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Sonja Starc Multimodal Literacy through the Hidden Curriculum:
University of Primorska, Slovenia The Extent of Multimodality in Mother Tongue Instruction
sonja.starc@upr.si
©2026SonjaStarc
Meaning-Making, Multiliteracies
and Multimodality
Abstracts of the International
Symposium
Koper, 19–20 March 2026
In the modern era, digitalization has introduced new possibilities for communica-
tion, both in the choice and integration of semiotic systems and in the use of in-
creasingly sophisticated media as vehicles for the actual realization of texts (clas-
sic print, electronic media). These new communication circumstances in society
also demand different pedagogical approach, which is linked to the need for an
updated understanding of literacy. The linguists of the The New London Group
were already reflecting on this as early as 1996, redefining and renaming literacy.
They speak of the dynamism of multiliteracies, which is expressed as a capacity –
evolving alongside social conditions – to recognize and understand the meaning
making in texts from one or more semiotic codes, expressed across various media
while taking into account different contexts.
A prerequisite for acquiring multiliteracy is the mastery of multimodal literacy.
The latter is demonstrated by an understanding of the semantic interaction be-
tween the semiotic resources used in a multimodal text and by the ability to pro-
duce such texts. This paper focuses on the findings of a study (Starc, 2025) con-
cerning multimodal texts as a component of the hidden curriculum, as well as
students’ lack of awareness regarding their reading and comprehending multi-
modal text and the possibilities for multimodal text production.
Although students learn from multimodal textbooks in all subjects, making the
use of multimodal texts part of the hidden curriculum, research results show that
the latter does not promote the acquisition of multimodal literacy, as the reading
of such texts is not explicitly taught in any subject. We are faced with a seemingly
paradoxical demand: literacy is required for learning, yet literacy is only acquired
through learning. The discussion raises questions about when to introduce the
teaching of multimodal texts and the corresponding metalanguage into mother
tongue education, and how to integrate language learning with the principles
of multimodal texts, taking into account visual grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen,
2004).
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2004). Reading images: The grammar of visual design.
Routledge.
Starc,S.(2025).Raziskavabranjainpisanjavečkodnihbesedilosnovnošolskihučencev
1., 4.in8.razreda (vzorec251 učencev) [Unpublished research].
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social
futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–93.
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-565-8.34 37