Multimodal Interaction in Professional Contexts

3 ECTS | Self-paced online course | 1 June – 31 August 2024

The aim of the course is to develop interaction skills with a special focus on linguistic accessibility. The aim is to give an introduction on how to facilitate communication and promote linguistic accessibility when working with people whose access to interaction is challenged due to, for example, problems in hearing or whose linguistic resources are marginalised in the society (e.g. sign language users). The course is directed towards people whose profession entails encountering people from varied backgrounds, and who, therefore, need wide-ranging interaction skills.

During the course, the student becomes acquainted with a multimodal view of interaction and examines the utilization of the concept in different working environments. Multimodal interaction competence is based on an understanding of the multichannel and multimodal nature of interaction: meanings are conveyed by both verbal and non-verbal means (e.g. gestures, eye contact and images).

The student practices observing interaction situations and harness a range of interaction methods people use in order to understand and be understood.

This course is suitable foe everyone who is interested in interaction from a point of linguistic accessibility. Multimodal interaction in Professional contexts offers a wide view towards the concept of interaction. This course offers new kind of tools to improve interaction skills.

Students can work independently. The course offers a wide range of assigments, for example discussions with other students, lessons, quizzes and written assignments. The course is divided into sections which each take on a different focus on the topic. We recommend that you go through the topics in numerical order. However, it is possible for you to build your own path through the course topics.

Learning outcomes

The student will be able to 

• explain the concept of multimodality,
• identify different modes and channels of communication,
• demonstrate understanding of how the multimodal view on interaction can be used to influence the interaction in the workplace,
• identify how to develop one’s own skills in terms of multimodal interaction skills.

Methods

Self-paced online course, meaning that you can participate in the course from any location at any time within the study period. Course includes written assignments.