“From theKoranandFamily Guy”: Expressions of Identity in English Learners’ Digital Podcasts

Abstract

AbstractFramed in theories of social semiotics, this teacher research describes the implementation of a five‐month unit on student identity in an eighth‐grade reading/writing class for English learners. After learning about principles for multimodal design, students made their own digital podcasts in response to unit questions such as “Who am I?” and “Where do I come from?” The authors analyzed six students’ podcasts using a multimodal transcription chart, comparing these podcasts to students’ assignments throughout the unit and to student interviews about the podcasts. The authors’ analysis suggests that the podcasts promoted language development and enabled the students to simultaneously use multiple cultural and communicative resources in synergistic ways to express hybrid identities.