The multimodal materialization of disciplinary meanings : Embodied cohesion for L2 learners in physical education and health
Karlsson, Johanna LU
(2026)
In Linguistics and Education
93.
- Abstract
- This case study investigates the development of subject-specific literacy in Physical Education and Health (PEH) for second language (L2) learners within a Swedish secondary school context. Integrating Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the study introduces the concept of embodied cohesion to analyze how meaning is constructed across verbal, graphic, and physical modes. Through a multimodal analysis of gymnastics lessons, the findings reveal a distinct disciplinary pattern of direct immersion, where technical terminology is introduced through immediate routine application rather than gradual verbal scaffolding. The analysis demonstrates that the teacher maintains subject-specific terminology through... (More)
- This case study investigates the development of subject-specific literacy in Physical Education and Health (PEH) for second language (L2) learners within a Swedish secondary school context. Integrating Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the study introduces the concept of embodied cohesion to analyze how meaning is constructed across verbal, graphic, and physical modes. Through a multimodal analysis of gymnastics lessons, the findings reveal a distinct disciplinary pattern of direct immersion, where technical terminology is introduced through immediate routine application rather than gradual verbal scaffolding. The analysis demonstrates that the teacher maintains subject-specific terminology through exact repetition, preserving high semantic density while orchestrating intermodal synchronization. By linking verbal instructions with iconic modeling and graphic scaffolding, the teacher creates cohesive encoding devices that facilitate a semantic wave. This process allows L2 learners to ‘unpack’ abstract terminology into concrete, context-dependent experiences of high semantic gravity before ‘re-packing’ these somatic experiences into disciplinary knowledge through enacted realization. By bridging the gap between abstract terminology and bodily action, embodied cohesion functions as a primary pathway for linguistic and disciplinary inclusion. The study contributes a novel analytical framework for understanding literacy in practical, movement-based subjects and offers pedagogical implications for inclusive PEH instruction in linguistically diverse classrooms. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed4e2048-3b1e-473a-98ed-bcf9f4ae87c5
- author
- Karlsson, Johanna
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-04-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Literacy, Second language learning, Sport, Embodied learning, Embodied cohesion
- in
- Linguistics and Education
- volume
- 93
- article number
- 101537
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105035109583
- ISSN
- 0898-5898
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.linged.2026.101537
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ed4e2048-3b1e-473a-98ed-bcf9f4ae87c5
- date added to LUP
- 2026-04-09 12:11:53
- date last changed
- 2026-04-20 04:00:50
@article{ed4e2048-3b1e-473a-98ed-bcf9f4ae87c5,
abstract = {{This case study investigates the development of subject-specific literacy in Physical Education and Health (PEH) for second language (L2) learners within a Swedish secondary school context. Integrating Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), the study introduces the concept of embodied cohesion to analyze how meaning is constructed across verbal, graphic, and physical modes. Through a multimodal analysis of gymnastics lessons, the findings reveal a distinct disciplinary pattern of direct immersion, where technical terminology is introduced through immediate routine application rather than gradual verbal scaffolding. The analysis demonstrates that the teacher maintains subject-specific terminology through exact repetition, preserving high semantic density while orchestrating intermodal synchronization. By linking verbal instructions with iconic modeling and graphic scaffolding, the teacher creates cohesive encoding devices that facilitate a semantic wave. This process allows L2 learners to ‘unpack’ abstract terminology into concrete, context-dependent experiences of high semantic gravity before ‘re-packing’ these somatic experiences into disciplinary knowledge through enacted realization. By bridging the gap between abstract terminology and bodily action, embodied cohesion functions as a primary pathway for linguistic and disciplinary inclusion. The study contributes a novel analytical framework for understanding literacy in practical, movement-based subjects and offers pedagogical implications for inclusive PEH instruction in linguistically diverse classrooms.}},
author = {{Karlsson, Johanna}},
issn = {{0898-5898}},
keywords = {{Literacy; Second language learning; Sport; Embodied learning; Embodied cohesion}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Linguistics and Education}},
title = {{The multimodal materialization of disciplinary meanings : Embodied cohesion for L2 learners in physical education and health}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2026.101537}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.linged.2026.101537}},
volume = {{93}},
year = {{2026}},
}