Digital Discourse Genres in English L2: Types and Pedagogy

In our digitized era, diverse digital genres have emerged, redefining traditional discourse (Herring & Androutsopoulos, 2015; Vazquez-Calvo & Cassany, 2022). This evolution calls for educators to deeply understand and integrate these genres into the English-L2 teaching framework, ensuring students achieve linguistic proficiency while being culturally, communicatively, and digitally competent. This workshop endeavors to navigate this intersection of digital genre and English L2 pedagogy. “Part 1: Decoding the digital discourse” delves deep into the unique characteristics and typologies of digital discourse genres. Participants will embark on a journey transitioning “From paper to pixels,” comprehending the essence of digital texts from tweets to vlogs. Through a meticulous breakdown, we will uncover the textual traits that mark online discourse, such as brevity or multimodality, as well as the communicative dynamics that drive it, such as real-time feedback and interaction. We will do so by examining our own and others’ practices through guided interactive activities. In essence, we set the stage, highlighting the rise and significance of the digital realm in contemporary communication. While “Part 1: Decoding the digital discourse” introduces the foundational elements of digital genres, “Part 2: Teaching digital discourse genres for English-L2” shifts the focus to pragmatic classroom applications. How can educators effectively teach these digital genres in the English-L2 classroom? An acceptable answer lies in effective lesson planning. Borrowing from the principles of backward design (Tomaswick, 2018) and bridging activities (Thorne & Reinhardt, 2008), we will guide participants on crafting lessons that are not only linguistically enriching but also digitally empowering. A highlight of this section will be a hands-on group reflection activity titled “Crafting a Bridge,” where participants will be prompted to brew initial ideas on a lesson where a digital genre is the final product. The aim? Bridging twin outcomes for learners is key: targeting communicative proficiency and digital literacy at the same time. By the workshop’s end, participants will have started crafting a foundational toolkit for deeper exploration of text typology and variation in English. This will enable them to seamlessly incorporate both digital and traditional discourse genres into their English-L2 teaching practices as they continue their academic pursuits and beyond.Project DEFINERS: Digital language learning of junior language teachers (TED2021-129984A-I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR

The Online Ecology of Literacy and Language Practices of a Gamer

Previous studies have examined how to integrate video games in formal education settings across disciplines and from various perspectives. However, few have explored digital literacy practices prompted by gaming as a fan practice. Drawing on New Literacy Studies frame of analysis, this qualitative case study attempts to unearth the literacy and language learning practices of Selo, an active gamer who translates games from English into Spanish for fun and whose translations prompt online language discussions with other gamers in the fandom (an online space where fans share their activities). With interviews, online observation and screencast videos, we analyse Selo’s fandom, literacy practices and workflow when translating, and the language learning events in the online communities of gamers he is involved in. Results show that (1) Selo’s fandom is a complex semiotic social space with users exhibiting varying degrees of involvement, functions and roles (players, readers, commenters, translators, beta-testers), (2) Selo has a sophisticated set of literacy skills (IT, linguistic, sociocultural), and (3) by resorting to other fans’ feedback online to offset his language deficiencies, Selo and other fans learn situated, meaningful language items under authentic conditions of textual production.This research has received support from the postdoctoral grant Videogames as an academic and vernacular literacy practice (ED481B-2017/007, Xunta de Galicia, Spain) and from the research projects ICUDEL (EDU2014-57677-C2-1-R, Ministry of Economy, Spain) and Fandom in Spain (3rd call, Centro Reina Sofía para la Adolescencia y la Juventud, Spain)

Video-induced commenting and language learning in the digital wilds

Proyecto DEFINERS: Digital language learning of junior language teachers (TED2021-129984A-I00), financiado por MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Proyecto SEGUE: Social Media and Video Games in the Teaching and Learning of Languages of Preservice Teachers (B1-2021_33), financiado for la Universidad de Málaga.Language learning in the digital wilds is not totally unaware and off-the-cuff. While the informality of language learning practices in the digital wilds is undoubted, there is also an intention toward learning in some way because “[…] incidental learning is not really incidental. It is at some level a function of intentional, goal directed, meaningful activity” (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015, n.p.). With a combination of an ethnographic perspective and online observation, we will present two cases of language learning in the digital wilds. First, we will look into specific hashtags and videos to learn Korean on TikTok and the comments they induce (Vazquez-Calvo, Marti, & Zhang, in preparation). Second, we will introduce English-Catalan fan translation by which some Catalan-speaking gamers generate valuable content in Catalan while regaining a space of recognition and status for this minoritized language, often underrepresented in the media and cultural landscape (Vazquez-Calvo, 2022). The two cases exemplify consumption- and production-oriented practices of language learning in the digital wilds, with implications regarding language learning affordances and civic engagement via social media and other digital literacies. These implications may affect the way we may want to transfer language learning in the digital wilds into language education.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

“¿Triste estás? I don’t know nan molla”: Multilingual pop song fandubs by @miree_music

Fandubbing, or dubbing made by fans of any audiovisual product, is a lin- guistically and technologically sophisticated enterprise enacted by many devoted fans. This study presents the case of Miree, a 24-year-old fandubber with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 300 multi- lingual fandubbed songs. Using a qualitative-interpretive approach, we con- ducted an in-depth interview with Miree and analyzed her top 30 videos by views to reveal how Miree performed fandubbing, how she expressed her fan identity through fandubbing, and which were some of the implications of fandubbing for language learning. Results show that Miree realized both interlinguistic genuine fandubbing and intralinguistic parodic fandubbing, strategically adopting translanguaging to orchestrate a multimodal perfor- mance, engage her fanbase, and activate several informal language learning opportunities and contexts afforded by fandubbing.The study was partly supported by the publicly funded research project ForVid: Video as a language learning format in and outside the classroom (RT2018-100790-B-100; 2019–2021), ‘Research Challenges’ R+D+i Projects, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain, and by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020QD036; China)

El fandom de Blue Jeans: lectura y socialización literaria en línea

Both fans’ and writers’ social network participation configures an ecology of digital literary practices which alter how literary pieces are received and how readers and writers can potentially connect and interact. We explore the use of online affinity literary spaces through the literary universe of Spanish writer Blue Jeans. We proposed a case study. We analyzed 3,997 comments from digital spaces in the fandom (managed by the author or by the fans), and a semi-structured interview with Blue Jeans. Results indicate that (1) there fans socialize their affinity to literary reading differently according to the various spaces and who manages them (author, fans), (2) there are spaces more prone to literary socialization, and (3) keeping an active network for literary and reading socialization is a prominent part of the repertoire of the writer’s professionalization. Thanks to the horizontal interaction (writer/fans, fans/fans), Blue Jeans’ followers extract intercultural learnings revealing the potential of connecting vernacular contexts and formal education to educate generations of critical readers, without this involving the extraction of fandoms from their contexts. Finally, we propose some lines for future action in language and literary education such as tapping into the potential of social semiosis or the multiliteracies proposal.La participación de fans y autores en redes sociales configura una nueva ecología letrada digital que modifica la recepción de la obra literaria y las posibilidades de interacción entre lectores y escritores. Con un estudio de caso, exploramos el uso de varios espacios de afinidad y socialización del universo literario del escritor español Blue Jeans. Analizamos 3.997 comentarios de los espacios digitales de este fandom, con datos cuantitativos y cualitativos, además de una entrevista semiestructurada con el propio autor. Los resultados sugieren (1) diferencias relevantes en la socialización lectora según el tipo de espacio y su gestor (autor o fans), (2) correlaciones entre algún espacio y la socialización literaria, y (3) la relevancia de mantener activa una red de socialización lectora como parte del acervo de profesionalización del escritor. Gracias a la interacción entre iguales, los seguidores de Blue Jeans desarrollan aprendizajes de corte sociocultural, que revelan el potencial de relacionar contextos vernáculos y educación formal para formar generaciones lectoras y críticas, sin que ello implique extirpar la cultura fandom de sus contextos. Acabamos con algunas líneas de actuación futura en la educación lingüística y literaria, como la semiosis social o las multiliteracidades

Fan translation of games, anime, and fanfiction

Fan practices involving translation open up opportunities to explore language learning practices within the fandom (Sauro, 2017). We examine how three fans capitalize on fan translation and language learning. We consider the cases of Selo (an English–Spanish translator of games), Nino (a Japanese–Catalan fansubber of anime, and Alro (an English–Spanish translator of fanfics). A corpus was built consisting of 297 minutes of interviews, 186 screenshots of language learning events from online sites, and 213 minutes of screencast videos of online activity. Drawing upon the conceptual framework of new literacy studies (Barton, 2007), we set four themes to present fans’ literacy practices and language learning: (a) fan translation, (b) understanding the original text, (c) writing and preparing the translation, and (d) tools, resources, and collaborative online practices. Results indicated that the three informants encountered an open space for agency, creativity, and identity building and reinforcement through fan translation. Their translations provided content and represented the generators of the semiotic fabric in their fandoms (Gee, 2005). As fan translators, they learned language in multiple ways, such as peer-to-peer feedback, autodidactism, and creative uses of Google Translate. Future research may attempt to transfer knowledge from digital wilds into formal education.This research has been partly funded by the postdoctoral grant Videogames as an academic and vernacular literacy practice (ED481B-2017/007, Government of Galicia, Spain) and by the research projects ICUDEL (EDU2014-57677-C2-1-R, Ministry of Economy, Spain) and Fandom in Spain (3rd call, Queen Sophia Center for Youth and Adolescence, Spain)

Aprender lengua con el traductor automático en la escuela secundaria: un diálogo necesario

In an educational context that promotes the “connected classroom” concept, with laptops, mobile technologies and Internet access, machine translation is still forbidden or allowed for limited purposes only. However, with the power and accessibility of this tool, it is safe to assume that students will keep making use of it. This paper seeks to explore the uses and practices of secondary-school students learning a new language, particularly while developing their writing skills, with the aid of machine translation. This is a multi-site (two schools in Catalonia), multilingual (Catalan, Spanish and English), qualitative-interpretive case study carried out from an emic perspective. A range of instruments were used to collect data from teachers and students: semi-structured interview, classroom observation, and screencasting. We built a corpus of 1321 minutes of audio from the interviews, 1020 minutes from classroom observation and 429 minutes of screencast videos of students’ activity. Using a qualitative and inductive data analysis and data triangulation, we (a) assessed the teachers’ tolerance level for machine translation use, and (b) described the students’ uses of machine translation with specific purposes (text comprehension, production or proofreading). This took into account different sophistication levels, according to the verification strategies employed by students. To conclude, we suggest that these language resources be included in school programs to train students on how to use them critically and to encourage practices such as pre-editing text input to obtain optimal results.Keywords: connected classroom, language learning, machine translation.En un contexto escolar donde se fomenta el “aula conectada”, con computadoras u otros dispositivos móviles y acceso a la red, la traducción automática queda prohibida o solo se permite en ciertos usos concretos, pero la potencia del recurso y su accesibilidad hacen asumible pensar que los alumnos sigan usándolo. El objetivo de esta investigación es explorar los usos y prácticas que los aprendices de lenguas de la escuela secundaria llevan a cabo para aprender lengua, en particular, las habilidades escritas, y con la ayuda de programas de traducción automática. A partir de un estudio cualitativo-interpretativo de casos multisituado (dos escuelas en Cataluña) y multilingüe (catalán, español e inglés), con una perspectiva émica, dispensamos diferentes instrumentos de recogida de datos a docentes y alumnos (entrevista semiestructurada, observación de aula y grabación de la actividad en pantalla), que nos permiten recopilar un corpus de 1321 minutos de audio, 1020 minutos de observación de aula y 429 minutos de grabación de la actividad en pantalla. El análisis temático e inductivo de los datos y su triangulación nos permiten (a) establecer los niveles de permisividad de los docentes y (b) describir los usos asociados a la traducción automática con unos fines determinados (comprensión, expresión o revisión textual) y en base a diferentes niveles de sofisticación, según las estrategias de verificación de la información. Finalmente, proponemos la inclusión de estos recursos en los currículos escolares a fin de capacitar críticamente a los alumnos, por ejemplo, en la necesidad de pre-editar el texto de entrada para la obtención de óptimos resultados.Palabras clave: aula conectada, aprendizaje de lenguas, traducción automática

Evaluación de la formación permanente del profesorado: enfoque de resultados || Evaluation of permanent teacher training: approach of results

The evolution of the education system has led to significant changes in teacher training, therefore, a needs assessment using tools and methodologies to inform professional training demands necessary. In this sense, the main objective of the study focuses on shed light on the perceptions and expectations of teachers about lifelong learning. For this purpose, was used an evaluative methodology focused on the context, input, process and product (design CIPP). The results confirm that the evolution of the training has been increasing in its bid but decreasing its effectiveness. In addition, it´s founded the need to restructure the permanent formation, opting for a more global model, with coverage in all the training needs of teachers. The great challenge of teacher training is to achieve an improvement in classroom practice, but simply a matter very difficult to assess. Improve the quality of education depends directly on the efficiency and excellence in teacher training, which should undergo a continuous process of review and permanent recycled.La evolución del sistema educativo ha provocado cambios significativos en la formación permanente del profesorado, por tanto, es necesario un diagnóstico de necesidades utilizando instrumentos y metodologías que informen de las demandas formativas profesionales. En este sentido, el objetivo principal del estudio se centra en aportar luz sobre las percepciones y expectativas del profesorado acerca de la formación permanente en la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia. Para ello, se utilizó una metodología evaluativa centrada en el contexto, entrada, proceso y producto (diseño CIPP). Los resultados confirman que la evolución de la formación se viene incrementando en su oferta pero disminuyendo su eficacia. Además, se ha comprobado la necesidad de reestructurar la formación permanente, apostando por un modelo más global, con cobertura en todas las necesidades formativas del profesorado. El gran reto de la formación permanente del profesorado es la transferibilidad de la misma al contexto del aula, una cuestión sencilla pero muy difícil de evaluar. Mejorar la calidad educativa depende directamente de la eficiencia y excelencia en la formación docente, la cual debería someterse a un proceso de revisión y actualización permanente

El aprendizaje de las ciencia en un aula inclusiva

Explica como los maestros de primaria debemos adaptarnos a los nuevos tiempos, y a la diversidad de las aulas a traves de la inclusion educativa

ReCom: A semi-supervised approach to ultra-tolerant database search for improved identification of modified peptides.

Open-search methods allow unbiased, high-throughput identification of post-translational modifications in proteins at an unprecedented scale. The performance of current open-search algorithms is diminished by experimental errors in the determination of the precursor peptide mass. In this work we propose a semi-supervised open search approach, called ReCom, that minimizes this effect by taking advantage of a priori known information from a reference database, such as Unimod or a database provided by the user. We present a proof-of-concept study using Comet-ReCom, an improved version of Comet-PTM. Comet-ReCom increased identification performance of Comet-PTM by 68%. This increased performance of Comet-ReCom to score the MS/MS spectrum comes in parallel with a significantly better assignation of the monoisotopic peak of the precursor peptide in the MS spectrum, even in cases of peptide coelution. Our data demonstrate that open searches using ultra-tolerant mass windows can benefit from using a semi-supervised approach that takes advantage from previous knowledge on the nature of protein modifications. SIGNIFICANCE: The present study introduces a novel approach to ultra-tolerant database search, which employs prior knowledge of post-translational modifications (PTMs) to improve identification of modified peptides. This method addresses the limitations related to experimental errors and precursor mass assignation of previous open-search methods. Thus, it enables the study of the biological significance of a wider variety of PTMs, including unknown or unexpected modifications that may have gone unnoticed using non-supervised search methods.This study was supported by competitive grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PGC2018-097019-B-I00, PID2021-122348NB-I00, PLEC2022-009235 and PLEC2022-009298), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria grant PRB3 (PT17/0019/0003- ISCIIISGEFI / ERDF, ProteoRed), Comunidad de Madrid (IMMUNO-VAR, P2022/BMD-7333) and “la Caixa” Banking Foundation (project codes HR17-00247 and HR22-00253). The CNIC is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) and the Pro CNIC Foundation), and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (grant CEX2020-001041-S funded by MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).S