https://jurnal. id/index. php/jall/index JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Received: September 14th, 2025. Accepted: November 04th, 2025. Published February 27th, 2026 CREATIVITY BETWEEN THE ILLUSTRATOR AND NON-ILLUSTRATOR WRITERS IN APPLYING PRAGMATIC DISCOURSE TO NARRATIVE PICTURES Irfan Hamonangan Tarihoran*. Sartika Sartika STKIP Paracendekia NW Sumbawa. Indonesia irfanhamtarihoran@gmail. ABSTRACT The present study examined creativity in shaping English-language children's stories through instructions to arrange random pictures into narratives. The objectives of this study were to identify, i. significant differences in creativity in applying pragmatic discourse to narrative pictures between illustrator and non illustrator writers. how pragmatic discourse was applied to narrative pictures by both groups of writers. how narrative pictures were A total of 40 college students consisting of 20 illustrator writers and 20 non illustrator writers participated in this study. The present study employed a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. The instruments used are the Mann-Whitney U test, questionnaires and interview The pragmatic approach through picDRT, in conjunction with Blum Kulka's pragmatic discourse, served to elucidate the problem. In the findings, picDRT supports pragmatic discourse, in which picDRT simulates the form of discourse representation by identifying referents and coherence, while pragmatic discourse integrates the functions of social and contextual meaning. Both demonstrate a pragmatic cognitive model for comprehensive understanding of discourse in the verbal and pictorial domains possessed by the story writers. Keywords: Pragmatic Discourse. Illustrator. Creativity. Narrative Pictures. English Language INTRODUCTION The development of storybooks is influenced by a variety of factors, one of which is Creativity is defined as either the process of creative thinking or the result of such thinking, that is, a creative product. The creativity is instrumental in generating new ideas that are not monotonous in the creation of children's stories. This phenomenon can be attributed to the notion that creativity functions as a form of problem solving (Gyss, et. Accordingly, this can enhance narrative literacy and critical visual literacy (Stewart & Koopmans, 2. In an ideal scenario, a story writer would also be an illustrator. This is reasonable because the writer's sense can be felt directly and the possibility of bias in the illustrations is reduced. Some individuals may be hesitant to engage in storytelling due to a lack of proficiency in drawing. Since creativity can be conceptualized within two distinct models. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 verbal and figural creativity (Torrance, 2. Whether writing children's stories requires figural or verbal creativity to create new, original, and varied works is interested to study. Consequently, a compelling research topic can emerge from a comparison of creativity between illustrator and non-illustrator writers. In line with creativity, the presence of meaning in pictures is unquestionable. Pragmatics is more concerned with the contextual implications of language use. Given the inherent impossibility of interpreting pictures literally, pragmatic discourse is employed in the composition of narrative pictures (Maier & Bimpikou, 2. Pragmatic discourse serves as the link between linguistic or visual form and its intended meaning. It facilitates the creation of meaning through the use of context, inference, and interaction. This process effectively transforms literal expressions or images into acts of communication. Several studies have looked at creativity from cognitive, emotional, and cultural viewpoints (Dijksterhuis & Meurs, 2006. Saeki, et. , 2001. Gyss et al. , 2. , and other research has focused on how pragmatics connects to visualization (Ishihara, 2013. Frixione & Lombardi, 2. However, there are very few studies that combine these two areas. particular, no research has explored how creative processes influence the development of pragmatic meaning through images or how visual narratives can serve as a way of expressing creativity in pragmatic terms within theories like PicDRT. Additionally, while PicDRT (Maier & Bimpikou, 2. has extended discourse representation theory into visual contexts, its use with real data and cultural settings . uch as human participants from specific cultural background. is still uncommon. Thus, there is a lack of understanding regarding the connection between creativity, pragmatic interpretation, and visual discourse, particularly in the setting of human involvement and the construction of meaning across different cultures or social contexts. Furthermore, the application of PicDRT to analyze how participants create meaning through visual prompts has not yet been studied. Hence this study is done to fill the gap. The primary objective of this research is to identify, i. significant differences of creativity between the illustrator and non-illustrator writers in applying pragmatic discourse to narrative pictures. how pragmatic discourse is applied to narrative pictures by both groups of writers. how narrative pictures are arranged. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Creativity: Definition and Dimensions Creativity is generally understood as the ability to generate new ideas that are original, useful, and contextually appropriate. Torrance . n Runco, 2. distinguishes creativity into two main models, namely verbal creativity . enerating ideas through languag. and figural creativity . hrough visual forms or picture. According to Amabile . , creativity is not only determined by cognitive abilities but is also influenced by social factors, motivation, and emotional conditions. This is reinforced by Runco & Jaeger . , who emphasize that extensive experience and knowledge can enrich a person's potential to generate creative ideas. Thus, experience in drawing and writing can be important assets in producing varied children's stories. Children's story writers are often required to have not only verbal skills but also figural abilities to support narrative consistency. Kress & van Leeuwen . state that text and pictures work multimodally, complementing each other in conveying meaning. Zhang et al. assert that visual ambiguity can trigger creativity, as it opens up space for diverse interpretations. This view is in line with Piantadosi et al. , who state that ambiguity in communication is often efficient and productive when the context facilitates Even though an illustrator writer has potential to maintain coherence between text and visuals, the non-illustrator writer can still produce creative works by relying on the power of verbal language, for example through dialogue strategies (Neil, 2. or reader context adaptation (Carvalho, 2. Pragmatics in Narrative Pictures Pragmatic studies usually focus on the use of language in context. However, a number of studies show that pictures can also contain pragmatic meaning (Ishihara, 2013. Frixione & Lombardi, 2015. Schlyder & Altshuler, 2023. Klomberg et al. , 2. Abell . introduced the concept of pictorial implicature, which is implied meaning that readers can interpret based on pictures, cooperative principles (Grice, 1. , and world knowledge. Further research by Maier & Bimpikou . developed Pictorial Discourse Representation Theory . icDRT) to explain how relationships among pictures form narrative meaning. They adapted the concept of Discourse Representation Structure JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 (DRS) proposed by Abusch and Rooth . who investigated perception sequences in In Maier & Bimpikou . Aos concept, coherence relations . arration, continuation, explanatio. and co-reference play an important role in constructing stories from a series of pictures (Kehler et al. , 2008. Klomberg et al. , 2. Conceptual Framework This study examines how creativity, particularly the ability to generate new ideas, impacts peopleAos effectiveness in communication situations Torrance . n Runco, 2. this context, features like implicature, co-reference, and coherence serve as indicators of good communication skills (Abell, 2005. Maier & Bimpikou, 2. These features demonstrate how well someone can create and interpret meaning during communication Piantadosi et al. Additionally, having an artistic background is expected to influence this relationship. People with artistic experience usually respond more flexibly and imaginatively to language or visual cues (Zhang et al. Thus, the study suggests that individuals who think creatively are likely to engage in richer communication. The communication reflects deeper thinking, cohesive references, and suitable meaningmaking based on the context. Overall, the model brings together cognitive creativity, pragmatic interpretation, and artistic experience into one view of pragmatic creativity (Ishihara, 2013. Frixione & Lombardi, 2015. Abell, 2005. Schlyder & Altshuler, 2023. Klomberg et al. , 2. METHODOLOGY Design and Approach A mixed method approach is adopted in this study. The design used is sequential explanatory in which the subsequent qualitative phase is intended to provide a more profound understanding and context for the quantitative results. Participants The total number of subjects in this study is 40 writers comprising 20 illustrator writers and 20 non-illustrator writers. The subjects were recruited using purposive sampling techniques. Each group consists of the college students who have participated in children's story writing workshops. The illustrations employed in this work are of a manual nature using crayons and colored pencils. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Instruments Random Images Random images are used as the basis for participants to arrange a series of images based on their creativity and fluency in composing a new story. Content validation is carried out by asking a pragmatics lecturer and a creative expert to assess whether the images represent creativity and allow for pragmatic discourse. Creativity Worksheet This worksheet is used to identify the use of pragmatic discourse and aspects according to picDRT, namely coherence relation and co-reference. Creativity Assessment Rubric The creativity assessment rubric only covers the element of fluency. The assessment scale uses a scale of 0, 1, and 2. 0= Unable to create a single story text that includes pragmatic discourse aspects and picDRT. 1= Can quickly and easily demonstrate 1 or 2 story texts that include aspects of pragmatic discourse and picDRT. 2= Can quickly and easily demonstrate 3 or more story texts that include aspects of pragmatic discourse and picDRT. Content validation is carried out through an inter-reliability test by a pragmatics lecturer and a creativity expert to ensure that the score indicators are relevant to the criteria of fluency and pragmatic discourse. An example of pragmatic discourse is speech acts. The participants express messages in pictures based on contextual clues to show language actions such as asking, begging, giving, refusing, saying thank you, and so on. Based on the parameters, the scores obtained by the participants are adjusted to either 0, 1, or 2. Questionnaire The questionnaire provided is in a closed-ended format. The questionnaire items were developed with reference to creativity theory, covering aspects such as situation. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 motivation, psychological conditions, and experience. The validity of the questionnaire items was tested by a pragmatics lecturer and a creativity expert. The example of questionnaire can be seen as below: I feel motivated to create a story based on random images because: The same characters in the story appear in most of the images. The facial expressions and body language of the characters vary. The lack of connection between one image and the next is an interesting There is a connection between my personal experiences or previous stories and the images. Interview Guidelines These guidelines are based on quantitative findings. Content validation was carried out by a pragmatics lecturer and a creativity expert to ensure relevance. Data Collection Procedures Eight flash cards comprising black-and-white narrative pictures were shuffled and distributed to the participants of research. The sequence of pictures was used as a guideline for writing the narrative text. The participants of research were instructed to create a new short story based on the random sequence of pictures. A creativity test was then conducted by referring to the short stories written. The pragmatic discourse aspects were identified from the writersAo worksheet. The co-reference and coherence relation were identified from the worksheet as well. Three experienced English teachers participated in expert validation, alongside two language specialists, i. university lecturer and a pragmatics researcher. Next, the participants filled out a closed-ended questionnaire. Interviews were conducted to explore matters that may not have been covered by other research Data Analysis For quantitative phase, the data analysis techniques require an inferential statistical test, i. Mann U Test using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) application to analyze significant differences between the two groups of writers. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Prior to conducting inferential tests, it is imperative to execute normality and homogeneity tests to ensure the validity of the data being tested. The achievement indicators are as follows: The research question in this study can be answered based on one of the following hypotheses, i. null hypothesis (H. : There is no significant difference between the illustrator and non-illustrator writers in applying pragmatic discourse to narrative pictures. alternative hypothesis (H. : There is a significant difference between the illustrator and non-illustrator writers in applying pragmatic discourse to narrative If the p-value . is less than or equal to the coefficient . , then H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted. The qualitative phase is subsequently initiated following the quantitative phase to provide further elucidation in order to meet the second and third research objectives. The qualitative data facilitate the interpretation, elucidation, and contextualization of the statistical findings. This approach facilitates a more profound comprehension of the phenomenon under study. The interpretation explains why and how quantitative results Ethical Consideration This study considers participant consent and confidentiality of data obtained to comply with research ethics. The purpose of the study was explained before the participants agreed to volunteer in this study. The researchers reported the results of the study honestly and transparently in accordance with academic ethical standards. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION FINDINGS Differences in the Application of Pragmatic Discourse between the Illustrator and Non-Illustrator Writers The data obtained from the research instrument in question is of a nominal and ordinal nature, as evidenced by the creativity sheet. Consequently, the employment of nonparametric tests is deemed more appropriate in such cases. Given that the two groups tested for creativity in the use of speech acts are independent or unpaired, the most appropriate test to use is the Mann-Whitney U test. Following the execution of the Mann test, the ensuing results were obtained: JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Table. 1 Outcome of SPSS From the results of using the SPSS application, it was found that the mean rank of NIW . on-illustrator writer. group was higher than IW . llustrator writer. group in terms of speech acts (SA) with 20. 73, politeness (Po. 70, and adaptation to context (AtC) with 22. On the contrary, the mean rank of IW was greater than NIW regarding the implicature with 23. However, the greatest mean rank cannot be used as a benchmark for the difference between both groups since those could be sampling errors. A significance test was then From that table. Asymp. Sig. -taile. < 0. 05 was shown by implicature with 048 (P<0. Hence, it can be concluded that the null hypothesis (H. is rejected and the alternative hypothesis (H. is accepted. This means that there is significant difference between both groups in terms of creativity in implicature aspect only. The illustrator writers scored higher on the aspect of implicature, while the non-illustrator ones scored higher on the aspects of speech acts, politeness, and adaptation to context. This shows that JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 illustrative experience influences non verbal abilities in composing narrative images. The Pragmatic Discourse Application in Narrative Pictures The subsequent sections address the implementation of each pragmatic discourse aspect in this study. Speech Acts This expresses the message of the story in the image based on contextual clues to show speech acts such as asking, begging, giving, refusing, saying thank you, and so on. The result of creavity test indicates that various illocutionary forms are used by both groups of writers. However, the non-illustrator writers tend to use the dialogue in their stories more than the illustrator groups. The results of questionnaire indicate that the non-illustrator writers exhibit a greater reliance on dialogue in their narratives. Implicature This involves interpreting implied meaning based on the context of the story in accordance with social norms and customs. From the creativity test, the illustrator writers tend to add referents . haracters or object. in their imagination to describe a flashcard. the contrary, the non-illustrator writers tend to use various verbs to apply implicature with the same referents . haracters or object. Based on questionnaire result, as many as 56% of the illustrator writers rely on implicature compared to 46% of the non illustrator writers. Politeness This uses polite language to describe images in order to avoid conflict with readers. The creativity test outcome indicates that the non-illustrator writers maintain coherence and logical flow in their stories by avoiding ambiguous meanings in the text. The illustrator writers tried to use polite language by using greetings and expressions of apology or However, the diction still seems stiff. Based on questionnaire result, the non-illustrator writers are more dominant . %) in avoiding language that provokes ambiguity due to the use of certain contexts than the illustrator writers . %). JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Adaptation to Context This applies the writing style, message content, and strategy for conveying the story according to the social and the readersAo cultural situation. From the creavity test, the illustrator writers adapt their writing style more to the story. On the other hand, the nonillustrator writers tend to emphasize the message content of the story. Based on questionnaire result, the illustrator writers demonstrated a higher level of understanding regarding the background of potential readers . eading interests, favorite genres, etc. ) at 56%, surpassing the non illustrator writers . %). Co-Reference and Coherence Based on PicDRT Analysis In order to comprehend how narrative pictures are arranged by both groups of writers. Pictorial Discourse Representation (PicDRS) framework are employed by adopting coherence relation and co-reference. Co-Reference From the results of identification through creativity tests, there is a co-reference strategy generally used by both groups of writers, namely combining one referent in a particular flashcard with a referent that is implicitly contained in the next flashcard . he referent is in the writer's imaginatio. , then mixed pictorial-linguistic discourse is used. This means that the referent resulting from the writer's imagination is written in the story 4% of the illustrator writers tend to use mixed pictorial-linguistic discourse rather than the non-illustrator ones . 6%). From the questionnaire outcome, 71% of the illustrator writers stated that random picture was an interesting challenge. This was found to be lower for the non-illustrator writers which only showed a figure of 29%. This reinforces how the tendency of the illustratorsAo use of the mixed pictorial-linguistic discourse is higher. On the other hand, 73% of the non-illustrator writers chose motivation supported by facial expressions and body compared to the illustrator ones who only accounted for 27%. Coherence Relations The non-illustrator writers are more dominant in using succession than the illustrator The following table from the creavity test conclude that the story writing process JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 carried out by both groups of writers tends to be narration and continuation. Table 2. Coherence Relation List Coherence Relation Groups NIW Total Narration (%) Explanation (%) Continuation (%) In terms of narration, the non-illustrator writers are higher at 51% compared to the illustrator ones at 49%. Regarding continuation, it is also higher among the non-illustrator writers at 39% compared to the illustrator ones at 36%. Only explanation is rarely used by both groups. These findings reinforce the conclusion that the non-illustrator writers tend to organize images in a verbal narrative form, i. , sequentially like sentences in a paragraph. Meanwhile, the illustrator writers tend to explore visuals implicitly, resulting in a lower presentation portion. DISCUSSION The Influence of Illustration Experience on Implicature The higher prevalence of implicature among the illustrator writers compared to the non-illustrator writers may be attributable to the pictorial aptitudes that facilitate the writer's imagination, which extends beyond verbal abilities. This pictorial aptitude can influence the structure of meaning, making it relevant for the production of implicature in narrative works (Abell, 2. The possession of experience in the domain of illustration has been demonstrated to facilitate the adeptness in processing implied meaning in accordance with the context of images contained within the flashcards. The non-illustrator writers tend to rely more heavily on verbal communication, explaining more in accordance with the content of the flashcard images for instance through dialogue strategies (Neil, 2. Pragmatic Discourse Strategy JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 According to Neil . , dialogue and visuals are intertwined since dialogue complements visual narrative. Because the non-illustrators' orientation skills are more verbal, the use of dialogue is one strategy in applying pragmatic discourse. In this study, life experience constitutes a contributing factor in producing implied messages in pictures. The more extensive a person's experience and knowledge, the greater the potential for generating creative ideas (Runco & Jaeger, 2. In relation to the creation of children's stories, drawing experience also contributes to the implicature aspect of the story. The more one plays with abstract concepts, the easier it is to manage implied elements since a picture provides more contextual variation than text (Li, et. , 2. In fact, ambiguity in visual contexts, such as in advertisements, can spark creativity in interpreting the implicature itself (Zhang, et. al, 2. Creativity in applying implicature is also influenced by the lack of detail in the available pictures. This means that writers have the freedom to convey their messages in the available pictures. The less detail there is, the more freedom writers have to write what is not depicted. Avoiding conflict with readers is one of the techniques used by the writers in the aspect of politeness. How to make readers feel comfortable is a principle of politeness in Incivility makes readers feel inferior, less confident, or even offended by the message the writer wants to convey. This concept is in line with the Politeness Principle developed by Leech . , in which strategies such as tact, modesty, and sympathy are realized through the use of language that does not cause feelings of inferiority or resistance from readers. It relates to the maxim of manner emphasized by Grice . through the cooperative principle. Ambiguity in communication is not always an obstacle, because with the presence of context, uncertainty can actually be minimized (Piantadosi, et. al, 2. In fact, the appropriate use of language through the adaptation of certain words avoiding ambiguity indicates that pragmatics is flexible instead of being rigid (Mao & He, 2. The nonillustrator writers are most likely to choose the option of understanding the background of potential readers in terms of reading interests and genres (Ives, et. , 2. namely relating the story to previous personal experiences (Hollis, 2. , surprising readers with unexpected elements, and varying writing styles. These kinds of adaptation to context can trigger the critical visual literacy (Stewart & Koopmans, 2. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 Coherence and Co-Reference in Narrative Pictures Co-reference is the process of matching a specific referent entity with a referent in another picture. However, reference in this study is not reference as antecedent binding with anaphora or, in other words, non-anaphoric reference (Sukthanker, et. al, 2020. Klomberg, et. al, 2. The tendency of the illustrator and non-illustrator writers to apply implicature is described in the following story text by use of meaning postulate . dapted from Maier & Bimpikou, 2. A grandma found a unique coconut in a boat. The storm hit the boat hard. The coconut was washed away. Fig 1. Meaning Postulate Based on analysis of picDRT, q, q1, q2, dan q3 are pictorial entities that may contain pictures and referents. Pictuality without any picture is symbolized by Pi. Even though there is no picture P, the events that occur such as hit e2 can form a pictuality q2. Hence, the symbol Pi can refer to implicature. In the meaning postulate, boat is a kind of referent which triggers the implicature since the boat is existed in the writerAos proposition. To determine the form of coherence relation between pictualities q2 and q3, a new meaning postulate is formed as shown as followings . dapted from Maier & Bimpikou. Topic K1,K2 . e1 O e2 JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 , (K1. = K1 Oi K2Oi close. 1, e. Fig 2. Meaning Postulate of Narration It is possible that one of the K1 or K2 topics of a pictuality has diverse referents, but the referents can be said to be the same or co-referential as long as the eventive elements are still related or close, marked by close . 1, e. Eventive e3 washed away occurs after eventive e2 hit is executed . 1 Oe. Thus, the coherence relationship according to the postulate of meaning is narration. The findings of this study indicate that the percentage of the illustrator writers is marginally higher than that of the non-illustrator ones in co-reference, suggesting a propensity for the illustrator writers to employ implicature in the creation of narratives. is evident that both groups of authors employ spatial inference as a means to comprehend the narrative conveyed by images. However, it is noteworthy that spatial working memory is activated when imagination is engaged (Irrazabal & Burin, 2. Therefore, it is natural that the illustrators tend to use implicature when incorporating visual elements, as illustrated in pictuality q2. The phenomenon of implicature is more frequently observed when the referent on one flashcard differs from the referent on another flashcard. It is conceivable that their experience in illustration facilitates the processing of meaning within the narrative (Runco & Jaeger . Conversely, the non-illustrator writers tend to rely on the power of coherence relations. Their verbal aptitude likely facilitates the construction of a coherent narrative, integrating among components of the story (McCutchen, 2. Pedagogical Implications Through the results of this study, it can be seen that figural understanding and ability have a positive impact on creativity in writing stories because of sensitivity to details, context, and implied meaning that can enrich the content of the story. The development of creative writing should not rely solely on linguistic aspects, namely verbal abilities. Writing instruction can apply visual perception reinforcement by using multimodal techniques such as creating storyboards from stories. Coupled with an awareness of discourse pragmatics, i. implicature, politeness, dialogue, and adaptation to context, it is hoped that creative writing will become more communicative, meaningful, and realistic. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 CONCLUSION This study examines the differences in creativity between the illustrator and nonillustrator writers in applying pragmatic discourse related to narrative pictures. A close examination of the questionnaire results reveals a clear preference among both groups of writers for elements of creativity that are characterized by fluency and flexibility. The study's findings indicated that fluency emerged as the predominant skill, thereby establishing it as the foundation for assessing creativity. This assessment entailed the composition of children's stories based on random narrative pictures. The results of the creativity test indicated that of the four aspects of pragmatic discourseAispeech acts, implicature, politeness, and adaptation to contextAionly pictorial implicature differed significantly between the two groups of writers. The creativity test also revealed that the illustrator writers rely more on implicature than the non illustrator Figural ability facilitates the imaginative process of the illustrator writer which enables them to conceptualize a myriad of potential implied meanings embodied within text, thereby facilitating the creation of narratives derived from arbitrary visual picturery. While politeness and adaptation to context did not vary significantly between the two groups of writers, these two aspects were the most prevalent in the creation of stories based on narrative pictures. Preliminary findings from the creativity test demonstrate a correlation between the illustrator writers and their tendency to employ adaptation to context in their writing. With respect to the use of polite language, it was observed that the illustrator writers were more inclined to refrain from employing language that might prove challenging for their audience to comprehend. The development of creative writing should not only focus on verbal abilities but also emphasize figural abilities and pragmatic discourse awareness through the use of multimodal techniques such as storyboards so that the resulting work is more realistic, communicative, and meaningful. The researchers are aware that this study is still limited in terms of the number of participants and the drawing skills of the illustrators, which are not yet at a professional The tools utilized in the creativity media are characterized by their simplicity and manual nature. In subsequent studies, the participants can be expanded to a more professional level with digital products such as comics by applying multimedia discourse JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literac. ISSN 2598-8530. February. Vol. 10 No. 1, 2026 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research was supported by the Directorate of Research and Community Service. Ministry of Higher Education. 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