Multimodal materials (e.g., written text supplemented by images and/or audio) are commonplace in language classrooms. While they have been consistently shown to be beneficial for vocabulary acquisition, the efficacy of multimodal input in scaffolding text comprehension is less clear. Conflicting findings have also been reported regarding the relationship between comprehension and attention to pictures as measured by eye tracking (e.g., Pellicer-Sánchez et al., 2020; Pellicer-Sánchez et al., 2021). This pre-registered study provides further empirical evidence to this research base by testing a new population, adult beginners, and including a reading-only, no-image condition as the baseline. In a counterbalanced within-subject design, 65 learners of Spanish were exposed to different parts of a story on an eye tracker under three experimental conditions: Read Only (RO), Read + Image (RI), and Read + Image + Audio (RIA). Results revealed that comprehension was higher in the RIA and RI than in the RO condition, indicative of the usefulness of the audio and/or the image. The number of looks at the images was higher in the RIA condition, confirming that the audio allowed readers to attend to the pictorial information provided. However, attention to the image positively predicted comprehension scores only for the RIA condition. Lastly, this study discusses the pedagogical implications of the use of various multimodal materials in L2 classrooms to optimize comprehension and retention in reading tasks. As multimodal resources proliferate, this research underscores the urgent need for more empirical studies that inform theoretical frameworks and classroom practices to support effective L2 learning.

She received her MA in Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at Ohio University and MA in English Language and Literature at Chernivtsi National University. Her primary research interests lie in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and their intersection. Specifically, she is interested in how language learners process multimodal input while developing their vocabulary and reading fluency.

This presentation discusses the evolving complexities of online identity construction, specifically examining the experiences of multilingual and transnational populations. Drawing upon findings from long-term ethnographic research on social network sites, I provide an overview of how members of a Mexican-origin transnational bilingual network in the US navigate cultural norms, linguistic ideologies, and multiliteracies to shape their online presence and identities. The presentation will showcase methodologies employed to analyze identity construction, including the application of chronotopic and raciolinguistic frameworks to understand language choices and their sociocultural significance. As online discourse plays a crucial role in constructing social spaces for belonging, cultural performance, and identity maintenance, I will conclude with a discussion of the broader implications for individuals and society, highlighting avenues for future research in this dynamic and evolving field.

Her work is at the interface of sociolinguistics and second language writing in digital environments. She is interested in the relationship between linguistic differentiation, language ideologies, and identity construction in writing in the broad sense of all these terms. She has carried out research on digitally mediated environments (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Skype, texting) among transnational networks, ELL, and bilingual populations focusing on the relationship between technology, agency, language ideologies, identity formation, and literacies. 

Ha impartido una extensa variedad de clases y realizado estancias de investigación en la Universidad de Virginia, Boston College y Middlebury College. En la actualidad, sus líneas de especialización se centran en la enseñanza de la lengua extranjera y la formación de futuros docentes y en el desarrollo de las multiliteracidades a través de la multimodalidad. Ha publicado varios artículos en literatura multicultural y postcolonial, y también en  la didáctica y el uso de la literatura en la clase de lengua extranjera. Es el coautor de los libros Didáctica del español como 2/L en el siglo XXI (2021), Thinking through Children’s Literature in the Classroom (2014) y Textos e Interpretación: Introducción al análisis literario (2013). Dirige el grupo de investigación Lit(T)erart.

Ha sido becaria de investigación en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queen Mary University of London y la Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal). Autora del premiado ensayo Les altres catalanes. Memòria, identitat i autobiografía en la literatura d’immigració (2018), también ha publicado artículos sobre la literatura poscolonial, la construcción de identidad y los enfoques multimodales en la enseñanza de L2. Ex-profesora de secundaria y ex-directora del CEFIRE (Centro de Formación, Innovación y Recursos para el Profesorado), también ha sido Directora General de Innovación Educativa y Ordenación Académica de la Generalitat Valenciana.