Language Alternation in Online Forums
English Monolingual Normativity and Multilingual Practices
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12943161 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sibusiso Clifford Ndlangamandla (0000-0001-5259-9711, University of South Africa, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 43-63 |
| Publication date | 2020-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scrutiny2 (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1812-5441 • E-ISSN: 1753-5409 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/18125441.2020.1802504 |
| OpenAlex | W3082319373 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 24 |
Online discussion forums (ODFs), a type of computer-mediated communication (CMC), are sites of language use and multilingual practices where students communicate in web forum communities. There is limited research on the multilingual practices of students learning English for academic purposes (EAP) through ODFs. Drawing on discourse-centred online ethnography (DCOE) and discourse analysis, this article explores language alternation in one online university course. Students show agency by using languages in creative, multilingual ways when learning through technology. Although the course in question is an English language course, “semi-regulated” online discussion forums that allow language alternation and “networked” multilingualism promote peer and student-to-student interactions, resulting in fluid social relationships and challenging some of the norms of language education. Language alternation reveals the use of African languages and indexes both the expression of feelings and the cultural practices of these ODF communities. Universities are yet to implement multilingual online pedagogies that include the majority who do not speak English as a first language. Therefore, digital literacy and networked multilingualism are enabling multiple linguistic resources to challenge the “English-only” ideology
Alternation (linguistics · Community of practice · Ethnography · Feeling · Linguistics · Multilingualism · Online discussion · Pedagogy · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Technologies, Identities, and Expressive Activity
Discourse and Digital Practices
Language Online
Emotion and emotion-laden words in the bilingual lexicon
Networked multilingualism
Dominant Language Constellations in Multilingual Repertoires
Doing (Bi)lingualism
Authenticity, normativity and social media
Features of online ELF in research group blogs written by multilingual scholars
Digital academic discourse
Discursive construction of identities in a social network-educational space
Norm evolution and violation on Facebook
Reified languages and scripts versus real literacy values and practices
| Citations per year | 0.75 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |