Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Müge SatarORCiD, Dr Ahmed KharrufaORCiD, Dr Sara GanassinORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Migrants encounter multiple challenges, such as learning new languages and adapting to a new life. While digital technologies help them learn, limited research has been conducted on their digital skills development. In this article, we report on migrants’ digital skills development while learning language through culture using a web app developed by an EU-funded project which aimed to promote social cohesion through two-way exchange of knowledge and skills. 46 migrant and 43 home community members in Finland, Spain, Türkiye, and the UK participated in intercultural and inter-generational pairs to engage with and co-create interactive digital cultural activities in multiple languages. Participants’ digital, linguistic and cultural gains were measured before and after the workshops. We report on participants’ digital skills, measured by a digital competence self-assessment tool developed based on DigComp, and interviews with the participants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data were analysed deductively using the categories of the DigComp framework. Findings indicate statistically significant improvement in migrants’ self-reported digital skills. Highest gains were in the competency area of digital content creation. Comparison of migrants’ digital skill development with that of home community members did not show any statistically significant differences, supporting our argument against the deficiency-perspective towards migrant populations. Interview data suggested overall positive evaluations and highlighted the role of the web app instructions for content creation. We conclude with suggestions for further research and argue for inclusive pedagogies, emphasising how both community members learned from and with each other during the workshops.
Author(s): Satar M, Seedhouse S, Kharrufa A, Ganassin S, Dooly M, Buitrago Peña J, Öztekin E, Akcan S, Haznedar B
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: ReCALL
Year: 2025
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 03/02/2025
Acceptance date: 18/12/2024
Date deposited: 06/12/2024
ISSN (print): 0958-3440
ISSN (electronic): 1474-0109
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344024000351
DOI: 10.1017/S0958344024000351
Data Access Statement: Data not available due to privacy/ethical restrictions
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
