Enhancing Digital Literacies with Adult English Language Learners: Theoretical and Practical Insights

Description

Offering a new perspective on adult English language education, this book provides theoretical and practical insights into how digital literacies can be included in the learning programmes for newly arrived adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Enhancing Digital Literacies with Adult English Language Learners takes readers inside Langfield, an adult community-based English language centre that supports the settlement and learning of this vulnerable group. Drawing on a six-month ethnographic study of Langfield’s work, the book explores the approach to teaching digital literacies and presents a range of perspectives, including those of the adult learners, the teachers, and the organisation’s CEO. The chapters present a holistic view of teaching digital literacies in the adult English language context by exploring: adult learners’ digital literacy practices in everyday life and their learning at Langfield; teachers' beliefs and practices about digital literacies; and the support offered to them through institutional resources, leadership, and professional learning. The book identifies exemplary practices, as well as areas for further development in Langfield’s work and offers a range of　implications for practice, policy, and research. Written in a detailed but accessible manner, this book contributes important insights into the strengths and needs of this unique and complex education sector. Addressing an area of uncertainty for many researchers, practitioners, leaders, and policy makers working within community-based learning contexts in Australia and internationally, this book will be an essential resource. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of figures Foreword Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Chapter 1: Living and learning in digital Australia Digital Australia and newcomers On the margins of digital society Government-funded EAL programmes Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Adult Community Education (ACE) AMEP challenges Digital literacies in the adult EAL settings Focus of this book Conclusion Notes Chapter 2: Developing theoretical perspectives on institutional practices Socio-material theory Digital literacies Strengths-based practices Leadership for change Conclusion Chapter 3: Researching Langfield: Institutional ethnography Considering research design for adult EAL settings Institutional ethnography Victorian context, Langfield, and participants Victorian context Langfield and research participants Langfield’s governance and funding Learning spaces and access to technology Langfield’s mission A feminist perspective about Langfield Data generation Participant observation, field notes, and video recording Individual interviews Artefacts Focus groups Thematic data analysis Conclusion Note Chapter 4: The digital lives of Langfield’s learners Learners’ digital literacy practices Everyday digital literacy practices Learning with technologies at Langfield Learners’ challenges Learners’ strengths and resources Awareness of oneself as learner Familiarity with mobile devices Home language Personal networks Teachers Thinking about curriculum and pedagogy Conclusion Chapter 5: Teaching and learning digital literacies at Langfield Perspectives on digital literacies: Surviving and thriving The Techno-Tuesday programme Integratedness Comprehensiveness Collegiality The role of digital literacies at Langfield Focus one: Basic digital technology language and skills Focus two: digital literacies Teaching from learners’ strengths Individualised learning Purposeful peer-learning Deliberate application of strengths Development of strengths through building on prior experiences Teachers’ perspectives on strengths Exploring possibilities for digital literacies Conclusion Notes Chapter 6: Escaping the black hole through professional learning Teachers’ experiences of professional learning In-house professional learning External professional learning A team of three: Peer-learning Teachers’ preferences about professional learning Content: Digital literacies, learners’ needs, and pedagogy Approach: Organisation-wide/in-house, expert-delivered, ongoing Deliberations about professional learning Conclusion Chapter 7: Enabling leadership for effective practice Distributed and connected understandings of leadership Envisioning change through teachers’ strengths Collaboration as the core leadership value Situated difficulties of enacting change Supporting change through strategic provisioning Considering transformational leadership Conclusion Chapter 8: Left to their own devices: Implications for change Re-thinking curriculum and pedagogy Centralisation of digital literacies in the EAL curriculum Consideration of the curriculum in the milieu of digital change An organisation-wide approach to digital literacies Development of suitable pedagogies for digital literacies Enhancing professional learning Three conceptual areas of focus in professional learning Pedagogies for digital literacies New forms of professional learning Developing democratic leadership practices Contextual knowledge, situated understandings, and an organisational vision Democratic leadership practices Challenging policy positions Digital literacies framework Relevant teaching resources Sector-wide professional learning about digital literacies Considering methodological and ethical issues in research Future research directions Ethics of researcher-participant relationships Engendering trust between researchers and organisation Postscript: The pandemic, lockdowns, and beyond Concluding thoughts References Index