AAUSC 2017 - 8 Beyond Participation: Symbolic Struggles with(in) Digital Social Media in the L2 Classroom

Aug 26, 2026

This chapter examines how participation in proficiency-oriented language programs evolves through socioculturally grounded applied linguistics and social pedagogy. It focuses on two instructional studies carried out across semesters in an intermediate/advanced collegiate German course, where a digital media unit extends learners’ engagement beyond the foreign language classroom. Centered on digital gaming and online discussion forums, the analysis contrasts two students’ contributions to show how symbolic struggles and contested participation emerge when learners try to occupy layered social positions within classroom-integrated digital spaces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Beyond Participation: Symbolic Struggles with(in) Digital Social Media in the L2 Classroom

Introduction

Instructional studies and digital media unit

Contrasting student case studies

Implications for curriculum and instructors

AAUSC 2017 Volume—Issues in Language Program Direction Engaging the World: Social Pedagogiesand Language Learning Sébastien Dubreil, Carnegie Mellon University Steven L. Thorne, Portland State University—Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Editors Stacey Katz Bourns, Northeastern University Series Editor Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States AAUSC 2017 Volume-Issues in Language Program Direction: Social Pedagogies and Entwining Language with the World Sébastien Dubreil, Steven L. Thorne, Stacey Katz Bourns Sr. Product Team Manager: Heather Bradley Cole Product Assistant: Catherine Bradley Marketing Manager: Sean Ketchem Production Management and Composition: Lumina Datamatics Inc. Manufacturing Planner: Betsy Donaghey © 2019, 2018 Cengage Learning, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, all content is © Cengage ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Customer & Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706. For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at www.cengage. com/permissions. Further permissions questions can be emailed to [permissionrequest@cengage.com](permissionrequest@cengage.com). Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954595 Student Edition: ISBN: 978-1-337-55449-7 Cengage 20 Channel Center Street Boston, MA 02210 USA Cengage is a leading provider of customized learning solutions with employees residing in nearly 40 different countries and sales in more than 125 countries around the world. Find your local representative at [www.cengage.com](www.cengage.com). Cengage products are represented in Canada by Nelson Education, Ltd. To learn more about Cengage platforms and services, [visit](visit www.cengage.com)[ www.cengage.com](visit www.cengage.com). Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our preferred online store [www.cengagebrain.com](www.cengagebrain.com). Printed in the United States of America Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2017 Chapter 8 Beyond Participation: Symbolic Struggles with(in) Digital Social Media in the L2 Classroom Chantelle Warner, University of Arizona Diane F. Richardson, U.S. Military Academy Introduction Participation—that long-standing assessment category on proficiency-oriented language syllabi—has found a new conceptual life over the last few decades through the influence of socioculturally oriented applied linguistic and pedagogical frameworks. Recent studies emerging from these fields have urged educators to encourage students to engage with the social world more broadly and to expand beyond the foreign language classroom. As linguistic anthropologist William Hanks reminds us,“[t]o speak is inevitably to situate one’s self in the world, to take up a position, to engage with others in a process of production and exchange, to occupy a social space”(1993, p. 139) . A pressing concern for L2 educators is thus which social spaces we inspire learners to enter through our pedagogies and which positions, that is, what forms of participation, we enable them to assume within those spaces. This paper contributes to discussions of social pedagogiesin L2 teaching by considering digital social media as not only an opportunity for language educators to access authentic communicative contexts but also a means of enabling learners to expand the scope of positions, which they occupy as users of a new language. The focus of this article is two instructional studies implemented in different semesters of an intermediate/advanced collegiate German course. The overarching curriculum of the course was inspired by multiliteracies frameworks, which conceptualize language, literacy, and learning as situated in

FAQs

What does the chapter argue about participation in L2 language programs?

Participation is framed as evolving beyond a traditional assessment category, influenced by sociocultural pedagogical and applied linguistic frameworks that emphasize engagement with broader social worlds.

What instructional contexts does the chapter study in the German course?

It analyzes two studies across semesters in an intermediate/advanced German course, including a networked digital gaming unit and a multi-week project using online discussion forums.

How do the case studies illustrate “symbolic struggles” and contested participation?

By contrasting two students’ classroom contributions and reflections, the chapter shows misalignment and negotiation as learners attempt to take up positions within layered social spaces created by integrating digital media into classroom practice.

Aug 26, 2026

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