In 2011, the Thai government introduced a national project, One Tablet per Child (OTPC), with the aim of supporting students' learning in the digital world. The project commenced with Grade 1 in 2012 and Grade 2 in 2013. The applications embedded in the OTPC tablet given to each child feature multimedia teaching applications (apps) on various subjects, including English as a foreign language (EFL). Using the Grade 1 and 2 English apps as a case study, this article investigates how one section of the apps (song videos) uses images and language to create meaning and considers the potential of visual‐verbal relations to support vocabulary teaching and learning. The article concludes with a discussion of related pedagogical implications for the use and design of EFL materials integrated into multimedia technologies: the critical role of teachers in guiding EFL learners' use of such materials, the need for an increased awareness of the potential and limitations of images and visual‐verbal relations to support EFL teaching and learning, and understanding the relationship between the multimodal design of EFL materials and related learning outcomes at different stages of EFL learning.