ABSTRACT
In this chapter we illustrate a multimodal approach (Kress et al. 2001; Kress and van Leeuwen 2001; Kress et al. 2005) to discourse analysis. We demonstrate that a multimodal approach opens up new possibilities for understanding the realization of discourses, including those that are produced and re-produced silently (such as ability) – a silence that often adds to their potency. We show how multimodal micro-descriptions of how discourses are realized in the classroom can contribute both to discourse theory and to educational practices. For instance the analysis of discourses of ability presented in this chapter serves to de-naturalize the realization of ability, which opens up the potential for teachers and students to refl ect on and re-design their interaction in ways that re-make (reshape and resist) these discourses.
