Multimodality and ESP Research

The chapter first considers three ways that multimodality has been explored in English for specific purposes (ESP) and related fields and consider some studies that illustrate these approaches. To sketch what a full engagement with multimodal and semiotic practices means for ESP research, the chapter discusses two particular cases, considering the place of embodied activity in specialized domains and illustrative work on one academic field. Multimodality studies have had a wide influence and done much to focus attention on semiotics. The four-mode scheme (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and elaborations on it have been a staple of ESP needs analysis since its formation, particularly in studies that use questionnaires to identify situation- and role-specific communicative needs in particular domains. Situated and ethnographic research on professional settings also points to multimodal chains of activity.