MULTIMODAL STRATEGIES IN MULTILINGUAL STORYTELLING: A CASE STUDY OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN AWKA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Children’s language development is inherently multimodal, encompassing not only speech but also gestures, facial expressions, gaze, and other semiotic resources. In multilingual settings, children must coordinate these modes across languages, yet there is limited research on how young Nigerian children integrate multimodal strategies during storytelling. This gap is significant, as Nigeria’s diverse linguistic environment presents unique challenges and opportunities for early childhood language development, with implications for education, literacy, and communication support. The following research questions were addressed: (i) What types of gestures, facial expressions, and other multimodal strategies do multilingual preschool children in Awka employ during storytelling? (ii)How do children coordinate these multimodal resources across multiple languages to support narrative coherence and audience comprehension? (iii) What patterns emerge in the use of gestures and speech during language switching in storytelling? The study is theoretically grounded in McNeill’s (1992) Gesture Theory, which posits that gesture and speech form an integrated meaning-making system, and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory (1978), emphasizing socially mediated tools in learning. A case study design was employed with 4-7-year-old children attending a multilingual preschool in Awka. Children participated in video-recorded storytelling tasks using picture sequences. Narratives were analyzed through a multimodal coding scheme, capturing gesture type (iconic, deictic, beat), facial expressions, gaze, and speech. Both quantitative analysis (frequency, co-occurrence of multimodal elements) and qualitative analysis (function and narrative role) were conducted to examine patterns and cross-linguistic strategies. The findings show that multilingual Nigerian children strategically use gestures and other multimodal cues to scaffold narrative meaning, particularly during language switching or when expressing complex ideas.