Unpacking EFL Learners’ Agency at the Intersection of Global Citizenship and Marginalization of Local Identities Through a Multiliteracies Approach

Abstract

<p>Given the prevalence of an increasing variety of text forms and modes of communication in today’s world, driven mainly by the pervasive presence of information and communication technologies (ICTs), it is essential that attention be paid to the affordances of the multiplicity of meaning-making resources employed for language teaching and learning purposes in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. Drawing on principles of multiliteracies as an approach that acknowledges the hybrid modalities of communication and the need for social justice and equity (Cope & Kalantzis, 2016), this chapter explores the developing identities and agency of Chilean EFL students as represented in their reflective journals and interviews. Data from a semi-structured interview with their teachers was also collected. A thematic analysis of the data reveals a tension between students’ desire to develop agency as global digital citizens and a resistance to the hegemonic influence of Anglophone ideologies which devalue/marginalize their local identities and cultures. Further semiotic analysis of students’ reflections on their experiences with multimodal composition interrogates the potential of a multiliteracies pedagogy to contribute to learners’ semiotic repertoires for developing their identities and agency as plurilingual participants in a global community.</p>