Redesigning and transforming: A case study of the role of semiotic import in early composing processes

Abstract

In this article, I explore the role of semiotic import (Van Leeuwen, 2005) in the composing processes of three bilingual students (six to seven years old) emerging as writers of English. Using social semiotic (Van Leeuwen, 2005) and design (New London Group, 2000) frameworks, I trace a qualitative ‘micro-history’ of how the students imported multimodal composing resources from multiple, previous writing contexts during a focal writing event (part of a larger study of multimodality and semiosis and additional language literacies). By comparing the writing practices with how they were used during previous events, I demonstrate how the students transformed, or redesigned, these practices as they imported them. This study has implications for how curricular contexts can support student redesign processes as part of written composition, providing examples of how to conceptualize the pedagogical importance of semiotic import and transformation in early composition classrooms.

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