Bridging language, literacy and learning

Abstract

In this chapter the complex relationships between the familiar, established concepts of “language”, “literacy” and “learning” are discussed and the need for building new understandings between these concepts and bridges across them is argued for. The concepts of language and literacy, and the interface between them, are not, and have never been static ones; however, there is increased recognition regarding the mobileness of semiotic resources due to accelerated globalization processes that have significantly shaped language and literacy practices. In addition, learning practices and processes are shaped by these developments and new demographics and technological advancements have changed the ways in which people (can) meet and (can) learn language and literacy. Different ways in which the three central L’s – Language, Literacy and Learning – have been introduced and attended to in the scholarship at large – particularly in the domains of Second Language Acquisition and (New) Literacy Studies, including scholarship on learning in multilingual contexts – are highlighted. This chapter also briefly introduces the other contributions in this volume.