Identity, Multilingualism and CALL; Klimanova

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.

Series: Advances in CALL Research and Practice

Chapter 1

Introduction to the Volume: On the State of Identity Research in CALL [+–] 1-23

Liudmila Klimanova £17.50

University of Arizona

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

Language, Identity and Positioning in Virtual Exchange [+–] 24-48

Francesca Helm,Mirjam Hauck £17.50

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

Dr. Mirjam Hauck is Associate Head for Internationalisation, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University/UK and a Senior Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy. She has published widely on the use of technologies for the learning and teaching of languages and cultures. She is the President of the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL) and Associate Editor of the CALL Journal.

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

Multilingual Identities and Intercultural Education during Telecollaboration: A Heritage Language Learner Case Study [+–] 49-75

Carly M. Lesoski £17.50

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

#multilingualself: Hashtagging as a Resource for Performing a Multilingual Identity [+–] 76-103

Ilona Vandergriff £17.50

San Francisco State University

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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

Language Learning Hashtags on TikTok in Chinese, Italian, and Russian [+–] 104-134

Boris Vazquez-Calvo,Liudmila Shafirova,Leticia-Tian Zhang £17.50

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.

Chapter 6

Multilingualism in a Box? Identity in non-CMC CALL [+–] 135-158

Judith Buendgens-Kosten £17.50

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

Sharin Jacob,Jonathan Montoya,Mark Warschauer £17.50

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

On Becoming Language Education Professionals: Reframing Doctoral Students’ Perceptions of Language Teacher Identity Negotiations [+–] 189-217

Patrick Mannion,John Liontas £17.50

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

Construction and Performance of Online Foreign Language Teacher Identity: A Case Study of Korean as a Foreign Language Teachers [+–] 218-243

Seojin Park £17.50

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

Ana Sevilla Pavón,Anna Nicolaou £17.50

Universitat de Valencia/IULMA

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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

Cycles of Translanguaging and Group Identity Performances in Multi-Party Video Mediated Telecollaboration: Triggers, Consequences, and Implications [+–] 271-298

Liudmila Klimanova £17.50

University of Arizona

Chapter 12

Cultural Identity and Intercultural Learning: Individual Learners’ Experiences in Telecollaboration [+–] 299-327

Anastasia Izmaylova £17.50

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.

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

Borbala Gaspar £17.50

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

Re-establishing Multilingual Identities through Telecollaborative Experience [+–] 353-371

Se Jeong Yang £17.50

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.

End Matter

Index 373-376

Liudmila Klimanova FREE

University of Arizona

Reviews

Overall, the volume consists of a valuable compilation of up-to-date empirical interdisciplinary research on multilingual identity construction in digitally mediated educational and informal language learning contexts that elucidate current issues in the area and fosters the need for future extensive research. Its highly informative content makes it an insightful contribution to the newly emergent body of literature on the topic, of great interest to SLA specialists and experts in the field of CALL.
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Identity, Multilingualism and CALL

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Liudmila Klimanova [+–]

University of Arizona

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