Digital Gaming and Language Learning: Autonomy and Community

The relationship between digital game play and second language (L2) learning is a particularly tricky issue in East Asia. Though there is an emerging presence of Chinese online games, many more young people are playing the English- or Japanese-language versions of the most popular commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) video games. In other words, most Chinese gamers are playing L2 digital games in their leisure time. Informed by research on out-of-class L2 learning, this paper discusses findings from an exploratory study investigating L2 gaming and learning practices in young people's everyday lives. Drawing on rich data from gaming sessions, stimulated recall, focus group discussion, individual interviews and online discussion forums, this paper argues that gamers exercise autonomy by managing their gameplay both as leisure and learning practices in different dimensions (location, formality, locus of control, pedagogy and trajectory). At the same time, gameplay-as-learning practices are supported by wider communities of digital gamers who take on roles as language teachers and advisers. The paper suggests that activities in these dimensions mediated learning autonomously and from community, and discusses the research and pedagogical implications for L2 gaming and learning.16 page(s

Understanding the translingual practices among international students in multilingual cities

The impact of global mobility and technology innovations on urban linguistic diversity poses a key challenge to understand how and to what extent international students are immersed in the target language. Such diversity of languages and modes of communication has pointed to a fundamental transformation in the way that international students interact with both online and offline resources. The translingual practices of Chinese international students presented in this study suggest that, instead of being a language learner in an English-dominant country, these students make use of but go beyond their full repertoires to conduct various online and offline activities when living in a translanguaging space. An evaluation of both online and offline practices demonstrates how their online translingual practices were merged into offline contexts, to create opportunities for learning and social engagement. Understanding international students’ experience with both online and offline resources provides useful insights into the translingual practices and processes adopted by them when living and studying in a multilingual city

Teaching multimodal literacies with digital technologies and augmented reality : a cluster analysis of Australian teachers' TPACK

Despite the proliferation of augmented reality (AR) apps, Australian primary teachers have yet to use them widely for the teaching of multimodal literacies. Conceptualising teachers’ knowledge of using digital technologies to teach multimodal literacies as a form of technological pedagogical content knowledge or TPACK(ML), this study examined teacher differences through a cluster analysis of survey responses collected from a sample of 142 Australian primary school teachers. Two distinct clusters of teachers were derived. The first cluster with lower TPACK(ML) comprised teachers with lower self-reported confidence in facilitating new cultures of learning that are participatory and technology-driven in nature. In their open-ended survey responses, these teachers shared their unfamiliarity with AR, as well as concerns about their personal technical competency and how AR could be integrated into the curriculum. The second cluster of teachers rated themselves higher in TPACK(ML) and in how they used technology to support language learning pedagogies. They were able to propose different pedagogical strategies to engage students’ multimodal literacies meaningfully with AR in their open-ended survey responses. The implications of the study’s findings were discussed, and recommendations were proposed for designing and sustaining differentiated forms of teacher professional development for teaching multimodal literacies with emergent digital technologies

English language teaching apps : reconceptualizing learners, parents, and teachers

16 page(s

Recreational language learning and digital practices : positioning and repositioning

18 page(s

Digital gameplay for autonomous foreign language learning : gamers' and language teachers' perspectives

20 page(s

Narratives of second language identity amongst young English learners in Hong Kong

This article reports on an exploratory study responding to the problem of understanding how young learners position themselves as speakers of a foreign language. A group of 24 Hong Kong primary-school children (ages 10-12) who are in the process of simultaneously learning English and developing narratives of identities as English speakers, participated in a photo-elicitation project. Two distinct narratives of identity were found. 'Cosmopolitans' seemed to draw on multiple resources, largely based on their access to the social and economic benefits of using a great variety of English learning opportunities and popular culture media. 'Pragmatists' had fewer resources and were more uncertain about their future learning opportunities. This study demonstrates the importance of considering how educational policy, cultural values, and distribution of resources may impact on young learners studying in similar contexts. Implications are explored and suggestions made for ways teachers can support and foster identity development.11 page(s

“I don't know how to talk basketball before playing NBA 2K10” : using digital games for out-of-class language learning

10 page(s

Popular culture, digital worlds and second language learners

15 page(s