| In public discourse, literacy is often narrowly | | | | youths' literacy, learning, and identity practices are |
| construed as a skill set related to the decoding and | | | | both shaped by and shape the interactions they have |
| encoding of print-based texts. However, this article | | | | in online spaces (Jensen, 2003). In addition, such |
| draws from a sociocultural approach to literacy | | | | research can help us to understand how youths take |
| known as the New Literacy Studies (NLS) that | | | | on and negotiate social roles that may have |
| provides a basis for more broadly conceptualizing | | | | implications for learning in both on- and offline spaces. |
| writing and reading as communicative practices that | | | | The primary context for the larger study, Affection |
| are rooted within certain social, historical, and political | | | | .net (FFN), is the largest online fan fiction archive |
| contexts of use (Gee, 1999; Hull & Schultz, 2002; | | | | housing over a million fan fiction texts, with over |
| Lankshear & Knobel, 2006; Street, 1984). In recent | | | | 300,000 texts in the Harry Potter section alone FFN |
| decades, work within the NLS has attempted to | | | | has servers in North America, Asia, and Europe and |
| "extend the idea and scope of literacy pedagogy to | | | | attracts fan authors from across the globe. Fan on |
| account for the context of our culturally and | | | | the site compose and publicly post texts based or |
| linguistically diverse and increasingly globalized | | | | their favorite media canons—including books, |
| societies" and to "account for the Breitling Replica | | | | music, movies, Japanese animation (anime), and video |
| burgeoning variety of text forms associated with | | | | games—and then the audience has the option of |
| information and multimedia technologies" (New | | | | reading and publicly posting feedback or reviews of |
| London Group, 1996, n.p.). Such an approach is helpful | | | | the texts. Participation on the site extends beyond |
| for understanding the many shifts taking place as a | | | | posting texts for entertainment, as fans engage in |
| great deal of contemporary communicative and | | | | activities such as peer reviewing, collaborative writing, |
| meaning-making practices move to online, globally | | | | and exploring certain genres of writing. Participation |
| networked contexts. Moreover, it is particularly | | | | also includes substantive discussion around |
| helpful to this article for understanding how many | | | | composition as well as discussion of the themes and |
| adolescent ELLs are developing language, literacy, and | | | | topics addressed in many of the fan fiction texts |
| social skills across national borders, as they use new | | | | (Black, 2005, 2008). Ethnographic (Geertz, 1973) and |
| technological tools and semiotic forms to | | | | discourse analytic (Gee, 1999) methods were used to |
| communicate, share information, and negotiate | | | | gain a rich sense of the FFN community, as I spent |
| meaning with youths located in many different | | | | three Breitling Replica Watches years as a participant |
| countries. | | | | observer on the site. Primary data sources were |
| As many adolescents socialize and spend a great deal | | | | adolescent ELL focal participants' fan fiction texts, |
| of time in such online, global social settings—the | | | | leader reviews of these texts, and interviews with |
| process of relocation for many immigrant youths also | | | | participants. The purpose of the larger study was to |
| takes place at least partially in technology-mediated | | | | explore how this informal, online writing space Blight |
| environments such as online discussion boards, social | | | | provide ELLs with access to literacy learning and how |
| networking sites, fan communities, and video gaming | | | | the virtual environment might promote affiliation with |
| environments. Thus, it is important to consider how | | | | composing and interacting in English. |