Learners’ Engagement with Digital Literature in EFL Contexts: A Systematic Literature Review from a Multimodal Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59211/mjpjetl.v4i1.273Keywords:
Digital Literature; Efl; Learner Engagement; Multimodality; Systematic ReviewAbstract
This systematic literature review aims to examine how previous studies have investigated learners’ engagement with digital literature in EFL contexts from a multimodal perspective. Existing research has widely discussed digital storytelling, digital multimodal composing, multimodal literacy, and educational technology in English language learning; however, the relationship between digital literature, learner engagement, and multimodal meaning-making remains fragmented. To address this gap, this study reviewed 12 preliminary articles published between 2016 and 2026 from relevant international and Indonesian academic sources, using a systematic review procedure informed by PRISMA 2020 and Zawacki-Richter et al.’s approach to educational systematic reviews. The analysis focused on research demographics, forms of digital literature, dimensions of learner engagement, multimodal elements, benefits, challenges, and research gaps. The findings show that digital storytelling and digital multimodal composing dominate the literature, while other digital literary forms such as interactive fiction, e-poetry, hypertext narratives, fanfiction, and social media-based literature remain underexplored. The review contributes by proposing that EFL learners’ engagement with digital literature should be understood as behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and multimodal participation in meaning-making
Downloads
References
[1] G. Kress, Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication. London: Routledge, 2010.
[2] J. A. Fredricks, P. C. Blumenfeld, and A. H. Paris, “School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence,” Rev. Educ. Res., vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 59–109, 2004, doi: 10.3102/00346543074001059.
[3] A. O. Firdausya, I. P. Dewi, and H. Saefullah, “EFL Students’ Engagement in Multimodal Literacy Through Digital Storytelling,” Proj. Prof. J. English Educ., vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 430–435, 2023, doi: 10.22460/project.v6i3.p430-435.
[4] C. A. Hafner and W. Y. J. Ho, “Assessing Digital Multimodal Composing in Second Language Writing: Towards a Process-Based Model,” J. Second Lang. Writ., vol. 47, p. 100710, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jslw.2020.100710.
[5] L. Jiang, “The Affordances of Digital Multimodal Composing for EFL Learning,” ELT J., vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 413–422, 2017, doi: 10.1093/elt/ccw098.
[6] S. Rettberg, Electronic Literature. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2019.
[7] N. K. Hayles, Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008.
[8] S. Kang and Y. Kim, “EFL Adolescent Learners’ Perceptions of Digital Multimodal Composing Tasks and Task Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study,” Int. J. Appl. Linguist., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 340–361, 2023, doi: 10.1111/ijal.12473.
[9] M. Bond, K. Buntins, S. Bedenlier, O. Zawacki-Richter, and M. Kerres, “Mapping Research in Student Engagement and Educational Technology in Higher Education: A Systematic Evidence Map,” Int. J. Educ. Technol. High. Educ., vol. 17, no. 1, p. 2, 2020, doi: 10.1186/s41239-019-0176-8.
[10] The New London Group, “A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures,” Harv. Educ. Rev., vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 60–92, 1996, doi: 10.17763/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u.
[11] M. Kessler, “Multimodality,” ELT J., vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 551–554, 2022, doi: 10.1093/elt/ccac028.
[12] F. V Lim, W. Toh, and T. T. H. Nguyen, “Multimodality in the English Language Classroom: A Systematic Review of Literature,” Linguist. Educ., vol. 69, p. 101048, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.linged.2022.101048.
[13] L. Jiang and J. C. M. Luk, “Multimodal Composing as a Learning Activity in English Classrooms: Inquiring into the Sources of Its Motivational Capacity,” System, vol. 59, pp. 1–11, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.system.2016.04.001.
[14] W. Y. J. Ho and K. W. H. Tai, “Translanguaging in Digital Learning: The Making of Translanguaging Spaces in Online English Teaching Videos,” Int. J. Biling. Educ. Biling., vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 1212–1233, 2024, doi: 10.1080/13670050.2021.2001427.
[15] O. Zawacki-Richter, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, and K. Buntins, Eds., Systematic Reviews in Educational Research: Methodology, Perspectives and Application. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2020. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7.
[16] M. J. Page, J. E. McKenzie, P. M. Bossuyt, and others, “The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews,” BMJ, vol. 372, p. n71, 2021, doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71.
[17] O. Zawacki-Richter, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, and K. Buntins, Eds., Systematic Reviews in Educational Research. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2020. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7.
[18] L. Jiang, M. Yang, and S. Yu, “Chinese Ethnic Minority Students’ Investment in English Learning Empowered by Digital Multimodal Composing,” TESOL Q., vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 954–979, 2020, doi: 10.1002/tesq.566.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
URN
License
Copyright (c) 2026 David Togi Hutahaean, Rudi Hartono, Yuliati
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited. Authors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party materials included in their work have proper permissions.
