View Content #20883

by Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

On June 29, 2007, Apple released the first iPhone into the wild, simultaneously shaping human communication behaviors and technology innovation for the decade to come. No one could have predicted the significant influence of smart phones and mobile technologies; nevertheless, their impact on human communication practices cannot be ignored.

Take, for example, the case of text messaging. At first reduced to the transfer of acronyms and short sayings, text messages have evolved to included complex turn taking mechanisms such as three dots to indicate someone is typing or systematized structure to review conversational turns between two people or groups of multiple people, all color coded for the interlocutors.  As such, much like email, text messages have become a high stakes context for human communication that should not be ignored in the language classroom.  As learners build their repertoire across modes and levels, instructors have a unique opportunity to develop formal presentational skills as well as a diverse range of interpersonal communication skills including digitally-mediated interactional contexts. We give three examples for classroom instruction below.

1 – Text messaging: social norms and structures for text messaging in the target language are fundamental to interpersonal communication. Utilizing models for observation and analysis, learners can develop their abilities to, for example, take turns via text, add context through emojis and hashtags, and self-correct in reviewable instances of miscommunication.

2 – Email: As email practices evolve to occupy a more formal space for academic and business transactions, explicit attention to greetings and leave takings, organizational structure, and context of use can be of noteworthy use to the language learner. This extends beyond writing skills to include genre specific content.

3 – Social media: With the vastly changing landscape of social media to mediate human interaction, learners must be taught how and when to communication in social media circles based on cultural, demographic, and discursive explanations. 

Regardless of the context chosen for instruction, it is fundamental to consider the unique interpersonal nature of each as its own space, rather than a mirror of alternate types of non-digital interactional contexts.