Abstract
Narrative, a distinctly human activity, is the reason the species is sometimes labelled the storytelling animal or homo narrans. Research indicates that stories are characterised by features that mirror the functioning of the human brain. The digital transformation, with narratives proliferating across media formats and thriving in multimodal contexts, supports a “narrative turn” in English language teaching (ELT), since narrative can effectively contribute to the language acquisition process both in- and outside the classroom. Consequently, English teacher education in the twenty-first century ideally focuses on narrative when teaching multiliteracies. In a specific university setting, student teachers use a blog to report on their analyses of narrative media formats and thus create a resource for others and for their own future teaching. This assignment is motivated by the insight that learning should not only lead to present performance but should also result in future usage on digital platforms that permit global visibility and a worldwide audience. The data consists of these entries, combined with questionnaires completed by course participants, and the qualitative guided interviews of selected students. Reflexive thematic analysis permits first insights into the learning about narrative, multiliteracies and the affordances of a public blog.
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Research ethics: Not applicable.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: None declared.
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: critical multimodal literacy. Advancing educational linguistics in teacher education
- Research Articles
- Engaging the stuff of words: language materiality and symbolic power
- Overview of the emergence of an academic register in non-written languages: the case of sign languages
- Social transformation and liberating language education in challenging times: Southern voices and perspectives
- Pedagogical translanguaging in digital environments. Teaching and learning with tablets in a multilingual Norwegian classroom
- English language teaching in the digital age: narrative across the media, multiliteracies, and blogs
- Use of a robot in an imaginary space. Robot-assisted language learning with a friendship booklet (carnet d’amitié)
- Regular Article
- English tutors’ emotions, agency, and identity development in the aftermath of China’s Double Reduction policy
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: critical multimodal literacy. Advancing educational linguistics in teacher education
- Research Articles
- Engaging the stuff of words: language materiality and symbolic power
- Overview of the emergence of an academic register in non-written languages: the case of sign languages
- Social transformation and liberating language education in challenging times: Southern voices and perspectives
- Pedagogical translanguaging in digital environments. Teaching and learning with tablets in a multilingual Norwegian classroom
- English language teaching in the digital age: narrative across the media, multiliteracies, and blogs
- Use of a robot in an imaginary space. Robot-assisted language learning with a friendship booklet (carnet d’amitié)
- Regular Article
- English tutors’ emotions, agency, and identity development in the aftermath of China’s Double Reduction policy