The Role of Second/Additional Languages to Rethink Critical Digital Literacies in the 21st Century

• In Event: 47.094 - Critical Digital Literacies in a "Post-Truth" Era

Abstract

Digital literacy scholars have long acknowledged that digital realms blur traditional understandings of language and literacy practices. Digital and online spaces provide affordances for new forms of text creation and new communicative purposes that emerge as individuals and communities interact with each other throughout the world. An additional factor in this conversation is the ubiquitous nature of English and how it relates with other languages in these spaces. English remains the predominant language on the web with over 1 billion users globally and comprising around 45% of existing websites (Pimienta, Prado, & Blanco, 2009). We emphasize “all over the world” because language practices in digital spaces help create affinity spaces (Black, 2009) organized in unconventional and decentralized ways. These new digital spaces break traditional boundaries such as “natives” or “immigrants,” instead generating organic, need-based configurations. In the case of digital communities composed of second language users (Author 3, 2018), we are still learning the way these communities build themselves, as well as the purposes they set out for English in their online spaces (Author 1 et al., 2016).

This paper will propose a conceptual and methodological framework to look at how English and other languages (Author 1, 2013, 2014) appear and are used in online communities and affinity spaces. Our framework will profile what kinds of language hybridization, multimodal text creation, poly/translanguaged literacy practices (Author 1 et al. 2018; Author 2, 2018), and affinity spaces are emerging as a result of this reconceptualization, and how young online denizens are finding new, creative ways of meaning-making through the texts and communications in these communities (Gee, 2017, 2018; Gee & Hayes, 2011).

The authors will rely on data from two ongoing research studies in the U.S. and Colombia, along with hybrid auto- and duoethnographic data that brings together their experiences studying language practices in second language contexts and online affinity spaces. Research data comes from a study on anime and K-Pop affinity spaces that Author 2 is conducting (Author 2, 2018) through discourse analysis (Gee, 2014a, 2015) and an ongoing study, now on its second phase, led by Author 1 about literacy practices in gaming and gaming communities (Author 1, 2016a; 2016b, forthcoming). Author 3, as a researcher in Author 1’s team, is also part of the study of literacy practices in gaming communities (and a K-Pop and anime aficionado), so he will share his perspectives as member of these communities, via autoethnographic accounts. We will also include duoethnographic accounts gathered via Facebook chats (Author 1, et al, 2018) as a way to ground our proposal in the reality of those living and breathing in these digital communities.

We expect our data analysis to provide a much-needed view of CDL that expands the traditional views stemming from Anglo and Global North locations. If we are to create frameworks for CDL that embrace issues of language equity, it is urgent to look at language practices in bi/multilingual settings and how communities in those regions are reshaping how we conceive of languaging and text creation.

Authors

• Raúl Alberto Mora, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

• Kewman M. Lee, Missouri State University

• Carlos Andrés Gaviria, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana