1.3　Aims and research questions

The main aim of this book is to explore how coherence is constructed between the visual and verbal modes of expression in the English learning advertisements in China as a special multimodal genre.Specifically，this book aims to explore how different semiotic systems，visual and verbal in this case，interact with each other to form a well-organized multimodal discourse.

Since the way coherence is constructed in multimodal discourses will have both similarities with and differences from that in purely verbal texts，we need to conceive new analytic tools and frameworks to account for the unique features in the coherence construction in the English learning advertisements.To address this need，we draw insights from discourse coherence in linguistic sense and modify them with considerations of the specific features of these multimodal advertisements.The result is a three-level framework of analyzing discourse coherence which consists of global coherence，local coherence and surface cohesion.The connotations of global coherence，local coherence and surface cohesion are modified to accommodate the semiotic complexity.Global coherence means the macro-control over the discrete elements by the overall topic of the discourse;local coherence means that the verbal elements and visual elements in discourse sections should be semantically connected;surface cohesion means that there should be typographical features in the layout that serve to signal the global and local coherence relations.

The patterns of how the three levels of coherence are constructed and represented in the English learning advertisements are the main concern of this book.The objective is to uncover the ways in which resources from different semiotic modes are organized，integrated and connected to form coherent multimodal texts.

This book is also interested in the reader's reaction to the resources in the multimodal texts.The reason is that，reader's mental activities play an important role in constructing a coherent representation of the text，so any research on coherence cannot afford to ignore reader's reaction.In this book，specifically，reader reaction，measured through empirical research methods，can reflect how the semiotic patterns of coherence construction in the English learning advertisements influence reader's processing and comprehension of them.As de Groot（2008：251）observes，any genre-based study should ideally comprise the aspect of actual reader reaction and response to the texts analyzed，and the empirical data of reader reaction can beneficially support and complement the semiotic analysis of the texts.

Considering these general objectives，the current book revolves around the following four main research questions：

（1）What are the generic structure and features of the English learning advertisements as a genre?How are these genre features related to the analysis of coherence construction in this book?

（2）How to develop an effective framework in which the coherence construction in multimodal discourses can be systematically and thoroughly analyzed?

（3）How are the visual and verbal elements connected to form a coherent representation of the English learning advertisements at each of these levels?This question comprises three sub-questions：

3a.How are the visual and verbal elements cohered at a global level in the multimodal English learning advertisements?

3b.How are the visual and verbal elements cohered at a local level in the multimodal English learning advertisements?

3c.How are the visual and verbal elements cohered at the surface level in the multimodal English learning advertisements?

（4）How are the patterns of visual-verbal interaction at each of the levels of coherence construction reflected in the reader reaction?In other words，what are the readers'cognitive and mental responses to the textual resources for global coherence，local coherence and surface cohesion during their comprehension of the English learning advertisements?

To answer the first research question，the present book will formulate the generic structure of the English learning advertisements on the basis of corpus analysis.The features of the English learning advertisement derived from its mixed nature are also summarized and discussed with reference to the studies on coherence construction in this book.The first question will be answered in Chapter 3.

The second research question is also answered in Chapter 3.Specifically，an analytical framework for coherence in multimodal discourses will be developed with reference to theories in coherence studies in purely linguistic texts and special characteristics of multimodal discourses.

The answer to the third central question of this study is sought through a research phase dedicated to the semiotic analysis of the patterns of the visual and verbal configurations at each level of coherence construction，namely global coherence，local coherence and surface cohesion.That is，the ways in which the visual and verbal are organized and connected in the texture of the English learning advertisements are described and analyzed in detail at each of the three levels of coherence.Therefore，this research phase of semiotic analysis will be completed in three chapters：Chapter 4，Chapter 5，and Chapter 6.Each of them deals with the semiotic patterns of multimodal coherence at one level.Specifically，Chapter 4 deals with research question 3a—global coherence，Chapter 5 with 3b—local coherence and Chapter 6 with 3c—surface cohesion.

In order to describe the visual-verbal relations in a systematic and objective fashion，each of the chapters in this research phase（Chapters 4，5，and 6）will give a working principle or framework to each of the three levels of coherence before embarking on the textual analysis.Therefore，each chapter is structured around two tasks：the first one is to give a working principle or framework for global coherence/local coherence/surface cohesion in the analysis of the English learning advertisements.The second is to describe the patterns of global coherence/local coherence/surface cohesion in the English learning advertisements.

The answer to the fourth research question—that is，to discover the reader reaction to the coherence resources in the English learning advertisements—is sought through a research phase dedicated to the readers'cognitive and psychological processes and responses in their comprehension of these English learning advertisements.Three empirical studies have been conducted for this purpose.They are all designed with the three-level framework of coherence in multimodal discourse as the underlying principle.Specifically，an eye tracking experiment，a memory recognition test and an evaluation investigation have been performed with the same group of participants.This question will be answered in Chapter 7.

The research questions and the exploration for their answers in this book are summarized in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1　Research questions and the structure of this book