COD 2026 - D1172
Webinar - Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking: Unlocking the Power of Multimodal Texts in the Mixed-Ability Class
Primary and secondary school EFL teachers
1
sessions, start: 30-Sep
Please enrol before Friday, September 25th 2026
Course detail
Year: 2026
Level: Distance
Language: English
Status: Confirmed
Lugar: Distance
Facilitator/s: Ms. Patricia Pena Koessler, Ms. María José Boladeras
ESSARP Schools
Free of charge
Free of charge
Exams Schools
ARS 60000.00
ARS 60000.00
Non affiliate
ARS 60000.00
ARS 60000.00
Sessions
| Sessions | Dates | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 September 2026 | 06:00 pm | 08:00 pm |
Facilitator/s
Patricia Pena Koessler
María José Boladeras
Primary and secondary school EFL teachers
- To analyse the interplay between visual and verbal elements in multimodal texts, such as silent books, picture books and graphic novels.
- To explore how illustrations and design features convey and construct meaning.
- To recognise the importance of developing a metalanguage for discussing texts, enabling students to engage in a more
sophisticated analysis and enhance their visual and verbal literacy skills.
- To provide a framework for introducing diverse semiotic modes into the classroom, often overlooked or unaddressed when analysing literary texts.
- To reinforce and extend students’ reading comprehension skills and habits in the mixed- ability class.
- To learn how to avoid using insipid and ineffective in-class reading comprehension activities that only discourage students from reading.
- To propose multisensory techniques together with literary activities that will spark an interest in even the most reluctant reader.
- To explore how illustrations and design features convey and construct meaning.
- To recognise the importance of developing a metalanguage for discussing texts, enabling students to engage in a more
sophisticated analysis and enhance their visual and verbal literacy skills.
- To provide a framework for introducing diverse semiotic modes into the classroom, often overlooked or unaddressed when analysing literary texts.
- To reinforce and extend students’ reading comprehension skills and habits in the mixed- ability class.
- To learn how to avoid using insipid and ineffective in-class reading comprehension activities that only discourage students from reading.
- To propose multisensory techniques together with literary activities that will spark an interest in even the most reluctant reader.
Given that students are increasingly interacting with a variety of multimodal texts outside school, they have developed effective strategies to interpret them, though these approaches often go unnoticed in educational settings. As students engage more with digital platforms, it is crucial to adapt classroom practices to help them process the diverse, multimodal content they encounter. Ignoring the strategies students already use to make sense of these texts would mean missing an opportunity to enrich their learning experience. (Serafini, 2015)
Furthermore, developing students' visual literacy and teaching them multimodal literacy concepts will enable them to identify additional semiotic resources, deepen their understanding of literary texts, and become more critical readers.
In this session, an expert in SEN (Special Educational Needs) will discuss how to cater for all learning styles using the most suitable EFL teaching strategies, with a strong emphasis on the benefits of fostering visual literacy. Additionally, a Children’s and Young Adults Literature teacher will explain how to exploit various semiotic modes, such as illustrations and design features, in an array of multimodal texts for both primary and secondary school.
Furthermore, developing students' visual literacy and teaching them multimodal literacy concepts will enable them to identify additional semiotic resources, deepen their understanding of literary texts, and become more critical readers.
In this session, an expert in SEN (Special Educational Needs) will discuss how to cater for all learning styles using the most suitable EFL teaching strategies, with a strong emphasis on the benefits of fostering visual literacy. Additionally, a Children’s and Young Adults Literature teacher will explain how to exploit various semiotic modes, such as illustrations and design features, in an array of multimodal texts for both primary and secondary school.
María José Boladeras, a SEN expert, and Patricia Pena Koessler, a Children’s and YA Literature specialist, will engage
in a conversation about how to make the most of multimodal texts to develop students’ visual and verbal literacy, as well as critical thinking skills, by providing clear examples of analysis and classroom activities.
in a conversation about how to make the most of multimodal texts to develop students’ visual and verbal literacy, as well as critical thinking skills, by providing clear examples of analysis and classroom activities.
- Benton, Michael (1992) Secondary Worlds, Literature teaching and the Visual Arts. Buckingham: Open University
Press.
- Dehaene, Stanislas (2014) El Cerebro Lector: Últimas noticias de las neurociencias sobre la lectura, la enseñanza,
el aprendizaje y la dislexia. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
- Kress, Gunther, y Theo van Leeuwen. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. 2nd Edition, Routledge, 2006.
- Maley, Alan (1993) Short and Sweet, Short texts and how to use them, Volume 1. Great Britain: Penguin Books.
- Moreschi, María Emilia, et al. Understanding and Creating Bimodal Narratives in the EFL Classroom: The Role of
Images in Picture Story Books. TeseoPress, 2022.
- Painter, Claire, et al. Reading Visual Narratives. Image Analysis of Children’s Picture Books. Equinox Publishing
Ltd., 2013.
- Ruttle, Kate (2009) You Can series: Motivate reluctant readers. Warwickshire: Scholastic.
- Serafini, F. (2015). Multimodal Literacy: From Theories to Practices. Language Arts, 92(6), 412–423.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24577533.
- Willis, Judy (2007) Brain- Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom. Virginia: ASCD.
- Zwiers, Jeff (2010) Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12. USA: the International Reading
Association.
Press.
- Dehaene, Stanislas (2014) El Cerebro Lector: Últimas noticias de las neurociencias sobre la lectura, la enseñanza,
el aprendizaje y la dislexia. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
- Kress, Gunther, y Theo van Leeuwen. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. 2nd Edition, Routledge, 2006.
- Maley, Alan (1993) Short and Sweet, Short texts and how to use them, Volume 1. Great Britain: Penguin Books.
- Moreschi, María Emilia, et al. Understanding and Creating Bimodal Narratives in the EFL Classroom: The Role of
Images in Picture Story Books. TeseoPress, 2022.
- Painter, Claire, et al. Reading Visual Narratives. Image Analysis of Children’s Picture Books. Equinox Publishing
Ltd., 2013.
- Ruttle, Kate (2009) You Can series: Motivate reluctant readers. Warwickshire: Scholastic.
- Serafini, F. (2015). Multimodal Literacy: From Theories to Practices. Language Arts, 92(6), 412–423.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/24577533.
- Willis, Judy (2007) Brain- Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom. Virginia: ASCD.
- Zwiers, Jeff (2010) Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12. USA: the International Reading
Association.