Multimodal digital tools and EFL audio-visual comprehension: students’ attitudes towards vodcasts

The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has helped in the development and application of new language teaching materials that promote a multimodal approach (Jewitt, 2009; Kress and Leeuwen, 2001). Multimodal digital tools, such as vodcasts, bring together diverse modes of communication, which may enhance students’ foreign language audio-visual comprehension. This paper discusses a study on the attitudes of 40 Spanish students at B2 level, aged between 14 and 19, towards the use of vodcasts, in comparison with audio tracks when learning English as a foreign language. After the visualization of two vodcasts from the British Council, information related to the students’ attitudes was gathered from questionnaires. The results obtained showed positive attitudes towards vodcasts in terms of quality, length, entertainment and comprehension.