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Research paper thumbnail of The variable use of diacritics in synchronous computer-mediated French discourse: Replication research

JFLS, 2022

This study promotes replication research as a methodological approach that is needed in order to ... more This study promotes replication research as a methodological approach that is needed in order to compare earlier and more recent analyses of digital discourse. When much of the existing research was conducted, the primary means of communication included the use of a computer keyboard, (presumably) less bandwidth, and fewer devices. However, with an increase of the range of device types, the study of diacritics deserves another look within the Digital Media landscape. The present study examines the variable use of diacritics in synchronous (i.e., real-time) French chat discourse. We have replicated a study with different data sets from the same chat corpus, which is composed of data from a European chat server. We have also compared the data from the 2008 half of the corpus to data from the same chat channels collected in 2016 (just over 60,000 words in each half of the corpus, which included a total of 7,569 tokens that were coded). Our analysis of the 2008 corpus showed that one main finding was not the same as ours (from a different part of the 2008 corpus). Moreover, a diachronic analysis (2008 vs. 2016) revealed reversed trends between the two age-based channels (i.e., 20s vs. 50s).

Research paper thumbnail of I Tweet, You Tweet, (S)He Tweets: Enhancing the ESL Language-Learning Experience Through Twitter

Thisstudyseekstofurthertheresearchononlinelanguagelearningbyexaminingthelevelatwhich intermediate... more Thisstudyseekstofurthertheresearchononlinelanguagelearningbyexaminingthelevelatwhich intermediateESLstudentsunderstandandprocesssociopragmaticinformationintheirsecondlanguage (L2)ingloballynetworkedenvironmentslikeTwitter.Inthissemester-longstudy,L2Englishlearners fromavarietyoffirstlanguages(Chinese,Spanish,Arabic)analyzedauthenticEnglish-language tweetsproducedbywell-knownnativespeakers,withafocusonabbreviations,hashtagsandtweeter mood. Results revealed that high intermediate ESL students relied most heavily on word choice whenmakingsenseofEnglishtweets,demonstratingthatamajoritywereabletoextractsignificant meaningfromcommonabbreviations,prosifiedhashtags,indicesoftweetermoodandthetweet's largercontext.ThisinvestigationhighlightsTwitter'sstatusasanauthenticanddynamicL2setting thatfacilitatestheculturalenrichmentoflearnersandenhancestheirsocio-pragmaticawareness, whiledevelopingtheirmultiliteracyskillsinanL2.

Research paper thumbnail of Twitter in Foreign Language Classes

Handbook of Research on Learning Outcomes and Opportunities in the Digital Age, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of L'emploi variable du ne dans le discours électronique synchrone : une étude variationniste en temps apparent

L'étude présentée dans cet article se situe dans une approche sociolinguistique variationniste. E... more L'étude présentée dans cet article se situe dans une approche sociolinguistique variationniste. Elle explore l'utilisation variable de la particule de négation ne dans le cadre de clavardage synchrone. Si certaines enquêtes ont déjà examiné la présence ou l'absence du ne, aucune d'entre elles n'a pu explorer l'âge des internautes, variable indépendante qui semble influencer la variation comme d'autres variables préalablement identifiées par d'autres études quantitatives, telles que la période durant laquelle les données ont été récoltées ainsi que le type de sujet des phrases. Les résultats de notre analyse mutivariée (VARBRUL) indiquent que les types de sujets, l'âge des internautes ainsi que les différents mois pendant lesquels les données furent récoltées influencent de façon significative l'utilisation de la particule ne du corpus de discours électronique utilisé dans cette étude.

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills

Although often neglected in language textbooks and classrooms, sociopragmatic and multiliteracy s... more Although often neglected in language textbooks and classrooms, sociopragmatic and multiliteracy skills are crucial elements in language learning that language educators should not disregard. This article investigates whether a social networking community (SNC) website such as Facebook can be exploited in the context of an intermediate foreign language class to promote competent, literate L2 learners. Intermediate language learners had to search groups in Facebook that were linked to the course themes and conduct a linguistic analysis focusing on greetings, leave-takings, and vocabulary selection in order to identify the language typically used in this electronic environment. Findings suggest that over the course of a semester, learners honed in on and identified socio-pragmatic elements in this medium and that observation-based awareness-raising tasks are indeed beneficial for the development of socio-pragmatic competence.

Research paper thumbnail of Facebook-ing and the Social Generation: A New Era of Language Learning

Research paper thumbnail of Grammaire française 4th ed. by OLLIVIER, JACQUELINE, & MARTIN BEAUDOIN

Modern Language Journal, 2010

(Edited) books and journals by geraldine blattner

Research paper thumbnail of Tweetsmart: A pragmatic analysis of well-known native speaker Tweeters.

This chapter seeks to further the research on language learning online by looking at how beginnin... more This chapter seeks to further the research on language learning online by looking at how beginning French students used a popular microblogging tool to understand and process sociopragmatic information in their L2. Considering previous work on microblogging (Antenos-Conforti , 2009; Lomicka & Lord, 2012; Lord & Lomicka, 2014), alongside studies relating to
crosscultural analyses using social media (Blattner & Fiori, 2011; Blattner & Lomicka, 2012a; 2012b), participants analyzed authentic French tweets produced by well-known native speakers. The analysis focused on two different features of crosscultural pragmatics: the use of abbreviations and nonce and established borrowings from English. As such, we examined not only the components identified by L1 English students as they read native French speaker tweets,
but also how these identifications diverged with what they expected as Anglophone learners of French. Data were analyzed by means of a questionnaire, which targeted various pragmatic scenarios through a series of guided questions. Participants screenshot tweets from their Twitter feed, and then analyzed the tweets’ contents with the help of the questionnaire. The results revealed a number of breakdowns occurring in situations where students were able to identify but
not contextually make sense of high-frequency abbreviations and novel borrowings from English. As such, we argue for the importance of making students aware of this ‘invisible’
linguistic culture from the very beginning of their L2 exposure. While it is not widely addressed in foreign language textbooks, this ‘invisible’ culture is indispensable to the development and
optimization of communicative competence, meaning making, and interpretation in more advanced foreign language courses, all of which contribute to successful communication.

Research paper thumbnail of Tu ou vous : l'embarras du choix

Books by geraldine blattner

Research paper thumbnail of #OnYGo

OER, 2023

#OnYGo is an innovative first-year French language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resou... more #OnYGo is an innovative first-year French language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resource (OER), for learning beginning French (equivalent to one year at an American university). It is inspired by a remix of task-based, multiliteracies and communicative approaches, which provides students with opportunities to engage with French language and culture in a variety of contexts and situations, across a range of modalities. Through a wide range of activities, students develop and practice their language skills, and reflect on their cross-cultural knowledge and positionality in their understanding of the vast francophone landscape.

#OnYGo is a first-year textbook that takes a DEI-forward approach to the depiction of people, contexts, and concepts. It views language learners, instructors and a wide range of individuals interacting in French as belonging to a large multilingual and francophone community. It recognizes multilingualism and multiculturalism in all its forms, and showcases French speakers with a variety of backgrounds and relationships to the French language. The cultural and pedagogical materials in this collection have been selected for their authenticity and diverse representation of French speakers on the five continents, and are thus purposely inclusive of gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.

Research paper thumbnail of The variable use of diacritics in synchronous computer-mediated French discourse: Replication research

JFLS, 2022

This study promotes replication research as a methodological approach that is needed in order to ... more This study promotes replication research as a methodological approach that is needed in order to compare earlier and more recent analyses of digital discourse. When much of the existing research was conducted, the primary means of communication included the use of a computer keyboard, (presumably) less bandwidth, and fewer devices. However, with an increase of the range of device types, the study of diacritics deserves another look within the Digital Media landscape. The present study examines the variable use of diacritics in synchronous (i.e., real-time) French chat discourse. We have replicated a study with different data sets from the same chat corpus, which is composed of data from a European chat server. We have also compared the data from the 2008 half of the corpus to data from the same chat channels collected in 2016 (just over 60,000 words in each half of the corpus, which included a total of 7,569 tokens that were coded). Our analysis of the 2008 corpus showed that one main finding was not the same as ours (from a different part of the 2008 corpus). Moreover, a diachronic analysis (2008 vs. 2016) revealed reversed trends between the two age-based channels (i.e., 20s vs. 50s).

Research paper thumbnail of I Tweet, You Tweet, (S)He Tweets: Enhancing the ESL Language-Learning Experience Through Twitter

Thisstudyseekstofurthertheresearchononlinelanguagelearningbyexaminingthelevelatwhich intermediate... more Thisstudyseekstofurthertheresearchononlinelanguagelearningbyexaminingthelevelatwhich intermediateESLstudentsunderstandandprocesssociopragmaticinformationintheirsecondlanguage (L2)ingloballynetworkedenvironmentslikeTwitter.Inthissemester-longstudy,L2Englishlearners fromavarietyoffirstlanguages(Chinese,Spanish,Arabic)analyzedauthenticEnglish-language tweetsproducedbywell-knownnativespeakers,withafocusonabbreviations,hashtagsandtweeter mood. Results revealed that high intermediate ESL students relied most heavily on word choice whenmakingsenseofEnglishtweets,demonstratingthatamajoritywereabletoextractsignificant meaningfromcommonabbreviations,prosifiedhashtags,indicesoftweetermoodandthetweet's largercontext.ThisinvestigationhighlightsTwitter'sstatusasanauthenticanddynamicL2setting thatfacilitatestheculturalenrichmentoflearnersandenhancestheirsocio-pragmaticawareness, whiledevelopingtheirmultiliteracyskillsinanL2.

Research paper thumbnail of Twitter in Foreign Language Classes

Handbook of Research on Learning Outcomes and Opportunities in the Digital Age, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of L'emploi variable du ne dans le discours électronique synchrone : une étude variationniste en temps apparent

L'étude présentée dans cet article se situe dans une approche sociolinguistique variationniste. E... more L'étude présentée dans cet article se situe dans une approche sociolinguistique variationniste. Elle explore l'utilisation variable de la particule de négation ne dans le cadre de clavardage synchrone. Si certaines enquêtes ont déjà examiné la présence ou l'absence du ne, aucune d'entre elles n'a pu explorer l'âge des internautes, variable indépendante qui semble influencer la variation comme d'autres variables préalablement identifiées par d'autres études quantitatives, telles que la période durant laquelle les données ont été récoltées ainsi que le type de sujet des phrases. Les résultats de notre analyse mutivariée (VARBRUL) indiquent que les types de sujets, l'âge des internautes ainsi que les différents mois pendant lesquels les données furent récoltées influencent de façon significative l'utilisation de la particule ne du corpus de discours électronique utilisé dans cette étude.

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills

Although often neglected in language textbooks and classrooms, sociopragmatic and multiliteracy s... more Although often neglected in language textbooks and classrooms, sociopragmatic and multiliteracy skills are crucial elements in language learning that language educators should not disregard. This article investigates whether a social networking community (SNC) website such as Facebook can be exploited in the context of an intermediate foreign language class to promote competent, literate L2 learners. Intermediate language learners had to search groups in Facebook that were linked to the course themes and conduct a linguistic analysis focusing on greetings, leave-takings, and vocabulary selection in order to identify the language typically used in this electronic environment. Findings suggest that over the course of a semester, learners honed in on and identified socio-pragmatic elements in this medium and that observation-based awareness-raising tasks are indeed beneficial for the development of socio-pragmatic competence.

Research paper thumbnail of Facebook-ing and the Social Generation: A New Era of Language Learning

Research paper thumbnail of Grammaire française 4th ed. by OLLIVIER, JACQUELINE, & MARTIN BEAUDOIN

Modern Language Journal, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Tweetsmart: A pragmatic analysis of well-known native speaker Tweeters.

This chapter seeks to further the research on language learning online by looking at how beginnin... more This chapter seeks to further the research on language learning online by looking at how beginning French students used a popular microblogging tool to understand and process sociopragmatic information in their L2. Considering previous work on microblogging (Antenos-Conforti , 2009; Lomicka & Lord, 2012; Lord & Lomicka, 2014), alongside studies relating to
crosscultural analyses using social media (Blattner & Fiori, 2011; Blattner & Lomicka, 2012a; 2012b), participants analyzed authentic French tweets produced by well-known native speakers. The analysis focused on two different features of crosscultural pragmatics: the use of abbreviations and nonce and established borrowings from English. As such, we examined not only the components identified by L1 English students as they read native French speaker tweets,
but also how these identifications diverged with what they expected as Anglophone learners of French. Data were analyzed by means of a questionnaire, which targeted various pragmatic scenarios through a series of guided questions. Participants screenshot tweets from their Twitter feed, and then analyzed the tweets’ contents with the help of the questionnaire. The results revealed a number of breakdowns occurring in situations where students were able to identify but
not contextually make sense of high-frequency abbreviations and novel borrowings from English. As such, we argue for the importance of making students aware of this ‘invisible’
linguistic culture from the very beginning of their L2 exposure. While it is not widely addressed in foreign language textbooks, this ‘invisible’ culture is indispensable to the development and
optimization of communicative competence, meaning making, and interpretation in more advanced foreign language courses, all of which contribute to successful communication.

Research paper thumbnail of Tu ou vous : l'embarras du choix

Research paper thumbnail of #OnYGo

OER, 2023

#OnYGo is an innovative first-year French language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resou... more #OnYGo is an innovative first-year French language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resource (OER), for learning beginning French (equivalent to one year at an American university). It is inspired by a remix of task-based, multiliteracies and communicative approaches, which provides students with opportunities to engage with French language and culture in a variety of contexts and situations, across a range of modalities. Through a wide range of activities, students develop and practice their language skills, and reflect on their cross-cultural knowledge and positionality in their understanding of the vast francophone landscape.

#OnYGo is a first-year textbook that takes a DEI-forward approach to the depiction of people, contexts, and concepts. It views language learners, instructors and a wide range of individuals interacting in French as belonging to a large multilingual and francophone community. It recognizes multilingualism and multiculturalism in all its forms, and showcases French speakers with a variety of backgrounds and relationships to the French language. The cultural and pedagogical materials in this collection have been selected for their authenticity and diverse representation of French speakers on the five continents, and are thus purposely inclusive of gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.