USING GESTURES AS A MULTIMODAL PERSPECTIVE TO MANAGE ENGLISH YOUNG LEARNERS’ CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

Abstrak

This study aims to determine how teachers use gestures as a multimodal perspective to manage classroom activities in young children's English learning. This study used a multimodal analysis method to analyze interactions between teachers and students in English classes. The results showed that teachers used gestures to manage classroom activities, such as starting and ending activities, giving instructions, and providing feedback. Gestures were also used to facilitate communication and increase student participation. This study suggests that gestures can be an effective tool for managing classroom activities and enhancing English learning in young children. Teachers usually use gestures in class activities, such as giving directions and pointing at students.

                Managing classroom activities with children has been a challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. Teachers commonly use gestures in classroom activities, such as giving directions and pointing at students. This study explores the multimodal representation of teachers' gestures when managing classroom activities in an EYL context. Data were collected through non-participant observation and analyzed using Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SFMDA). The findings revealed four meanings represented multimodally in teachers' gestures, namely (1) building student-teacher relationships through clapping and thumbs-up, (2) emphasizing instructions through raising hands, pointing, and lifting classroom objects, (3) encouraging student engagement in academic tasks through finger pointing and counting down, and (4) warning students about disruptive behavior through pulling gestures. Pedagogically, this study provides a paradigm shift that classroom-based communication does not have to use a single semiotic source but also a combination of other semiotic sources to help students understand teacher instructions easily. This study aims to determine how teachers use gestures as a multimodal perspective to manage classroom activities in young children's English learning. This study used a multimodal analysis method to analyze interactions between teachers and students in English classes. The results showed that teachers used gestures to manage classroom activities, such as starting and ending activities, giving instructions, and providing feedback. Gestures were also used to facilitate communication and increase student participation. This study suggests that gestures can be an effective tool for managing classroom activities and enhancing English learning in young children.