Digital Technologies in Language Teaching before the 2020/2021 Remote Emergency Period: What were theorists already saying?

Abstract

It is clear that digital technologies have brought about major changes in the contemporary world. In addition to presenting some of these changes, this article aims to present a theoretical review of the use of digital technologies in teaching, especially in language teaching, based on academic productions on the subject, prior to the remote emergency period of 2020/21. This is because, greatly integrated into social practices, discussions about digital technologies have been referring to schools for decades through scientific works, by making clear the possibilities and needs for their use in teaching, not only during remote teaching. This article engages with language theorists such as Barton and Lee (2015) and sociology and psychology, such as Morin's Complexity Theory (2015) and Systems Thinking (Vasconcellos, 2002). It also draws on authors such as Rojo and Barbosa (2015) when dealing with multiliteracies in schools and Levy (1999) on computer-mediated teaching. This study therefore shows that: although it may have been even more inserted into academic and educational discussions since the period of remote teaching, digital technologies had already gained a large space in theoretical writings related to basic education long before the aforementioned period.