FROM LANGUAGE TO VISUAL CULTURE: INTEGRATING DIGITAL MEDIA ARTS IN ESL PEDAGOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i1.2026.7303Keywords:
digital learning tools, higher education, ESL and EFL instruction, student engagementAbstract [English]
The high rate of digital technology development has reshaped teaching and learning processes at the higher education institution and English as a Second Language (ESL) levels, increasingly fostering visual and multimodal learning environments. The paper will also seek to compare and contrast the current body of empirical and theoretical evidence concerning the impacts of digital tools including digital media and visual communication tools, on student engagement, motivation, academic achievement, and language acquisition and the pedagogical and institutional factors that can allow technologies to be successfully implemented. A systematic and integrative review approach (with PRISMA 2020) yielded 27 peer-reviewed articles published in 2020-2025, and conducted their analysis in terms of higher education and ESL/EFL. The review is based on Constructivism, Self-Determination Theory, Cognitive Load Theory and Connectivism to make sense of the literature patterns. The results suggest that learning management systems, adaptive technologies based on AI, gamified learning platforms, learning analytics, and immersion tools all have a consistent and significant positive impact on learner engagement, motivation, and academic and language achievement embedded in scaffolded learner-centered pedagogies. Nonetheless, institutional preparedness, faculty online competence, professional growth, and institutional ethical governance models are very firm mediators of the effectiveness of these tools. The review has concluded that the application of digital technologies has the most educational benefits when it is combined with good pedagogical principles, institutional strategy, and consideration of ethics. The findings provide a very broad base to guide teachers, policy makers and researchers who wish to maximize the use of technology integration in modern higher education and ESL teaching contexts.
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Copyright (c) 2026 DR. Mohammad Saleh Al-Shizawi, Omer Ahmed Siddig Ahmed, Dr. Adil bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Rudaini, Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis bin Abdullah Al-Neyadi, Sheikha bint Suhail Al-Sawwafi
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