The Interplay of the Global and the Local in English Language Learning and Electronic Communication Discourses and Practices in Greece

Abstract

This paper describes dominant discourses and practices which permeate English language learning and information and communication technologies (ICT). Through the adoption of a critical discourse analytic perspective, and drawing on New Literacy Studies research, it discusses how English language learning and ICT practices have come to take variable forms in the Greek context. The paper argues that, in the light of changing developments at both the European and global levels, the role of ‘literacy-learning for progress and development’ as a powerful social discourse over the last 40 years has taken on new meaning in contemporary globalised conditions, placing emphasis on English language learning and ICT skills development. Two distinct discourses are identified in these new versions of ‘literacy learning for progress’. The first is found mainly in working class and lower middle class families and is about equipping young people with a strong ‘portfolio’ of formally acquired basic skills and qualifications that will ensure them future employment in the information society. The second, a ‘cosmopolitan’ discourse, is characterised by a more ‘outward looking’ or internationalist orientation. The two strands are based on different perceptions of skilling and progress.