Dr Caroline Tagg is Co-Investigator on a successful application for a Research Award entitled ‘SMS text messaging use among low-literate multilingual adolescents and the implications for social exclusion’.
This pilot study aims to explore these affordances in a study of SMS interactions of low-literacy multilingual teenagers.
Multilingual teenagers are a growing demographic in Birmingham. Studies indicate more low-literacy learners among multilingual/ EAL learners than English-only peer groups. Although teens are the highest user group of SMS, there is little research into the digital practices of low-literacy teens. Nor has there been much research into multilingual SMS practices in the UK, despite international studies.
This study looks to address these gaps in the literature by focusing on the extent to which multilingual low-literacy teens in Birmingham experience social inclusion and exclusion through SMS text messaging in two ways: socially and educationally.