A Comparative Analysis On Multimodal Discourse Between New Senior English For China And Senior High English

With the development of modern society,human beings have entered the era of new media.Multimodal discourse analysis based on digital technology,information technology and multimedia technology emerges as the times require.As an educational discourse,textbooks play a significant role in teachers’teaching and students’learning.In senior high school English teaching,NSEC and SHE are used in China widely.Through the contrastive multimodal discourse analysis of them,we can find their own characteristics,and provide some suggestions for teachers,students and textbook compilers in the future.The thesis is based on three research questions:(1)What are the differences and similarities between texts and visual images of the two types of English textbooks in the construction of meaning?(2)What are the relationships between texts and visual images of two types of English textbooks when they construct meaning?(3)In the two types of English textbooks,what impact do the multimodal features of texts and visual images have on students and teachers?The thesis selects the five compulsory books of NSEC and SHE as the main analysis materials to make a multimodal discourse analysis which are based on Hallidy’s Systemic Functional Grammar(1978),combined with the Visual Grammar of Kress&van Leeuwen(1996)and Martine and Salway’s Image-text Relations theory(2005).Multimodal discourse analysis and interview,quantitative and qualitative research are combined to analyze the multimodal resources in textbooks.The results illustrate that,firstly,the differences in constructing meta-functional meanings between NSEC and SHE are as follows.In terms of typography,NSEC is simple,clear,focused and SHE is relatively complex,vivid and attractive.As for visual images,the number of visual images used in NSEC is less,and more tables and maps are used;SHE has relatively rich types of visual images,and more icons and collages are used.In narrative representation,images of reactional process take up a larger proportion in NSEC,and action process in SHE.The similarities are shown as follows.NSEC and SHE both have rich and harmonious color.For representational meaning,narrative representation accounts for more than conceptual representation.In constructing interactive meaning,the "offer" is more than the "demand".Both"horizontal angle" and "vertical angle" are reflected in the two types of textbooks,and"frontal angle" and "equal angle" are the most commonly used.When realizing composition meaning,the prominent image features are center-margin structure and clear framing.Secondly,at the level of image-text relationship,two types of textbooks show the characteristics that image is subordinated to text,and the use of elaboration and exemplification is mainly to make the expression of the text more specific,direct and approachable through visual images.Thirdly,students and teachers can accept the multimodal features of text and visual images in the two types of textbooks.Students think that the various colors,fonts and photos are vivid and interesting,which can capture their attention and stimulate interest in learning.Teachers think that it’s helpful to use multimodal symbols to design some teaching activities and make good teaching effect to a certain extent.But some students and teachers don’t have enough knowledge about the multimodal characteristics of textbooks,and teachers’ guidance to students is not deep enough.The results of this study will provide some implications.As for teachers,attention should be paid to the establishment of multimodal consciousness and they can try to use new teaching methods to present various symbolic resources to help students better study English.For students,they should actively understand the multimodal characteristics of textbooks,consciously cultivate their critical thinking ability in order to better meet the needs of society.As for the textbook compilers,they should timely update and revise textbooks and the new generation of multimodal English textbooks should make full use of various modal resources properly.