MULTIMODALITY IN EDUCATION

The present paper is devoted to multimodal texts and multimedia technology used in education, particularly in foreign language classroom. The recent years are characterized by the increased volume of visual information, which has a higher information energy capacity and wider pragmatic potential than verbal information. Visual information, impact on individuals, is becoming more widespread, breaking the monopoly of the printed text on the transfer of information. In education and academic discourse a natural language is the most important and most versatile, but not the only means of communication. The study shows that it is in the interaction with characters of a different nature, verbal signs most successfully realize their communicative functions. Nonverbal means in education evolved from a secondary, subordinate source component in an equivalent text, not inferior in importance to verbal row. The experience of teaching and learning is inherently multisemiotic and multimodal. A multimodal text captures the interaction of different codes, semiotic systems, symbols, signs, and rules of their combination with each other to transmit information. Multimodal or digital text is fundamentally different from printed books, even if they are equipped with colorful pictures. Its semantic range is extremely wide and changeable; such components as picture sound and video can complement and reinforce the message written in letters. The objectives of the paper are to analyze the notion of multimodal text in the modern digital environment, to describe the types of multimodal texts, correlate them with students' learning types and to justify its use in teaching foreign languages. When learning a foreign language students differ from each other according to learner's inner characteristics such as personality, aptitude, language learning strategies, cognitive style, motivation and worldview. In multimodal texts the meaning is communicated through combinations of two or more modes. Modes include written language, spoken language, and patterns of meaning that are visual, audio, gestural, tactile and spatial. The hypothesis that we put forward is the following: as multimodal text involves all channels of information perception, the cognitive and creative abilities of students will be developed at a higher level, since interest in the subject will increase and key competences will be formed and developed. Such learning styles as Kolb's model, Jungian learning styles, Neil Fleming's VARK model and discursive and communicative approaches comprise the methodological base of the research. The mentioned models describe methods of teaching and identify the different ways that students learn best according to their learning type. At each stage of work, the methods that best meet the goals and objectives of the research were involved. The obtained results can be used in the process of teaching foreign languages to choose the best means of communication in contemporary foreign language classroom depending upon the learner's inner characteristics.