Emergent Digital Discourses: What Can We Learn From Hashtags and Digital Games to Expand Learners’ Second Language Repertoire?

Abstract

In recent years, digital technologies have expanded the possibilities for human interactions in ways that were never before imagined, further complicating the teaching and learning of languages (Taguchi & Sykes, 2013; Thorne, Sauro, & Smith, 2015). Despite this complexity, when approached as meaningful, high-stakes practices, discourses in digital contexts can be highly useful for language learning and teaching. This article synthesizes work related to two digital discourse contexts, specifically hashtags and digital games. Moving away from technology as the vehicle to deliver “important content,” the analysis to follow examines digital discourses as both the content and context to be examined as part of learners’ multilingual experiences. The article begins by situating the discussion focused on digital discourses, reviewing relevant work addressing interactional patterns in each context, and then applying findings to second language teaching and learning. Drawing on empirical work, the article then describes a framework with specific examples for learner exploration of digital discourses as part of their language learning experience. The article concludes with implications for future research and teaching.

Can destination image be ascertained from social media? An examination of Twitter hashtags

“…Hashtags are being used by both the demand and supply sides to share information and promote or discuss destination attributes (Shaheer et al, 2018). Trending hashtags can cross cultural boundaries (Sykes, 2019), aiding tourism strategists, managers, and marketers (Gupta and Gupta, 2019) and influencing visitation as the destination image generated online influences travel motivations alongside travel types.…”

“…These hashtags are used as an instrument for sharing content, advancing the popularity of any particular topic (George et al, 2018), and engaging public attention (Mohammadi et al, 2018). Hashtags can also be used to organise and sort tweets and, therefore, abstract the whole message (Sykes, 2019). From July 2009 onwards, Twitter hyperlinked the 'hashtag' word, which enabled the user to access all other tweets which use the same hashtag (Sykes, 2019).…”

“…Hashtags can also be used to organise and sort tweets and, therefore, abstract the whole message (Sykes, 2019). From July 2009 onwards, Twitter hyperlinked the ‘hashtag’ word, which enabled the user to access all other tweets which use the same hashtag (Sykes, 2019). “Tweets with hashtags can increase engagement almost 100% (2x) for individuals and 50% (1.5x) for brands” (Twitterblog, 2012).…”

Investigating English in Multilingual Contexts Online: Identity Construction in Geotagged Instagram Data

“…There are four functions that are relevant for this study. Others have put forth groupings into three main functions (e.g., Sykes, 2019) but a slightly more fine grained approach seemed more fruitful here. The first one is supporting visibility and findability (Page, 2012).…”

Current Realities and Future Challenges for CALL Teacher Preparation

“…Social media and the dynamics of participatory culture present numerous opportunities for designing meaningful language learning experiences (Kessler, 2018b). Researchers have observed that linguistic practices continue to evolve the longer that we are immersed in these digital social spaces, and this results in the need to prepare both teachers and learners for the changing nature of digital discourse in these domains (Sykes, 2019). As we observe how people engage with others and learn informally in these domains, there has been increased interest in identifying the aspects of these informal social spaces that may be adopted to design more engaging learning experiences.…”