Multimodal Experiential Meaning in Ninth-Grade Digital Procedure Infographics: A Systemic Functional Linguistic Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v14i4.21374Keywords:
Multimodal analysis, Experiential meaning, Infographics, Procedure texts, Systemic functional linguisticsAbstract
While digital compositions are increasingly prominent in language education, the unresolved problem remains of how student-created digital infographics coordinate language, image, and layout to represent procedural experience. To address this gap, this qualitative case study investigates the multimodal realization of experiential meaning in digital procedure infographics created by ninth-grade students in a private junior high school within a Central Kalimantan palm oil plantation, Indonesia. Analyzing ten purposive student infographics using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Transitivity and Visual Grammar, data were triangulated with semi-structured interviews and observations. Findings reveal that verbally, instructional steps are heavily dominated by Material Processes (90%–95%), transitioning to Relational Processes at closures to signal product readiness. Visually, students localized the genre by integrating Dayak cultural motifs to assert local identity. Intermodally, a critical "Static Paradox" (intermodal mismatch) occurs when dynamic verbal commands are paired with conceptually frozen static images lacking action vectors, a challenge further constrained by unstable plantation Wi-Fi. This study contributes directly to English language teaching by demonstrating how socio-technical and cultural factors shape students’ multimodal representations. To guide layout, text-image alignment, and culturally situated designs, educators should implement an Integrated Multimodal Cohesion Rubric for assessment and introduce Structural Macro-Layout Blueprints during the design process.
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