Identity, Multilingualism and CALL
Responding to New Global Realities
Edited by
Liudmila Klimanova [+–]
University of Arizona
Liudmila Klimanova, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Russian and Second Language Acquisition in the College of Humanities, University of Arizona, USA. Her research focuses on topics related to critical virtual exchange, task-based learning, and identity deployment in digital spaces.
This volume focuses on a range of topics and studies that address the notion of plurilingualism and multilingual identity in computer-mediated language learning (CALL) spaces. Interest in digital multilingual identity in the fields of applied linguistics and language education has been growing exponentially in recent years. New theoretical assumptions and recent global challenges have urged researchers to problematize the traditional notion of virtual identity in the face of increased virtual connectedness and the hybridization of transcultural and translingual practices. The chapters in this collection contribute to this fast-growing body of interdisciplinary research, featuring conceptual papers and research studies of identity performance and multilingual communication in highly complexified digitally mediated social platforms. The volume seeks to (a) contextualize digital multilingual communication as it pertains to language learning and teaching via a historical and conceptual overview of the multilingual movement in technologically mediated SLA; (b) offer in-depth explorations of multilingual practices and digital affordances that affect language learner identities beyond the classroom context, (c) fill the research void by exploring empirically the critical aspects of multilingual identity deployment in digital contexts where language learners actively participate in translingual and plurilingual practices, and (d) illustrate new ways of evaluating and adapting teaching practices to accommodate multilingual subjects, and reflect the increasingly hyperlingual nature of digital communication.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
University of Arizona
Liudmila Klimanova, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Russian and Second Language Acquisition in the College of Humanities, University of Arizona, USA. Her research focuses on topics related to critical virtual exchange, task-based learning, and identity deployment in digital spaces.
This volume is about identity and its relationship with language as it is learned and used in digitally mediated spaces. Addressing current research and scholarship on second language (L2) use and development, it aims to give readers a comprehensive overview of key themes, constructs, and contexts that have emerged from language learners’ interactions with and in continuously shifting digital landscapes.
Chapter 2
University of Padova
Francesca Helm is assistant professor of English at the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies, University of Padova in Italy. Her research research interests are in the fields of identity, intercultural learning, virtual exchange and internationalisation of education. She is currently leading the Monitoring and Evaluation in the European Commission’s recently launched Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange project. Recent publications include the volume Emerging Identities in Virtual Exchange https://research-publishing.net/book?10.14705/rpnet.2018.25.9782490057191
The Open University UK
Mirjam Hauck is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Head of the Department of Languages (Faculty of Education and Language Studies) at the Open University/UK. She has written numerous articles and book chapters on the use of technologies for the learning and teaching of languages and cultures covering aspects such as task design, tutor role and training, the affordances of the new media, and e-literacy skills. Apart from regular presentations and invited contributions to conferences, seminars and workshops in Europe and the USA, she serves on the American Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium’s (CALICO) executive board and the European Association of Computer Assisted Language Learning’s (EUROCALL) executive committee. She also chairs the EUROCALL Teacher Education SIG. She is the co-editor of the European Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning (EURODL) and a member of the editorial board of the CALL journal. Her current research and publications explore the impact of mediation and the relevance of multimodal communicative competence for the development of intercultural communicative competence in online environments, particularly in the context of telecollaborative exchanges.
In language education, virtual exchange (VE) is hailed as a form of experiential learning that offers language learners opportunities for (semi)authentic interactions with distant peers, mediated by technology. This conceptual contribution explores how – as a result of often implicit language ideologies – languages are organized in VE and the possibilities offered for identity work in VE by the framing and design of the exchanges. Using two instantiations of VE models – Tandem and Online Facilitated Dialogue (OFD) – as examples, we consider the identity categorizations and language ideologies made salient in the design of the VE.
Chapter 3
Wayne State University
Carly M. Lesoski is an e-Learning Specialist at Wayne State University. She has successfully defended her dissertation in German Studies on the topic of identity and capital during telecollaboration.
his case study presents data from a heritage language learner’s telecollaboration interactions in an upper-level German language course, highlighting the participant’s identities as a multilingual speaker of German, English, and Spanish. Increased understanding of language learner identities enables the development of strategies to mitigate impeding factors in intercultural and multilingual education.
Chapter 4
San Francisco State University
Ilona Vandergriff is a professor of German at San Francisco State University. She holds a Ph.D. in German linguistics from UC Berkeley. Her main research interest is in discursive, practice-driven approaches to foreign and second-language use in technology-mediated environments that begin with what L2 users do when they connect with others online. She is the author of Second-language Discourse in the Digital World: Linguistic and social practices in and beyond the networked classroom (2016).
Vandergriff’s discourse-analytic study of a Reddit discussion shows how L2 errors are construed as obstacles to full participation. In reproducing language ideologies and affirming the hegemony of the native speaker, Reddit community norms are shown to promote linguistic gatekeeping but the data also provide compelling evidence of inclusion of L2 users.
Chapter 5
University of Málaga
Boris Vazquez-Calvo is an assistant professor at the Department of Language Education at the School of Education at the University of Málaga, Spain, where he teaches foreign language education to pre-service teachers of English. His research interests include formal and informal language learning, technology- mediated language learning, digital discourse and new literacies, and fandom communities. His most recent publications appear in CALL, ReCALL, Language Learning & Technology or Educational Technology & Society.
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Liudmila Shafirova is a postdoctoral researcher at the research center CIDTFF, University of Aveiro, Portugal. Her research interests include informal language learning (Russian, English), multilingual computer-mediated interactions and multiliteracies. Her recent publications on informal language learning appear in journals such as Language Learning & Technology, Learning, Culture and Social Interaction and Language and Intercultural Communication.
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Leticia-Tian Zhang is a lecturer at the Department of Hispanic and Portuguese Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, where she teaches Spanish. She is interested in digital discourse, especially novel genres such as danmu commenting and vlogging, and language learning in the fandom. Her recent publications appear in Discourse Studies, Multilingua, and Comunicar.
This volume focuses on a range of topics and studies that address the notion of plurilingualism and multilingual identity in computer-mediated language learning (CALL) spaces. Interest in digital multilingual identity in the fields of applied linguistics and language education has been growing exponentially in recent years. New theoretical assumptions and recent global challenges have urged researchers to problematize the traditional notion of virtual identity in the face of increased virtual connectedness and the hybridization of transcultural and translingual practices. The chapters in this collection contribute to this fast-growing body of interdisciplinary research, featuring conceptual papers and research studies of identity performance and multilingual communication in highly complexified digitally mediated social platforms. The volume seeks to (a) contextualize digital multilingual communication as it pertains to language learning and teaching via a historical and conceptual overview of the multilingual movement in technologically mediated SLA; (b) offer in-depth explorations of multilingual practices and digital affordances that affect language learner identities beyond the classroom context, (c) fill the research void by exploring empirically the critical aspects of multilingual identity deployment in digital contexts where language learners actively participate in translingual and plurilingual practices, and (d) illustrate new ways of evaluating and adapting teaching practices to accommodate multilingual subjects, and reflect the increasingly hyperlingual nature of digital communication.
Chapter 6
Multilingualism in a Box? Identity in non-CMC CALL [+–] 135-158
Goethe University Frankfurt
Judith Buendgens-Kosten is a postdoctoral researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt. They hold an MA in Online and Distance Education from the Open University, UK, and a doctorate degree in English Linguistics from RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Their research interests encompass multilingual computer-assisted language learning and inclusive education in the EFL classroom.
Design is never neutral. Language learning products reflect assumptions about their users and about which characteristics of these users are relevant for the user experience. At the same time, they encode assumptions about (legitimate and/or desirable) language, language competence and language use. In this chapter, I employ Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System as a lens to look at three non-CMC language learning products with a multilingual theme or a multilingual component: Romanica, Duolingo, and MElang-E. I discuss design decisions made in the creation of these products, and how these interact with and potentially impact (multilingual) learner identity, especially Ideal L2 Selfs and Ought-to L2 Selves.
Chapter 7
Examining Identity Performance of Multilingual Students in Computer Science Education: A Narrative Case Study [+–] 159-188
University of California, Irvine
Sharin Rawhiya Jacob is a PhD in Education candidate at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests bring together theory from the learning sciences, computer science education, and applied linguistics to examine the linguistic and sociocultural factors that help multilingual students succeed in mastering computational thinking. She has five years’ experience teaching English as a Second Language, where she taught all levels of proficiency, including sheltered math and science to newcomers. She was recently awarded the UCI Public Impact Distinguished Fellowship for her commitment to bringing actionable change for multilingual students in computing.
University of California, Irvine
Jonathan Montoya is a Ph.D. student at the University of California Irvine. His research explores STEM and CTE pathways. Jonathan leverages his decades long experience as a practitioner in secondary and post secondary STEM and CTE classrooms to inform and ground his work. His most recent paper “Opportunity Gap and Women in the Energy Infrastructure Workforce” explores secondary and post-secondary STEM pathways for young women.
University of California, Irvine
Mark Warschauer is a Professor of Education at the University of California, Irvine where he directs the Digital Learning Lab. His research focuses on uses of digital media to promote language and literacy development among culturally and linguistically diverse learners. He is Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation-funded project developing a computational thinking curriculum for multilingual students. Dr. Warschauer is author and editor of a wide range of books, including, Learning in the Cloud: How (and Why) to Transform Schools with Digital Media. He is founding editor of Language Learning & Technology journal and inaugural editor of AERA Open.
This study examines the identity enactment of multilingual students as they engage in a year-long computer science (CS) curriculum. Findings indicate that multilingual students develop positive CS identities when their work is 1) recognized by teachers, family, peers, and communities, and 2) solidified by their linguistic and cultural resources.
Chapter 8
University of South Florida
Patrick Mannion received a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology from the University of South Florida. His research interests include Systemic Functional Linguistics, genre approaches to literacy, educational technology, and multimodality. He was about 20 years of experience teaching English as a foreign language in schools in Japan.
University of South Florida
John I. Liontas is the 2014-2021 Director of the Technology in Education and Second Language Acquisition (TESLA) doctoral program at the University of South Florida where he teaches graduate courses in ESOL, SLA, idiomatics, and emerging digital technologies. He is an active member in (inter)national learned societies, distinguished thought leader, multiple award-winning author, researcher, and practitioner and also the Editor-in-Chief of award-winning The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching (Wiley, 2018), the first print and online encyclopedia for TESOL International Association since its founding in 1966. He writes and presents worldwide on issues of idiomatics, emerging digital technologies, and game approaches.
This study describes doctoral students’ identity work within a Community of Practice, which developed in a course on educational technology use in L2 education. Course activities (collaborative digital storytelling, asynchronous discussions) positioned them as developing professionals and enabled them to provide mutual support and delineate ideal practices of language educators.
Chapter 9
University of Arizona
Seojin Park (M.A., Sookmyung Women’s University) is a Ph.D. student in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching at the University of Arizona. Her research interests are identity (re)construction and second language learning/teaching of socially and culturally minoritized groups of learners/teachers.
This chapter addresses how critical reflexivity and the pedagogical practices of foreign language (FL) teachers work simultaneously to construct and reflect their language teacher identity in online classrooms. It also discusses how Korean as a foreign language (KFL) teachers utilized their sub-identities to overcome challenges that online language teachers face in their classes.
Chapter 10
Engagement in the Expression of Learners’ Identity within Virtual Exchange Asynchronous Discussions [+–] 244-270
Universitat de Valencia/IULMA
Ana Sevilla Pavón is Associate Professor in the Department of English and German Studies at the Universitat de València, Spain, researcher in the IULMA Institute, and coordinator of the iTecla and UVEmprèn-UC Berkeley projects. She has published in international academic journals, in several books and edited volumes, and has presented in numerous conferences on applied linguistics and language learning. Her research focuses on the impact of technologies on language learning and on intercultural contexts.
Cyprus University of Technology
Anna Nicolaou is an English Language Instructor at the Language Centre of the Cyprus University of Technology in Cyprus. She holds a PhD from the School of Linguistics, Speech and Communication Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. She has participated in various research projects, such as VALIANT, DC4LT, DE-TEL and EUt+. Her research interests include Intercultural Education, Virtual Exchange, Multilingualism, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, 21st Century Learning and Extended Reality.
This study examines the interpersonal communication strategies used by Cypriot and Spanish virtual exchange participants for the projection and negotiation of their cultural identities. Framed within Engagement (Martin & White, 2005), it analyses learners’ use of contracting and expanding strategies when sharing knowledge and views about their own language(s) and culture(s) while developing new knowledge about different languages and cultures.
Chapter 11
University of Arizona
Liudmila Klimanova, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Russian and Second Language Acquisition in the College of Humanities, University of Arizona, USA. Her research focuses on topics related to critical virtual exchange, task-based learning, and identity deployment in digital spaces.
This volume focuses on a range of topics and studies that address the notion of plurilingualism and multilingual identity in computer-mediated language learning (CALL) spaces. Interest in digital multilingual identity in the fields of applied linguistics and language education has been growing exponentially in recent years. New theoretical assumptions and recent global challenges have urged researchers to problematize the traditional notion of virtual identity in the face of increased virtual connectedness and the hybridization of transcultural and translingual practices. The chapters in this collection contribute to this fast-growing body of interdisciplinary research, featuring conceptual papers and research studies of identity performance and multilingual communication in highly complexified digitally mediated social platforms. The volume seeks to (a) contextualize digital multilingual communication as it pertains to language learning and teaching via a historical and conceptual overview of the multilingual movement in technologically mediated SLA; (b) offer in-depth explorations of multilingual practices and digital affordances that affect language learner identities beyond the classroom context, (c) fill the research void by exploring empirically the critical aspects of multilingual identity deployment in digital contexts where language learners actively participate in translingual and plurilingual practices, and (d) illustrate new ways of evaluating and adapting teaching practices to accommodate multilingual subjects, and reflect the increasingly hyperlingual nature of digital communication.
Chapter 12
Cultural Identity and Intercultural Learning: Individual Learners’ Experiences in Telecollaboration [+–] 299-327
Grinnell College
Anastasia Izmaylova is the Director of the Language Learning Center at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. She works with faculty and students to promote and coordinate language and culture learning. In her research, Dr. Izmaylova focuses on intercultural competence and issues surrounding teaching and learning of culture. Her other research area is the use of web technologies in language instruction. In particular, she explores the use of social media as platforms for projects aimed at community-building and the development
of interpersonal and intercultural communication skills.
of interpersonal and intercultural communication skills.
This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between language learners’ cultural identities and their telecollaboration experience. On the one hand, learners’ identities and positioning affected the degree of their intercultural competence development in the exchange. On the other hand, telecollaboration offered learners a space to explore and reimagine their cultural identities.
Chapter 13
The Effects of Multimodal Communication on the Development of New Types of Learner Imagination [+–] 328-352
University of Arizona
Borbala Gaspar is a Lecturer of Italian at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on how (underrepresented) language learners maneuver through social and symbolic power as they gain agency, use imagination and engage in pedagogies such as project-based learning, task-based learning and (multi)literacies.
This qualitative study explores how four foreign language learners of Italian, with the use of a language exchange app called Hellotalk, a means of multimodal communication, construct different forms of imagination that is co-constructed. Findings demonstrate how learners, temporarily and instantaneously imagined being and living in Italy as locals.
Chapter 14
The Ohio State University
Se Jeong Yang is a Ph. D. candidate in the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. Her research interests lie in the areas of Applied Linguistics, CALL, telecollaboration, and learner identity. Her work on eTandem learning aspires to promote the development of L2 skills and intercultural knowledge.
This volume focuses on a range of topics and studies that address the notion of plurilingualism and multilingual identity in computer-mediated language learning (CALL) spaces. Interest in digital multilingual identity in the fields of applied linguistics and language education has been growing exponentially in recent years. New theoretical assumptions and recent global challenges have urged researchers to problematize the traditional notion of virtual identity in the face of increased virtual connectedness and the hybridization of transcultural and translingual practices. The chapters in this collection contribute to this fast-growing body of interdisciplinary research, featuring conceptual papers and research studies of identity performance and multilingual communication in highly complexified digitally mediated social platforms. The volume seeks to (a) contextualize digital multilingual communication as it pertains to language learning and teaching via a historical and conceptual overview of the multilingual movement in technologically mediated SLA; (b) offer in-depth explorations of multilingual practices and digital affordances that affect language learner identities beyond the classroom context, (c) fill the research void by exploring empirically the critical aspects of multilingual identity deployment in digital contexts where language learners actively participate in translingual and plurilingual practices, and (d) illustrate new ways of evaluating and adapting teaching practices to accommodate multilingual subjects, and reflect the increasingly hyperlingual nature of digital communication.
End Matter
Index 373-376
University of Arizona
Liudmila Klimanova, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Russian and Second Language Acquisition in the College of Humanities, University of Arizona, USA. Her research focuses on topics related to critical virtual exchange, task-based learning, and identity deployment in digital spaces.
