“I will say the picture of the background is not related to the words”: using corpus linguistics and focus groups to reveal how speakers of English as an additional language perceive the effectiveness of the phraseology and imagery in UK public health tweets during COVID-19

Abstract

This paper reports on an application of a multimodal corpus-based study into the effectiveness of public health information about COVID-19 for speakers of English as an additional language (EAL) in the UK. A corpus of information tweets from 13 UK public health agencies totalling 560,000 words, with concomitant images and videos, was collected between March 2020 and February 2021. The most frequent n-grams occurring across all 13 public health agencies, and sample images occurring alongside these, were identified. In this study, we examine how images and videos combine with the phraseology to shape these COVID-19 public health information messages. Following this, six illustrative tweets were used as prompts for three focus groups of EAL participants based in the UK representing a range of first languages and occupations. Data from the focus groups was analysed in order to identify how common public health phraseology and images were received, understood and responded to by participants and how they felt they could be amended to increase their effectiveness for EAL speakers. We conclude with suggestions for making the language of public health messages simpler and more direct, aligning images more clearly with the language used and removing linguistic ambiguity. These recommendations for how such messaging could be improved in future public health campaigns could ensure a more effective and inclusive public health response.