Ecology and multimodality: an eco-stylistic analysis of entertainment products for children to promote spontaneous learning

Considering Virdis, Zurru, and Lahey (2021) analysis, the present research will examine some selected entertainment products, adopting an eco-critical perspective, in order to investigate their multimodal nature and how they can influence children's spontaneous learning. In fact, as sets of visual and verbal inputs, these products can be seen as examples of multimodal metaphors, as defined by Forceville and Urious-Aparisi (2009), Zurru (2021), and Pillière (2021). The plurality of stylistic choices made in the creation of these works, such as movies (e.g. Strange World by Disney) and videogames, allows to promote the environmental awareness of very young learners and, at the same time, to foster their knowledge of English language.