Ron Darvin is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Language and Literacy Education of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His research examines issues of digital literacy, language learning investment, identity and critical pedagogy. He has published in Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Language Teaching and Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, and recently served as a Co-Editor of a Special Issue of TESOL Quarterly on digital literacies and the teaching of English. His dissertation on the digitally mediated communicative practices of migrant students in Canada received the 2020 Dissertation Award of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, and he is co-recipient of the 2016 Award for Distinguished Research of TESOL International.
At ELT Summit 2022, Ron will deliver a talk on Digital literacies and English language teaching in the 21st century
Talk abstract
Recognizing that the notion of the “digital native” (Prensky, 2001) is a myth and that learners use technology in unequal ways, this talk examines what constitutes digital literacies, their place in the language classroom, and the ways in which they can be taught. As speech and writing converge in the everyday use of technologies, language learners need to develop an online communicative competence (Darvin & Norton, 2015) that enables them to navigate online spaces and cultures more fluidly. They need to draw on their linguistic and semiotic repertoires to perform identities, gain knowledge and build social networks to participate agentively in the 21st century. Through the integration of digital literacies in the teaching of English, learners can develop a critical awareness of evolving genres, their structures and conventions, and learn what it means to read, write, listen and speak in the digital age. By developing both functional and critical digital literacies, English language teaching can contribute to more equitable futures and empower learners of diverse backgrounds to claim the right to speak.
