Semiotic multimodality theory speaks of new learning affordances in media ecologies, which is both theoretically and empirically echoed in UDL and in CALL literature, but owing to their neuro-didactic respectively technology-driven standpoints both approaches lack theoretical underpinnings for ecology and semiotic multimodality. Enhanced with multimodality theory and ecological perspectives UDL and CALL can crossbreed, forming a multimodally and ecologically aware inclusive design for language learning. This study from an ongoing project investigates the hypothesis from a theoretical and an empirical perspective, examining digital scaffolds. Multimodal-semiotic and ecological perspectives are used to analyse affordances and ecologies in CALL and UDL learning designs. From this analysis, a principled UDL-CALL learning design is constructed. For empirical testing, a mixed-methods research design is proposed, presenting preliminary results indicative of the design’s viability.

Emerging from studies of innovative educational-technology designs for disabled students, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has established principles to bridge special needs education and regular classroom teaching. Although UDL has been around for some 40 years, apparently, only one empirical UDL study of language classrooms exists before Kasch, and no studies before him in lower-secondary language classrooms. Only Kasch has worked on integrating Computer-Assisted Language Learning and UDL in a pedagogically informed cross-pollinated Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and UDL design.The present paper examines a sui-generis innovative language learning design and learners' interaction with it, affording the digital scaffolds: 1) multimodal bilingual comprehensive, 2) contiguous (words-in-context) and non-base-form glossing, 3) text-to-speech with highlighting functionalities as well as 4) bilingual retelling functionalities for individual Ebook pages and 5) learner response functions.The hypothesis explored is that multimodal UDL digital scaffolds can be pedagogically integrated in language instruction materials and will help to bolster language acquisition in a variability of learners. The paper presents the findings from semi-structured interviews in a stratified sample (n = 9), appearing to offer support to the viability of the sui-generis CALL and UDL language learning design.

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Although computer-assisted language learning and computer-assisted learning can be seen to be the precursors of if not simply the very backbone of E-learning, it is still rare to connect E-learning with special education needs (SEN) pedagogy. The full potential of cross-breeding computer-assisted language learning and Universal Design for Learning has been experimentally investigated by this author, but apparently not by others. Findings in the above-mentioned studies point to augmented learning opportunities for the whole classroom by aiming to offer comprehensive scaffolds design reaching out to SEN learners. The comprehensive SEN-compatible design, though, can be used, as the author has documented (Kasch 2019, 2020) by non-struggling average and above-average learners as well so as to virtually disrupt the classical language pedagogical ideas of having to face the limits of "realistic mixed-ability teaching". Rather, as a few studies also point to - e.g. , E-Learning pedagogy can be enlightened by Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and thus offer learners what they need, being offered scaffolds and support they did not think belonged in language learning materials. This presentation will look at struggling and non-struggling learners' experiences of using assistive universally designed E-learning materials in interview responses (n = 32) in English language learning and come up with a proposal for how UDL can inspire language learning in E-learning designs and pedagogy in general so as to disrupt pedagogical thinking underlying contemporary E-learning designs in language teaching.

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