Rewilding Language Education : Emergent Assemblages and Entangled Actions

Abstract

Integrating concepts and techniques from ethnomethodology and sociomaterialism, this article investigates the observable material processes involving human action and place‐based contexts of language use enabled by locative media. The focal pedagogical intervention utilized mobile augmented reality (AR) activities, the development of which was inspired by research on learning ‘in the wild.’ Applying the principle of reverse engineering, we introduce a pedagogical approach termed ‘rewilding’ for its emphasis on designing supportive conditions for goal‐directed interaction outside of classrooms. Three instances of AR materials use are presented from an out‐of‐class activity associated with university‐level language courses involving a quest‐type AR game called ChronoOps. Video data of 3‐player groups were transcribed using conventions from multimodal conversation analysis. The empirical investigation illustrates meaning making through visible embodied displays, the performance of new actions through incorporation of public semiotic resources, and the contributions of the material surround as actants in the flow of interaction. Analysis illustrates that mobile AR activities enable languaging events among assemblages of environments, mobile devices, and embodied experience. We conclude by outlining the affordances of mobile AR activities as one example of rewilding approaches to creating material conditions for language use and learning.