Abstract
English learning apps are popular in informal Chinese early childhood education. While previous studies of educational apps for preschoolers have highlighted concerns about their developmental appropriateness (Callaghan & Reich, 2018), critical studies of English learning apps for non-English background preschoolers are yet to emerge. This study examines to what extent the design of these apps and the discourses around them reflect research evidence on how young children learn English. Adopting a critical multimodal approach to studying semiotic software (Djonov & Van Leeuwen, 2018) and legitimation in discourse (Van Leeuwen, 2017), we analyse how the apps present and legitimise the English learning content they offer for preschoolers, and how other stakeholders in early childhood English education (i.e., parents and teachers) review the apps. Specifically, we selected the iHuman ABC and Khan Academy Kids as cases. Our data comprise the apps’ interface design, legitimation statements about the apps found in material promoting the apps, user reviews and semi-structured interviews with 10 English teachers in Chinese private preschools. This study contributes to critical multimodal studies of English learning apps by examining both their design and discourses about their use from different perspectives.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Critical multimodal discourse analysis, Semiotic software, English learning apps, Appropriateness
