2.1 Review of Literature
2018Source 1
Indrayani
Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Instagram Posts
Used Kress and van Leeuwen on Instagram but for celebrity branding, not education.
Relation: Indrayani (2018) identifies how celebrities use demand gazes to build brands; this thesis applies that mascot-viewer interaction to pedagogical mascots like Bakekok.
2023Source 2
Tirtajaya
Visual Grammar in Webcomics
Applied the same framework to webcomics, but not memes on Instagram.
Relation: Tirtajaya (2023) focuses on sequential art; this thesis extends that to sequential video slides with progressive reveals.
2024Source 3
Aslan
Social Media Language Teachers
Studied Instagram English teachers in Turkey; teachers appeared on camera and there was no comment analysis.
Relation: Aslan (2024) focuses on the 'celebrity teacher' persona; this thesis focuses on the 'meme-based' persona where the creator remains behind the content.
2021Source 4
Dominguez Romero & Bobkina
Memes for EFL in the Classroom
Used memes for EFL but inside a formal classroom in Madrid.
Relation: Unlike this study's formal setting, my research explores the 'natural habitat' of memes in the digital wild (informal social media).
2020Source 5
Hakokongas et al.
MDA of Political Memes
Applied MDA on memes but for far-right political content, not education.
Relation: This thesis uses similar multimodal markers (salience, framing) but redirects them for educational reinforcement.
2023Source 6
Alshreef & Khadawardi
TikTok Vocabulary Learning
Studied TikTok for vocabulary but used a quantitative survey and did not analyse the videos.
Relation: My study provides the qualitative granular analysis of the content itself that Alshreef (2023) leaves out.
2.2 Theoretical Concepts
Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA)
As defined by Jewitt (2009), MDA is an approach to studying communication that considers all the different semiotic modes people use to communicate (images, writing, color, layout, and sound). In this study, it allows for a granular look at how @kotesu_8 combines visual grammar with linguistic scaffolding to teach English.
Internet Memes
Internet memes are digital items that share common characteristics of content, form, and stance (Shifman, 2014). In a pedagogical context, they function as 'multimodal texts' that create a low-stress environment for language acquisition by blending humor with academic rules.
Instagram as a Learning Platform
Instagram's visual-centric reels provide a 'bite-sized' learning experience. According to Erarslan (2019), social media platforms blur the boundaries between formal and informal learning, allowing students to engage with English content in their daily scrolling habits.
Audience Engagement
Engagement on social media extends beyond passive viewing. Through comment sections, the audience actively participates in 'participatory pedagogical events,' where they transform lessons into bilingual cultural artifacts through wordplay and reflection.