84 Journal of Language & Education Volume 8, Issue 1, 2022 Research Article This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Integrating Digital Multimodal Composition into EFL Writing Instruction Najmeh Maghsoudi 1 , Mohammad Golshan 1 , Amin Naeimi 2 1 Islamic Azad University, Maybod Branch 2 Islamic Azad University, Yazd Branch Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mohammad Golshan, Department of English, Maybod Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maybod, Iran. E-mail: mohammadgolshann@gmail.com Background: Digital multimodal composition has recently received paramount attention in the instruction of second language writing. Although the merits of digital multimodal composition have widely been acknowledged by many scholars, the instruction of English writing has still remained monomodal in Iran. Purpose: The present quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the differential impacts of the two types of writing (multimodal/monomodal) on English as a Foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing ability in terms of content, communicative achievement, organization, and language across fve times. Method: To this end, two intact groups, including 59 EFL learners at a university in southeastern Iran participated in the study. The participants were assigned into two comparison groups of multimodal (n = 30) and monomodal (n = 29) compositions. The students in the multimodal group composed fve digital essays, while the monomodal group used only the textual mode to produce their essays throughout the semester. Following a repeated measures design, the researchers assessed the participants’ writing ability across fve times. A mixed between-within ANOVA was conducted to address the research questions. Results: The results revealed that both groups showed signifcant improvement in their writing ability across time. Furthermore, the multimodal group outperformed the monomodal group in their writing ability. Implication: The fndings suggest that writing instructional practices in Iran should be redefned and updated to accommodate the needs and expectations of the twenty-frst century learners. Keywords: multimodality, writing ability, writing instruction, digital writing, writing instructional practices Introduction Technology has remarkably changed not only written communication but also writing instruction (Pegrum, 2009; Skians, 2017). Thanks to the technological advances and their subsequent social as well as pedagogical demands, the composition field has witnessed astonishing shifts in writing instruction one of which is digital multimodal composition (DMC). As a breakthrough in writing instruction, DMC which incorporates textual, visual, and aural modes has become extremely popular in English writing courses (Jewitt & Kress, 2003). With the paradigm shift of writing from monomodal (textual) to multimodal activities, language learners have been provided with unprecedented ways of meaning- making through a variety of modes, including text, image, and sound (Ferdig & Pytash, 2014). Consequently, the transition from alphabetic texts to multimodal communication led to the widespread use of websites, wikis, blogs, and social networks among language learners (Takayoshi & Selfe, 2007). Many scholars in the field of composition studies have advocated DMC because multiple modes in this type of writing provide multiplication of meanings (Bax, 2011; Mayer, 2009; Mayer & Moreno, 2003) and make the learners more engaged in producing the output needed to develop their language competence (Swain & Lapkin, 1995; Terrell, 2011). Moreover, multimodal composition, as a kind of creative writing with flexible and appealing processes, leads to the enhancement of motivation to further writing ability among the second language (L2) learners (Dymoke & Hughes, 2009). Followed by the advances in technology and their subsequent social demands, astonishing pedagogical shifts occurred in English language teaching (ELT) Maghsoudi, N., Golshan, M., & Naeimi, A. (2022). Integrating Digital Multimodal Composition into EFL Writing Instruction. Journal of Language and Education, 8(1), 84-99. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12021 Recived: Feb 04, 2021 Accepted: Mar 12, 2022 Published: Mar 31, 2022