comprehension, while higher-order processes such as analysis, evaluation, or creation appear minimally within the examined units (Kan et al., 2023). The interaction between visual and verbal modes suggests that images function as central organizing frameworks that anchor linguistic knowledge in observable, classifiable, and concrete forms. In this configuration, knowledge is not merely transmitted but visually structured to shape how learners cognitively engage with language content. By examining knowledge construction through multimodal interaction, this study contributes to broader discussions on how instructional materials structure learning experiences in English language education. The findings highlight the importance of deliberate visual-textual integration in curriculum design and material development, emphasizing that multimodal configurations actively influence the types of knowledge foregrounded and the cognitive engagement promoted in classroom contexts.