| Textbook Graffiti as a Critical, Multimodal Classroom Activity for Korean Elementary EFL Students |
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Stewart Gray, Roxy Lee |
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| Abstract |
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This article explores the potential of a multimodal classroom activity in which students graffiti their textbooks for encouraging elementary-age Korean EFL students to express themselves, to engage critically with and transform their English class materials. The authors conducted an action research project in three sixth-grade EFL classes and four third-grade EFL classes in a Korean elementary school. Participating students were instructed to choose a page in their English textbooks and graffiti it however they wished. The students were then surveyed, and their textbook graffiti was analyzed. Results demonstrate that Korean elementary students can use English in combination with other expressive modes to create graffiti that engages with and transforms their textbook contents. This engagement/transformation took four forms: basic, parodic, personal and social. Common focal themes in students’ graffiti included study stress, appearance, romance, authority, conflict, and others. Also, many students
found the graffiti activity enjoyable and approved of its use in English class. Thus, this paper supports use of graffiti by teachers to determine what issues are relevant to their own students, to relieve students’ stress, to encourage students to express themselves meaningfully using English, and to provide students an opportunity to contribute their
own meanings to the classroom discourse. |
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