Multimodal storytelling for neurodiverse learners: effects on engagement, social belonging, and oral communication skills

To explore the potential contribution of multimodal storytelling to learner outcomes in inclusive educational settings, the present study investigated its effects on engagement, social belonging, and oral communication skills among neurodiverse middle school learners. Drawing on different learning theories, multimodal storytelling was conceptualized as a holistic instructional approach integrating visual, auditory, and textual modes to support diverse cognitive and linguistic profiles. Forty-three Persian EFL students aged 11 to 13 years (22 males, 21 females) participated and were assigned to an experimental group receiving multimodal storytelling instruction and a control group receiving traditional literacy instruction over eight weeks, using validated instruments. Pretest analyses indicated no significant differences between groups, suggesting baseline equivalence. Posttest results, however, revealed significant improvements for the experimental group across engagement, social belonging, and oral communication. Within-group analyses further showed substantial pretest-posttest gains in the experimental group (all p < .001), exceeding those of the control group, which demonstrated moderate but smaller improvements. These results indicate that multimodal storytelling improves behavioral and emotional engagement, strengthens feelings of social belonging, and enhances oral communicative competence among neurodiverse learners. The study also highlights the pedagogical value of multimodal storytelling as an inclusive and cognitively supportive approach aligned with UDL and sociocultural principles, providing empirical evidence that integrating multimodal resources and collaborative storytelling processes can create equitable and engaging learning experiences for students with diverse learning profiles, particularly in EFL contexts where such practices support multiliteracies and reduce communication barriers.