Images as a Resource for Supporting Vocabulary Learning: A Multimodal Analysis of Thai EFL Tablet Apps for Primary School Children SOMPATU VUNGTHONG, EMILIA DJONOV, AND JANE TORR Macquarie University Sydney, New South Wales, Australia In 2011, the Thai government introduced a national project, One Tablet per Child (OTPC), with the aim of supporting students’ learn- ing in the digital world. The project commenced with Grade 1 in 2012 and Grade 2 in 2013. The applications embedded in the OTPC tablet given to each child feature multimedia teaching applications (apps) on various subjects, including English as a foreign language (EFL). Using the Grade 1 and 2 English apps as a case study, this article investigates how one section of the apps (song videos) uses images and language to create meaning and considers the potential of visual-verbal relations to support vocabulary teaching and learning. The article concludes with a discussion of related pedagogical impli- cations for the use and design of EFL materials integrated into multi- media technologies: the critical role of teachers in guiding EFL learners’ use of such materials, the need for an increased awareness of the potential and limitations of images and visual-verbal relations to support EFL teaching and learning, and understanding the rela- tionship between the multimodal design of EFL materials and related learning outcomes at different stages of EFL learning. doi: 10.1002/tesq.274 T he design of language teaching materials for use with multimedia computer technologies is characterised by an increased reliance on images. Yet, little is known about the manner in which images relate to language in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching resources to construct meaning, or of the potential of visual-verbal relations to support English language learning. The importance of English as a global language is widely recognised (Harumi, 2002) and reflected in its status as the most popular foreign language taught around the world (Crystal, 2003). In Thailand, EFL TESOL QUARTERLY Vol. 0, No. 0, xxxxx 2015 © 2015 TESOL International Association 1