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Students’ discursive moves in two distinct literacy modes: Comparing approaches in a grade 10 English classroom

This exploratory sociolinguistic study examined D/discourses and writing modes in a Grade 10 English literature classroom wherein students answered literature-based questions by means of both traditional and new literacies approaches. Studies conducted at the intersection of classroom instruction and online affinity spaces are still surprisingly under-reported in the academic literature; thus, the purpose of this small study was to contribute to new literacies studies research within classroom contexts by examining what happened when students responded to teacher-given prompts in two distinct modes: a traditional, essay-style response and a live, backchannel chat. This study compared the language use and some of the discursive moves that students made when composing written answers via both modes in order to provide insights for educators who may seek to use new literacies in their classrooms. Findings add to the discussion about what I see as the self-limiting aspects of traditional essayist-literacy (i.e. Academic English) favored by schools and the benefits of socially constructed literacy events facilitated by classroom-based online affinity spaces. Interestingly, findings suggest that this is not an either-or dichotomy, but that students in this study seemed to co-construct their literary analysis in the liminal space between Academic English and online chat discourse.