Communicative Functions of Textbook Images: A Multimodal Analysis of New Standard English (Selective Compulsory Book 2)

Abstract

With the increasingly prominent position of multimodal ability in high school English education, the function carried by textbook images is far more than page decoration. They are no longer just a visual accompaniment of written texts, but participate in meaning construction and classroom communication in a more direct way. This study takes New Standard English (Selective Compulsory Volume II) as the object of analysis, explores the communication function of textbook images under the theoretical framework of visual grammar, and adopts multimodal discourse analysis methods to examine how different visual resources promote the understanding and interpretation of textbook discourse.

The analysis found that the images of the textbook generally play a positive role in discourse understanding, cultural awareness cultivation and value guidance in English learning, but the focus of each function is not exactly the same. Some images mainly help learners enter specific discourse situations and grasp the text background more smoothly; others highlight the cultural content with visual details such as clothing, character behaviour, natural appearance and surrounding environment. There is also a class of images that are more closely related to emotional response and attitude guidance. In contrast, some images choose to use symbols, visual metaphors or coherent series of images to clearly explain abstract concepts. When abstract concepts are transformed into more intuitive image forms, learners tend to get a more transparent understanding experience. Frankly speaking, the generation of meaning in these images does not rely on an isolated visual factor, but on the coordinated operation of elements such as mood, salignance, narrative reproduction and image organisation, which jointly affect the generation and interpretation of meaning.

At the same time, the analysis shows that there are still some shortcomings in the images of the textbook. The interaction between some images and the audience is relatively limited, while others fail to form a sufficiently close semantic association with the supporting text. In some cases, the unclear reproduction structure may even interfere with the learner’s grasp of the meaning of the image. Based on the above findings, this study puts forward the following suggestions to teachers: in classroom teaching, students should not only be allowed to passively browse the illustrations of textbooks, but should be guided to think about the teaching value and interpretation functions of these images, and students should be encouraged to actively explore visual information. At the same time, textbook writers also need to work harder on layout design to make the connection between images and text and interaction design smoother and more natural. Only in this way can visual resources truly help discourse understanding, cross-cultural cognition and value guidance in English learning.