What is the Literacies in Second  Languages Project?

The Literacies in Second Languages Project (LSLP) is a research lab currently housed at the School of Education and Pedagogy at UPB, supported by the Educations, Languages, and Learning Environments (EDULAAP) research group. As a research lab, we operate at two levels:

• We are a student research lab (semillero de investigación) within UPB, as a place where our undergraduates learn to do research and discover the field of literacy studies, while learning the intricacies of academic discourse.
• We are also a professional learning community through research, where our teacher-researchers find ways to do classroom and community-based research, learn about mentoring, and hone their academic discourse competencies.​

What kinds of research do we do at LSLP?

​At LSLP, our main area of inquiry is the use of alternative literacy paradigms (e.g.. critical literacy, multimodality, new literacies, etc.) in three main areas of inquiry:

• Our first area of inquiry aims to describe and understand how second languages help reshape the way people operate in urban and community spaces and how the presence of multiple languages helps us reconfigure our relationships with these cities and communities we inhabit.
• Our second area of inquiry deals with how second language users navigate and thrive in digital spaces and cultures (such as gaming) and how they engage with language in creative and innovative ways.
• Our final area of inquiry explores how language educators across the P-2o spectrum use and play with literacies theory to develop more engaging classroom practices with their students.

Each of these areas is reflected in our main motto and represented by one of our three teams:

• Revisiting Space - #TeamCaL (Community literacies in second language contexts)
• Rethinking Language - #TeamLaV (Gaming and digital literacies in second language contexts)
• Reinventing Education - #TeamLiLE (Literacies and Language Education)

What is Literacy?

What does literacies in second languages mean?

How does
​LSLP operate?

Our research lab and our community (#LSLPLegion) operate relying on a hybrid format from three locations:

Headquarters:
Medellín

LSLP Mobile Kommand Center:
Trondheim, Norway

Our Virtual Community:
Discord's LSLP Legion Virtual Hub

LSLP by 
the numbers

46 affiliated researchers

• #TeamCaL - 17
• #TeamLaV - 11
• #TeamLiLE - 19

LSLP researchers by educational context

• Undergraduate students - 16
• Public schools - 9
• Private schools - 5
• Higher education - 9
• Language institutes - 6
• Other - 2

LSLP researchers by geographical location

• Medellín & Antioquia - 41
• Bogotá - 1
• Tunja (Boyacá) - 1
• United States - 3
• Hong Kong - 1

LSLP researchers by degree level

• BA candidate - 16
• BA - 7
• MA candidate - 2
• MA - 19
• PhD student - 1
• ​PhD - 1

LSLP
Land
Acknowledgment

The Literacies in Second Languages Project hybrid research lab recognizes the traditions and ancestry that have made our research and our work possible. Our work is deeply connected to two distinct geographies, and we respectfully acknowledge the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands for generations.

First, we acknowledge that our headquarters in Medellín, Colombia is situated on the traditional lands of the Nutabe and Tahamí peoples, the original stewards of the Aburrá Valley. Furthermore, we recognize Medellín as a vital contemporary refuge and home for the Emberá, Zenú, and Guna Dule peoples. We honor the enduring resilience and vital contributions of these diverse communities to the region.

We also acknowledge that our Mobile Kommand Center in Trondheim, Norway (Tråante) is localed in Saepmie, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Southern Sámi people. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present, and honor their rich cultural heritage and continued custodianship of the land, mountains, and coastal waters of Trøndelag.
​
Across both continents, we are committed to moving forward in a spirit of partnership, respect, and ongoing learning with Indigenous communities.