Language and Learning in the Digital Age

by James Paul Gee, Elisabeth R. Hayes

In Language and Learning in the Digital Age , linguist James Paul Gee and educator Elisabeth Hayes deal with the forces unleashed by today’s digital media, forces that are transforming language and learning for good and ill. They argue that the role of oral language is almost always entirely misunderstood in debates about digital media. Like the earlier inventions of writing and print, digital media actually power up or enhance the powers of oral language. Gee and Hayes deal, as well, with current digital transformations of language and literacy in the context of a growing crisis in traditional schooling in developed countries. With the advent of new forms of digital media, children are increasingly drawn towards video games, social media, and alternative ways of learning. Gee and Hayes explore the way in which these alternative methods of learning can be a force for a paradigm change in schooling. This is an engaging, accessible read both for undergraduate and graduate students and for scholars in language, linguistics, education, media and communication studies.

Genres: Education, Linguistics, Research

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

James Gee is a researcher who has worked in psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, bilingual education, and literacy. Gee is currently the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University. Gee is a faculty affiliate of the Games, Learning, and Society group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a member of the National Academy of Education.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Gee frustrating. He's clearly super-smart, but his writing is very repetitious and he seems to imagine his reader as an earnest middle-schooler. This book has a useful overview of language as a social practice but very little to say, oddly, about digital language use, unless those insights are hidden somewhere in the interminable chapters on gaming.

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Language use reflects and impacts to equal degrees how we experience and make sense of the world. Gee explains with ease the ties between economics, institutional power, and literacy. Just wish he'd stop using the "spilled coffee" metaphor.

[Gala Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing a book chapter on semiotic domains, affinity groups, and Harry Potter.

[Kevin Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opening book. This book has great insight on many subjects. There are chapters and even pages that could become their own books.

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good little book: excellent for teaching at the graduate and undergraduate level. A broad range of content and powerful ideas. Gee and Hayes have nuanced their discussion of "passionate affinity spaces" from last year's Women and Gaming to be more coherent and useful, a major development.

The chapters on World of Warcraft and cat health groups are excellent.

The last few chapters seem a little thin and rushed, passing up an opportunity to engage more deeply with digital communications technology in favor of a too-breezy attempt to engage at a public-policy level, a discussion which didn't do justice to the quality of the work overall.

Still, a very good and quick read, and a good launching pad for in-depth classroom discussions on a good range of topics around language, learning, new media, games and society.

[Audra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice broad sweeps of the history of human language and learning, up to the digital age. My only regret is that it was over so soon. Went down as fast as an ice tea in the Texas summer. Good refreshment, Gee & Hayes.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brings up interesting notions about the way digital technologies is changing our cognitive abilities and our use of language. A bit too many hypothetical examples though, and SUPER repetitive.

[Andrew Dearborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book and the best textbook I have read in Education so far.