Literate tools or tools for literacy? –– A critical approach to language tools in second language learning.

Abstract

There are important discrepancies between how language is currently represented by language tools, such as grammar and spelling checkers, and how language is understood in a broad view on literacy in second language learning. On the one hand, language tools do seem useful and important for learning linguistic form, but on the other hand they stand in possible conflict with pedagogies that emphasize the social aspects of language. We approach issues in the intersection of digital literacy and language learning from a wide perspective on literacy, coupled with sociocultural theory and grounded in classroom studies. Based on our empirical work, we suggest that there is a need for complementary views of language to the one that propagates through current language tools. These complementary views could be reached through alternative designs of tools and education, reaching for a balance between linguistic form and communication of meaning.