Technologies, identities, and expressive activity | Culture and communication in digital worlds

Author(s): Steven L. Thorne, Shannon Sauro, Bryan Smith

Year of publication: 2015

Keywords: Digital communication, Identity performance, Second language use, Online cultures, Educational practice, Cultural production, Fandom sites, Transcultural authoring, Community building

Methodology/Sample: _/_

Reference: Thorne, S. L., Sauro, S., & Smith, B. (2015). Technologies, identities, and expressive activity. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 215-233. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000257

Abstract

Digital communication technologies both complexify and help to reveal the dynamics of human communicative activity and capacity for identity performance. Addressing current scholarship on second language use and development, this review article examines research on identity in digital settings either as a design element of educational practice or as a function of participation in noninstitutionally located online cultures. We also address new frontiers and communication in the digital wilds, as it were, and here we focus on cultural production in fandom sites and the processes of transcultural authoring and community building visible in these settings.

> Summary

The paper reviews identity dynamics in digital settings within second language education and online cultures.
It highlights the impact of technology on communication and identity performance.
The research discusses pedagogical benefits of Internet use in language learning.
It explores the tension between situated and transportable identities in digital environments.
The study emphasizes the need for guidance in intercultural communication and identity management.

> Problem statement

The paper discusses the complexities of identity performance in digital communication technologies and their impact on L2 education and identity negotiation.
It highlights the challenges learners face in negotiating their identities within online intercultural exchanges.
The research addresses the tension between situated and transportable identities in various communication contexts.
It also examines the influence of online environments on the construction of relationships and identities.
The study reveals how identity conflicts arise from task-imposed situated identities in educational settings.

> Methods used

The paper employs qualitative methodologies, including action research, case studies, grounded approaches, and ethnographies.
It highlights the use of semi-structured interviews for data collection.
Discourse analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis are utilized to understand learner experiences.
The research incorporates mixed methods approaches, blending qualitative and minor quantitative elements.
The study emphasizes the importance of timing and language in conducting interviews.
It explores identity performance in digital environments, particularly in online fandom contexts.
The article reviews methodologies in studies of identity in digital settings.
The research addresses dynamic tensions in identity work due to technology use in education.
The abstract indicates a focus on identity performance dynamics in digital communication.

> Practical implications

The paper highlights the importance of identity negotiation in online fandom, impacting educational practices in language learning.
It suggests that technology can enhance L2 learners’ self-representation and identity construction.
The findings advocate for integrating online speech community practices into L2 education.
The research emphasizes the need for semi-structured interviews to gather nuanced learner experiences.
It underscores the relevance of understanding identity as a relational process in language acquisition.
The paper calls for attention to cultural production in fandom as a means of identity exploration.