View Content #27563

Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

The digital landscape offers an increasing number of contexts for human consumption and production of knowledge. As such, it has become critical to master a variety of rhetorical techniques and pragmatic moves to engage in online and offline communication. Some examples include the recent emergence of  youtubers (YouTube content producers receiving significant attention) and the extensive use of Twitter for political, social, and professional influence. One context with value for language educators is the practice of vlogging (the creation of a blog using videos with no, or small amounts of, text). Often centering on a topic or a specific interest, vlogs are a digital practice worthy of attention. For some good examples, check out this site that summarizes some of the most popular travel vlogs. 

From a pragmatics perspective, it is essential to not only consume the information found in these vlogs, but also to examine their structure, the ways in which meaning is expressed, and the people who both create and consume the vlog posts. As can be seen in this week’s Activity of the Week, the IPIC Framework offers a tool for framing this work in the language classroom. Key to the analysis of these discursive practices is work in each of the four IPIC dimensions: Knowledge, Analysis, Subjectivity, and Awareness. We briefly explore each as related to Vlogs below.

Knowledge: The knowledge domain focuses on the language and structures key to content consumption and creation. This includes the format of the vlog itself, the words and grammatical structures key to vlog content, and the language necessary to produce and consume comments.

Analysis: This skill focuses on the ability to analyze and compare vlog language with other language use, make choices about what language to use and when to use it, select appropriate and inappropriate topics, and identify and create shifts in register.

Subjectivity: This domain relates to learners’ ability to articulate their choices in both the evaluation and creation of a vlog post (or posts).

Awareness: This domain focuses on the ability to recognize the impact of comments and other vlog interactions.

Having learners find a vlog that they like (and create their own) can be a powerful language practice, both in terms of preparing them to use the target language in the world, as well as the development of language skills for use in other domains.