On 'not spoiling the fun': integrating online L2 English use in classroom learning.

There is a growing body of evidence attesting to the extent of out-of-class L2 communicative practices among language learners, particularly those activities enabled by our deeply embedded Internet connectivity. A broad range of communicative contexts online enable, and often require, use of a second language to mutually co-construct meaning in authentic interaction. This is true of many languages, but especially of English, with its (admittedly contested) linguafranca status. This potential for target language exposure means that, in any given English classroom, learners may have relationships with the language that run far deeper than the pages of the textbook. Even at lower proficiency levels, they may consider themselves to have a degree of ownership over the language. Failing to address this in teaching practices risks creating a disjunct between the language learners encounter online, and that imposed on them by the authority of the textbook. Approaches to language learning that emphasise the embeddedness of the classroom in a wider ecology of language development seek to dismantle this dichotomy between chat room and classroom. This presentation uses activity theory to construct formal instruction and informal learning online as interlinked activity systems, each of whose outcomes affects the components of the other. An approach to teaching practices is proposed that seeks to exploit the dialogic links between the systems to ‘kick-start’ a self-sustaining cycle of development and empowerment, with each activity reinforcing the other. Class activities are discussed that seek to support learners’ English-language activities in the ‘digital wilds’, and draw them into the classroom without taming them. Furthermore, the approach seeks to maximise the incidental learning benefits from such activities, using language awareness as a cognitive tool to enhance the noticing of language in ongoing discourse.