Initial Academic Literacies/EAP/Genre Practices: Towards Horizontal and Participatory Online-Offline Learning in a Changing World

Nara Hiroko Takaki^*

Language Course, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/jss.2014.210005                

Abstract

This article argues in favor of extended possibilities for under-graduate students’ initial development of academic literacies/EAP/genre practices. The description of a particular learner’s initiative and its consequences constitutes the focus of the paper, which is the result of a research project in a specific context of higher education in Brazil. Qualitative and interpretive aspects characterize the methodology adopted for this investigation for the researcher and the participants’ perspectives are considered. It also assumes academic literacy/EAP/genre as situated social practices. The learning theories support the use of Facebook in English language instruction. Portability and multitasking, opportunity to structure learning on personal time and schedule, space for critical authorship and multimodal tasks in collaborative fashion suggest the inseparability between non-dominant forma of literacies and conventional academic literacy/EAP/genre studies.

Keywords

Academic Literacies/EAP/Genre, Meaning Making, Horizontal Participation, Transformative Pro-cess

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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