Multilingual and Multimodal Literacy Practices in Linguistic Diversity 

This panel discussion brings together studies on how different language modalities (digital and sign language) and multilingual practices (translanguaging) support communication and literacy development, covering linguistically diverse domains: transnational families, secondary education, sign language community, and higher education. Drawing on research findings from different national contexts, all speakers address how multiliteracy and language modalities can be used to foster participation and equity in an era of internationalization and digitalization.  

Hosted by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ingrid Gogolin (Universität Hamburg, Germany), five plenary speakers will share recent studies from around the globe. 

Dr. Irina Usanova (Universität Hamburg, Germany): Relationship between digital literacy practices, writing skills, and multilingualism.

• Dr Usanova discusses the relationships between digital literacy practices, writing skills, and multilingualism. Drawing on data from a German panel study, she addresses whether immigrant students of second generation use their multilingual skills in digital practices and how these digital practices relate to their multilingual writing skills. 

Ana Sofia Bruzon (Macquarie University. Sydney, Australia): Heritage language maintenance and the digital practices of transnational families

• Ana Sofia Bruzon introduces results on heritage language maintenance and the digital practices of transnational families. She investigated linguistic practices of Spanish-speaking migrant families in Australia. 

Dr. Li Lyu and Associate Prof. Jie Zhang (Zhongnan University of Economics & Law, China): Responding deaf people's needs during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Wuhan in 2020

• Dr Lyu and Associate Prof. Zhang describe how the sign language community (ProSigner, Wuhan Deaf Association) collaborate with other civil groups and social services to respond to deaf people’s needs during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Wuhan in 2020. Using data from interviews and observations participants and authors developed an introductory course on sign language and multimodal communication for college students to put the lessons learnt into practice. 

Prof. Dr. Yongyan Zheng (Fudan University, Shanghai, China): Multilingual practices as a transformative strategy to epistemic access in English-medicum instruction 

• Prof. Zheng demonstrates that multilingual practices can be used as a transformative strategy to create epistemic access for transnational students engaged in English-medium-instruction (EMI) learning. Data were collected over a 12-month classroom ethnography. This is a means to foster educational equity in the internationalization of higher education and to help transnational teachers/students to (re)claim their epistemic contribution capability in the EMI context.

The panel is organized by the Next Generation Literacies Network. The network is coordinated by Universität Hamburg (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ingrid Gogolin, Prof. Dr. Sílvia Melo- Pfeifer), Macquarie University Sydney (Prof. Dr. Ingrid Piller) and Fudan University Shanghai (Prof. Dr. Yongyan Zheng). The network “Social Particiption in linguistically diverse societies” is part of the Next Generation Partnership Thematic Network program funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder 

• Maximum number of workshop participants: 30

• Duration of the workshop: TBA

• Registration cost: Free

• Mode: In-person attendance only

This workshop is part of the main conference. You must register for the main conference to attend this workshop.