"I Thought It Was an Accident": Digital Literacy and MLL Use of Collaborative Writing Software in Post-Secondary Composition Classes

Abstract

Much research has been done on teacher and multilingual learner (MLL) attitudes towards digital collaborative writing tools, with studies highlighting the importance of digital literacy. However, there have been fewer investigations into digital literacy considered as a social practice in the context of MLLs transitioning from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses in home countries to mainstream composition courses in other countries. This case study of MLLs in such a context employs Discursive Psychology (DP), a microanalytic approach, to investigate how students and teachers co-construct digital literacy practices. Analysis of classroom and interview talk reveals that unfamiliarity with how these technologies are integrated as a material practice into classrooms can result in a cascade of unintended consequences that constrain students’ ability to engage with course activities. Interventions are proposed for increasing the accessibility of these technologies by making their use in classes a focus of student and teacher inquiry.