Dr Snezana Dabic Educator, NMIT, Australia Snezanad-ls@nmit.vic.edu.au 3rd International Online Language Conference (IOLC 2010) _____________________________________________________ Keynote Address Language Teaching/Learning as the Field of Infinite Possibilities Dr Snezana Dabic Educator, NMIT, Australia Snezanad-ls@nmit.vic.edu.au

Learn a new language and get a new soul Learn a new language and get a new soul.  Czech Proverb __________________________________________________ How many new souls do we really want or need to have? Frankly, do we have a choice? But then, what IS the purpose of collecting souls?

Three areas of interest  Difference and division, inextricable from unity and sharing as reflected in and created by the language use;  Educator / researcher and learner identities and pedagogies that have an effect on language teaching / learning;  Notions and metaphors of multiliteracies, including new technologies as legitimate tools for shaping these literacies.

21st Century Perspectives Sustainable prosperity: Dr Peter Ellyard Economic prosperity Ecological prosperity Social prosperity Cultural prosperity ‘Planetism’ – new paradigm ‘Cowboy Culture’ – current paradigm

Values of Planetism ‘Communitarianism, interdependence, democracy, humanity [as] part of nature, sustainable production / consumption / development / lifestyles, gender equality, intercultural & inter-religious tolerance / harmony, conflict resolution through negotiation / mediation and safekeeping through Security’ (Ellyard 2010a)

First key area of interest Difference and division, inextricable from unity and sharing as reflected in and created by the language use within diverse contexts Intertextuality: ways in which texts interact and change meanings and conventions, continually generating new ones by shifting reading positions of text users. (Kristeva 1986) Manifest intertextuality (where other texts are clearly visible) or constitutive intertextuality (how discourse conventions are organised in producing text) (Fairclough 1995)

(from Ellyard’s list of values) TEXT USERS take up reading positions with the totality of their beings, including all their available experiences and knowledges. Example: the use of the word ‘democracy’ (from Ellyard’s list of values) interpretations can vary tremendously, in view of the differences of all the participants sharing a discourse

Constructing meaning Teaching discourses – available choices Formal /informal learning situations, online, face-to-face, real time, just-in-time, any time Use of metalanguage Communicative situation-based strategies Online learning environments Academics turned learners Creative tension Ideological power of discourses

Second key area of interest Educator/researcher and learner identities and pedagogies that have an effect on language teaching/learning - plurality Identities: fluid, shifting, non-essentialist, respond to context Stuart Hall: identity as ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’ Perceptions of our own & learner identities Resistance vs. acceptance – individual & societal challenge

What the future holds New available roles: leaders, managers, advisors, directors, facilitators, mentors / fragmentation of identities Ellyard’s learning culture: ‘lifelong learning, learner-driven learning, just-in-time learning, customised learning, transformative learning, collaborative learning, contextual learning and learning to learn’ (Ellyard 2010a) ‘Human development and capability building’ – the biggest industry of the 21st century!

Third key area of interest Notions and metaphors of multiliteracies, including new technologies as legitimate tools for shaping these literacies Diversity: financial literacy, cultural literacy, employment literacy, digital literacy etc. Theorising: Paolo Freire - educational model of liberating literacy with empowering effects Brian Street - ideological model of literacy Walter Ong - orality vs. literacy as an autonomous model New London Group - multiliteracies

Metaphors for literacy Equating the term literacy with culture, employment, knowledge, communication, politics, finances and multiple broad areas of human enterprise situates individuals within contested sites of power - struggle for competence, acceptance, belonging and being Literacy in terms of concrete skills and capabilities: genre literacy, pronunciation literacy, reading literacy, interview skills literacy, resume writing literacy, digital literacy etc.

Integrating key issues Difference, identity, literacy and pedagogy in language use How can we resolve old dichotomies today? The new times of the Networked Age ‘ePortfolios’: evidence of learning - process & product (Barrett 2009)

Questions to ponder How can we reshape academic and vocational thinking and systems of values in our educational institutions to promote open access to sharing knowledge globally? What is the future of teaching in relation to technology-mediated learning? Do you want to be a ‘future-taker’ or ‘future-maker’ (in Ellyard’s terms) in the new scheme of things that require of us to be interdisciplinary lifelong learners?

Collecting souls, from the Czech proverb, is about creating and recreating identities for new roles and goals in our ever-changing troubled world that timidly casts a hopeful eye over us all.

Thank You! _____________ Any ? Thank You! _____________ A different language is a different vision of life. Federico Fellini