© 2006 INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION (pp. 206–222) doi:10.1598/JAAL.50.3.

“Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy

development through Japanese popular culture
Natsuki Fukunaga

Animation and other popular culture texts 2004). The author interviewed Japanese instruc-
tors and Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) stu-
motivate and teach students about dents in the southern United States and reported
language, society, and culture. how the availability of Japanese popu-
Fukunaga teaches at lar culture has changed Japanese-
Marshall University and may language students in the United States.
I remember reading about that, thinking be contacted at Department
“Man! That’s not fair! I wanna play these of Modern Languages, Learning Japanese used to be “a smart
too!” So, all of this is important because Smith Hall 751, Marshall choice for ambitious, business-minded
it eventually led to this idea that I got to University, One John
Marshall Drive, Huntington,
college students” (Parker, p. A1) and is
around the seventh grade. I got this idea now about “cool pop culture, through
WV 25755, USA. E-mail
if I study Japanese and learn to read andersonn@marshall.edu. comics, street fashion and animated
Japanese I can buy these imported video
games, because, you know, you can im- movies called anime” (Parker, p. A2).
port these video games and then I can play them even Moreover, Manes (2005), a Japanese teacher in
if, even if they haven’t been translated into English. Philadelphia, pointed out that JFL students have
(Sean, 21-year-old male Japanese major) become younger in the past 10 years. JFL learners
used to be businesspeople, lawyers, and doctors
This excerpt is from an interview with Sean (all stu- who “had a lot of knowledge about Japanese cul-
dent names are pseudonyms), a U.S. college under- ture,” although they “retained a certain detached
graduate. Sean described how he found that there attitude toward it” (Manes, p. 1). Young students
were a lot more video games available in Japanese who are now attracted to Japanese by the coun-
because they were imported from Japan. Sean’s ex- try’s popular culture were “absorbing Japanese
periences with Japanese video games brought him language and customs directly with their eyes and
to anime (Japanese animation), and motivated him ears” (Manes, p. 2). The National Survey of K–12
Foreign Language Education (Rhodes & Branaman,
to learn Japanese. Strictly speaking, anime is a word
1999) showed that Japanese-language learners are
for Japanese animated films and TV programs.
the fastest growing group among students of less
Some definitions include subcultures of anime
commonly taught languages in the United States.
such as Japanese video games and Japanese music.
It is clear that popular culture has affected the de-
Interest in Japanese popular culture such as mographics of JFL learners (Fukunaga, 2000).
anime, manga (Japanese graphic novels), and These students’ involvement with Japanese popu-
video games is growing rapidly among youth in lar culture also affects their Japanese literacy de-
the United States (Gee, 2003; Napier, 2001). The velopment and their social activities. Motivated by
front page of The Wall Street Journal on August 5, the growing interest in anime I found among my
2004, featured an article titled “Learning Japanese, students, I began searching for literature on popu-
once about resumes, is now about cool” (Parker, lar culture and language learning.

206 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY 50:3 NOVEMBER 2006

 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
I conducted an interview study in 2003 with
three anime fans, Emily, Ted, and Sean. This article
looks at their multiliteracies and the sociocultural
context of foreign language literacy development.
Although these “anime students” were college-level
JFL learners at South University (pseudonym),
they mostly talked about their experiences with
anime in their adolescence. Building on previous
studies of anime and popular culture (Fukunaga,
2000; Napier, 2001), I will discuss the findings
from my data, connecting them to sociocultural
perspectives of language learning (Gee, 2002) and
to the studies of new literacies and multiliteracies
(Collins & Blot, 2003; New London Group, 1996).
Anime in the framework of
multiliteracies
In contrast to the singular literacy, multiliteracies
and new literacies are wider concepts that include
texts, language, situated meaning, technology,
popular culture, power, identity, and critical
stance (Collins & Blot, 2003; Gee, 1996). New
forms of communication such as those spawned
by the Internet have become vital information
sources for U.S. anime fans (Fukunaga, 2000).
However, individual students have different rela-
tionships with anime and its community. Two of
Gee’s (2002) concepts are useful for understand-
ing these theories in relation to anime: shape-
shifting portfolio people and affinity groups. My
interviews with JFL learners provided some ex-
amples relevant to these concepts.
Shape-shifting portfolio people
Gee’s (2002) concept provides a useful framework
to understand anime as a product of multilitera-
cies. Gee described millennials, who were born be-
tween 1982 and 1998, as youth who shape
themselves according to “class-based customized
standardization” (italics in original) to become
“shape-shifting portfolio people” (Gee, pp.
62–63). The word portfolio does not necessarily
mean a collection of documents; rather, it is used
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
as a metaphor for the invisible skills needed for
success. Gee used the expression to describe youth
who collect skills in order to access a variety of re-
sources and to be successful in capitalist society.
These youth continue to revise their portfolios
with new experiences in order to make themselves
available for different tasks in different times. In
the New Capitalism, “the capitalism of our cur-
rent technologically driven, knowledge-based
global economy” (Gee, 2001, p. 100), class is de-
fined not only by the amount of money one has
but also by the nature of one’s experiences, skills,
and achievements. For example, millennials “cus-
tomize themselves” (Gee, 2002, p. 63) to gain en-
trance to elite schools.
Young, Dillon, and Moje (2002) criticized
Gee’s description of shape-shifting portfolio mil-
lennials for being “too generalized and too global”
(p. 129). One of the examples that Young et al. de-
scribed is of a middle class youth who resisted be-
ing labeled as a “successful candidate” so he did
not shape-shift his portfolio. Anime students’
goals are not transferable to mainstream success
either. For anime students, gaining Japanese lin-
guistic and cultural knowledge is one way to build
their portfolios by exploring authentic Japanese
popular culture. What happens once these anime
students lose their interest in Japanese popular
culture? Will they shape-shift their portfolio ac-
cording to “shifting” goals? I explore these ques-
tions in later sections. While there is a need to be
cautious about overgeneralization, the idea of a
“shape-shifting portfolio” remains a helpful de-
scription of anime students’ literacy activities.
Affinity group
Knowledge of Japanese language is one way for
anime fans to shape-shift their portfolios.
Computer skills and access to the Internet also
add to anime fans’ portfolios in the anime com-
munity. Gee’s concept of the “affinity group”
(2002) is a form of portfolio building that incor-
porates sociocultural aspects of students’ literacy
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 207
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
practices through out-of-class activities. An affin-
ity group is
a group wherein people form affiliations with each
other, often at a distance (that is, not necessarily face-
to-face), primarily through shared practices or a com-
mon endeavor (which entails shared practices), and
only secondarily through shared culture, gender, eth-
nicity, or face-to-face relationships. (Gee, p. 65)
Gee explained this concept citing the example of
Almon, an immigrant boy in Lam’s study (2000),
who successfully learned language within an
affinity group. Almon worried about his future
career because, even after living in the United
States for five years, he felt his English skills
would never be good enough. However, his atti-
tude toward English dramatically changed when
he began discussing Japanese pop music with
people from different countries through the
Internet. Not only did Almon improve his writ-
ten English skills, but also through his connec-
tion with this particular virtual community, he
gained self-confidence.
Such literacy practices may also occur
through out-of-class activities. Chandler-Olcott
and Mahar (2003a, 2003b) looked at two female
students’ informal “fanfictions” (fanfics) that in-
cluded anime characters, and were surprised at
the students’ talent as writers. Those fanfic writ-
ings looked very different from their classroom
essays. Chandler-Olcott and Mahar suggested
that teachers should be aware of literacy learn-
ing that is not valued in school settings.
Different writings such as fanfics can be used to
get to know students’ “hidden” literacy skills,
because the girls in this study admitted that
they spent “far more time and energy” (2003a,
p. 561) on their fanfics than they did on school
assignments. The two girls in Chandler-Olcott
and Mahar’s (2003a) study are like the students
I studied who found “joy” in their anime-related
literacy practices. Teachers may be surprised
that some students who are not successful with
classroom practices may be actively learning
with out-of-school practices (Chandler-Olcott
208 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
& Mahar, 2003b; Lam, 2000). Like the students
in Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s and Lam’s
studies, anime students use a tool (in this case,
Japanese) to acquire agency within an affinity
group.
Students’ literacy practices have expanded
dramatically in the Internet era. The Internet
enables students to access many cultures and
languages. Because of this, it is difficult for class-
room teachers to imagine what kind of out-of-
class activities are connected with the students’
literacy development. Although there are increas-
ing numbers of studies on Japanese popular cul-
ture in relation to first language (English) literacy
development in the areas of multiliteracies and
the new literacy studies (Chandler-Olcott &
Mahar, 2003a, 2003b; He, 2003; Lam, 2000), little
information is available to understand popular
culture’s effects on JFL literacy development.
What, then, is anime “good for”? What
draws students to it? The purpose of this study
was to identify JFL students’ perspectives on ani-
me and to explore how three students made use
of their anime knowledge while learning
Japanese. Data for this study came from photo-
graphs taken by participants, individual inter-
views, and participants’ reflection papers about
the interviews. I supplemented these data with a
previous survey and interview study (Fukunaga,
2000) on U.S. anime fans’ perspectives of
Japanese popular culture.
The current study contributes to several
areas of educational instruction. In the fields of
first- and second-language (L1 and L2) literacy
studies, this study helps teachers to understand
the cultural context of anime and its value for
students as an out-of-class L2 learning tool. This
study also gives students and teachers a better
sense of the effect and scope of popular culture,
especially that originating in “other” cultures. In
addition, this study provides sociocultural per-
spectives on learning from interdisciplinary
studies including L1 and L2 literacy, multilitera-
cies, cultural studies, media literacy, and critical
pedagogy.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Ta b l e 1
Students’ background information
Name Age Sex Major
Emily 21 F Instructional
Technology
in Education
Ted 21 M Japanese
Sean 21 M Japanese
Setting and participants
In order to understand JFL students’ perspectives
of anime and Japanese literacy development
through anime, I conducted an interpretive, qual-
itative interview study. Emily, Ted, and Sean were
chosen as participants in this study by purposeful
sampling. The criteria for selection were (1) stu-
dents who were at least intermediate level in
Japanese, (2) students who were not taking
Japanese classes from me when I conducted the
study, and (3) students who had a particular in-
terest in anime and Japanese popular culture.
Emily, Ted, and Sean are Caucasian, were born in
the United States, and are native speakers of
English. The participants’ background informa-
tion is described in Table 1.
Emily, Ted, and Sean started watching ani-
me when they were in high school. Thus, watch-
ing anime was a part of their youth culture. Emily
and Ted regularly attend the Anime Club meet-
ings at South University. Anime Club is a student
organization for people who enjoy watching ani-
me and playing Japanese video games. Anime
Club members gather at a theater on campus
to watch six 30-minute anime programs on
Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. For three
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
Japanese study Interests
Took 3 semesters Anime Club, manga, fantasy,
and stopped the Internet, science fiction,
collection of anime products
(toys, cards)
In the 4th semester Anime Club, video games,
of study collection of anime series,
the Internet
Went straight into Anime Club, manga,
the highest level Japanese films, video games,
(8th semester) of Japanese book reading circle,
Japanese class BBS (Bulletin Board System),
the Internet
hours, the people at the meeting listen to
Japanese while they watch anime with English
subtitles. Ted told me, “True anime fans only
watch anime with English subtitles. Many people
begin watching dubbed versions of anime on
Cartoon Network on TV and most of them even-
tually move away from dubbed anime [because]
they are not authentic.” Most anime programs
last for 30 minutes and have an opening theme
song and an ending song. Several members of
Anime Club attend weekly leadership meetings
on Wednesdays. Emily and Ted attend both meet-
ings regularly while Sean occasionally attends
Monday meetings.
Data collection and analysis
I used a data collection method that Allen and
Labbo (2001) and Allen et al. (2002) used in their
project PhOLKS (Photographs of Local
Knowledge Sources). This method provides a
view of students’ out-of-school lives. Students
were asked to photograph important objects in
their homes and neighborhoods. This project al-
lowed teachers to “extend the classroom commu-
nity to include children’s home communities, to
build reciprocal relationships with families”
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 209
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
(Allen et al., p. 314). However, the photographs
that participants took were not the main focus of
my study. Rather, they served as a stimulus for the
interview. They also helped to create a common
ground for conversation about Japanese popular
culture texts.
One week prior to their individual inter-
views, the students took photographs of things
related to Japanese popular culture and language
learning that they considered important in their
everyday lives. Each student participated in a
two-hour, open-ended, audiotaped interview
and told stories about the objects. Following are
some examples of interview questions: How did
you become interested in anime? How does ani-
me affect your Japanese learning? How does ani-
me affect your social relationships? After the
interview, students wrote a one-page reflection.
To corroborate my initial interpretations, I asked
each student to meet for a follow-up interview
that lasted for about one hour. I transcribed
each interview, showed the transcript to each
student, and got some feedback. I analyzed the
interview transcriptions, photographs, and writ-
ten responses using the ethnographic content
analytical method (Altheide, 1987; LeCompte,
2000). I created categories and subcategories fo-
cusing on the insider’s perspective of this cultur-
al group. To ensure internal reliability, I used
triangulation (Glesne, 1999) with the three data
collection methods. I also used ongoing and fi-
nal member checks for validity to make sure I
represented the participants and their ideas ac-
curately.
My analysis is shaped by my status as both
an insider and outsider in the anime communi-
ty. As a native Japanese, I have my own concep-
tion of anime because of its strong presence in
Japanese popular culture; however, I am not a
fan who claims to know everything about ani-
me. I question whether JFL students have the
same concept of anime as Japanese natives.
Many Japanese people grow up with anime as a
part of everyday life. Throughout this study, I
have been careful not to assume anything is
210 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
“normal” just because I experienced it. Rather,
my goal is to understand JFL students’ perspec-
tives on anime. I began wondering about anime
students’ perspectives and their activities outside
of the classroom while I was teaching Japanese
at South University, observing students and
communicating with them in class. Anime stu-
dents reminded me of my own experience of
learning English as a second language through
popular culture such as Hollywood movies and
the Beatles. I was curious to see what parts of
anime U.S. students are interested in and why
such students are fascinated with it. I avoided
including students who were in my Japanese
classes as participants in this study so that I did
not need to worry about participants acting as
“good students,” intentionally or not.
Findings: Anime and foreign
language literacy learning
My findings fell into four categories: overview of
participants’ activities with Japanese popular cul-
ture, uniqueness of anime, advantages for JFL lit-
eracy development, and individual differences. I
found that anime played different roles for each
student.
Overview of participants’ activities
with Japanese popular culture
Emily, Sean, and Ted described the aspects of ani-
me in which they were engaged. I noticed that
their use of the word anime was not limited to
animated films and TV programs; rather, it in-
cluded subcultures around anime. In this larger
concept of anime, there were subcultures of man-
ga, video games, anime music, and anime-related
activities (see Figure 1). In Figure 1, the solid lines
indicate strong and direct connections between
each subculture of anime while the dotted lines
indicate that some parts may or may not have a
direct connection to anime.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture

Figure 1
JFL students’ perspectives of anime and its subcultures

Anime (Japanese animation)

Manga: TV programs,
Anime music:
comics, animated films, J-pop,
soundtrack,
Dojinshi DVDs, videos J-rock
Seiyu (cast)

Anime products: Anime activity:

stationery, toys, Anime Club, online bulletin board Games:
T-shirts services, the Internet, amime video games,
conventions, cos-play computer games

To JFL students, anime includes TV pro- First, Ted showed me a photograph of his com-
grams, animated films, DVDs, and videos. One puter and audio equipment (see Figure 2) and
anime subculture, manga, includes comics and explained how important technology is for him.
dojinshi or zines, small hand-made booklets
Ted described his theory as follows: “People
written by anime fans that parody manga or ani-
who are interested in anime also enjoy playing
me. Many Japanese and English dojinshi are
video games, and people who like computers of-
available on the Internet. The “fanfics” in
ten enjoy anime and video games.” Emily and
Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s study (2003a,
Sean talked about similar situations involving
2003b) can be considered a type of dojinshi. Sean
anime fans, video game fans, and computer en-
and Ted entered the world of anime through
thusiasts. In fact, all three participants fit this the-
playing video games from Japan, in particular,
ory because they enjoy activities with anime,
role-playing games, which have many character-
video games, and computers. Anime fans in the
istics of anime. Sean describes the connection
United States get most of their information from
between anime and video games this way:
the Internet, which presupposes a certain level of
“Japanese video games like Nintendo games and
computer skill. Emily did not talk much about
Japanese anime are closely connected. Often
video games, although she did mention that her
video games are based upon on anime, and ani-
boyfriend plays Japanese video games.
me is based upon video games.” In the interview
and in his written responses, Ted tried to form a Anime-related activities are important for
theory about the relationships among anime Emily and Ted. Anime clubs and anime conven-
fans, video game fans, and computer enthusiasts. tions, in particular, help to create communities.

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY 50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 211

 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Figure 2
Te d ’ s c o m p u t e r a n d a u d i o e q u i p m e n t
Anime conventions provide a means to see how
anime consists of subcultures such as manga, ani-
me products, music, costumes, video games, and
animation itself. For Emily, anime products such
as stationery, toys, cards, and posters were part of
the subculture. All the participants talked about
the strong connection between watching anime
and listening to anime theme songs. Emily shared
some CDs of music that was used as opening and
ending theme songs of anime. This is consistent
with previous interviews I conducted in which
participants noted that anime fans began listen-
ing to Japanese pop or rock music once they
learned some Japanese songs from anime.
Uniqueness of anime
All the participants pointed out that the unique-
ness of anime, which differs from U.S. animation,
attracts anime fans in the United States. Table 2
presents an outline of the differences between
212 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
anime and U.S. animation from the three U.S.
college students’ perspectives.
Emily, Ted, and Sean expressed that the dis-
tinctive art style of anime, exemplified in draw-
ings of characters with “big eyes,” is one of the
unique qualities of anime. The participants also
noted that the humor in anime differed from
what they were used to with U.S. animation.
When Sean first read Ranma 1/2 in translated
Japanese manga comics (see Figure 3), he found
himself loving it.
Just because, it was...it was funny, but it wasn’t just
funny. It had this really quirky sense of humor. I don’t
even know how to describe it, but it was just this al-
most oddball sensibility that you just don’t find...in
American comics. (Sean’s interview transcript)
Soon after Sean read the first manga in English,
he began watching anime.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Ta b l e 2
Differences b e tween anime and U.S. animat ion
Anime (Japanese animation)
• Variety of issues, no censoring
• Distinctive art style
• Quirky sense of humor
• Detailed and continuous story line
• Deep, involved relationships
• Stronger character development
• High-quality voices
• Creativity
• Popular music
The participants in this study agreed that
the story lines in anime are detailed, complicat-
ed, and continuous. Emily commented, “If the
character dies, he doesn’t come back on the next
show!” A participant in my previous study
(Fukunaga, 2000) also mentioned the narrative
style of anime as an attraction because of the
range of issues in the stories. The most frequent-
ly emphasized point across the three students
in the current study was that anime covers so
many different themes, such as fantasy, everyday
Japanese life, cooking, action, adventure, martial
art, sports, romantic drama, comedy, and same-
sex relationships. Because U.S. television net-
works are subject to regulation and censorship,
the content of anime sometimes is changed. This
causes some problems for U.S. anime fans and
frustration with the “American” version of ani-
me. For example, in the first season of Sailor
Moon, there were two male characters who had a
relationship. According to Sean, one of them was
very feminine looking, so “they turned him into
her. They gave him a woman voice actor and it
looked like a woman, and you couldn’t tell a dif-
ference unless” you watched the original anime.
Sean said, “I remember my shock when I found
out about that. I was like, no way!” The deceptive
treatment of particular parts of anime in the
American versions made Sean begin comparing
original anime with the dubbed versions.
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
American animation
• Limited variety, strict censoring
• Controlled contents
• Sitcom style
• Childish stories
Advantages for JFL literacy
development
Repetitive watching of anime provides multiple ad-
vantages for learning Japanese. My data suggest
three linguistic aspects to the advantages: word
recognition, listening and pronunciation, and
awareness of various Japanese linguistic features. In
the interviews, students used some Japanese words
that describe anime-related concepts such as otaku
(anime geeks), hentai (pervert), shōnen (boys), and
shōjo (girls). Hentai refers to a genre of anime that
includes pornography. Proper nouns such as char-
acters’ names (Michiru) and names of places
(Harajuku), and ways to address people such as
sensei (teacher), okāsan (mom), and onēchan (my
big sister), are also common words learned through
anime (Fukunaga, 2000). Ted shared his experience
of playing video games from Japan and noticing
the Japanese names of the characters: “Even though
it is all in English it has all Japanese people’s names,
so you can have a child who recognizes that these
aren’t American names.”
Emily, Ted, and Sean hear Japanese conver-
sation at a natural speed in anime. In one of
Emily and Ted’s favorites, Kareshi kanojo no jijō
(His and Her Circumstances), the introduction of
each 30-minute show and the opening and end-
ing theme songs stay the same. As students watch
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 213
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Figure 3
S e a n’s m a n g a co l l e c t i o n
several episodes, they naturally get used to hear-
ing the characters’ fast Japanese speech. Emily
owns a couple of Japanese music CDs because she
liked the theme songs of some anime shows, so
she looked up the artists and bought the CDs on
the Internet. People at Anime Club meetings sing
the theme songs in Japanese even though most of
these students do not take formal Japanese les-
sons (Fukunaga, 2000).
After watching many anime shows in
Japanese with English subtitles, Ted, Emily, and
Sean told me that they became aware of several
Japanese linguistic aspects such as male and fe-
male speech endings, tone of voice, formal and
plain forms of speech, slang, and good or bad
214 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
translation. Because most of the narratives in ani-
me are conversational, students are exposed to
slang and plain forms of speech that are not
taught at the beginning level of Japanese classes.
In Kareshi kanojo no jijō the change in speech is
obvious because the main female character,
Yukino, is an honor student at her middle school
where she uses “proper” manners and polite
speech, while she acts quite differently at home.
Thus, viewers get some ideas of different speech
types and mannerisms in Japanese society. All
three participants also expressed their feelings
about good and bad translations of anime. Emily
and Ted have made their own “fansubs,” anime
videos subtitled in English by anime fans. Before
DVDs and high-speed Internet were available,
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Figure 4
Cycle of anime students’ JFL learning
Anime
Pre-exposed and reinforced by linguistic and
cultural knowledge
anime fans watched videos owned by local anime
clubs that were not yet “officially” released in the
United States with fansubs. Watching many fan-
subs made participants sensitive to and critical of
how the language was translated.
Another important advantage that learners
found from watching anime was increased
Japanese cultural knowledge of nonverbal ges-
tures, mannerisms, social settings and rules, fami-
lies, meals, and homes. From Kareshi kanojo no
jijō, Emily explained that she learned about
Japanese school settings, juken jigoku (examina-
tion hell), ijime (bullying), and katei houmon
(teacher’s home visit). Ted mentioned that some
of his friends started playing Go, a Japanese
board game that uses black and white stones, af-
ter watching Hikaru no go (Hikaru’s Go). There
are countless examples of mannerisms in Japan
such as bowing, using chopsticks, and taking
shoes off at the genkan (entrance of the house).
Ted and Sean told me how they developed visual
images of how streets look in Japan with vending
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
Japanese class
Learn and pratice grammar,
writing system, speaking,
and culture notes
machines and konbini (24-hour convenience
stores). Emily explained,
In anime, you pick up the words, then go to class, you
learn what the words mean, and go back to anime,
...to see them in context.... So basically, just like, you
keep going back, the more you learn and more you
can apply to anime.
As a result of my findings, I developed a cycle of
anime watching and Japanese learning often ex-
perienced by anime fans (see Figure 4).
Anime students have been exposed to many
aspects of the language and culture of Japan
through anime and its subcultures before they
start taking Japanese courses. In Japanese class,
anime students put their prior knowledge to use
while they gain new knowledge of vocabulary,
grammar, writing systems, and culture. When
these students go back to anime, they find them-
selves recognizing more words than before and
reviewing things they learned in the past. As stu-
dents continue this cycle of practice, they become
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 215
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
aware of how Japanese expressions are translated.
Thus, watching anime becomes a reinforcement
of Japanese knowledge. Some anime students
might extend this cycle by digging into subcul-
tures such as Japanese music, manga, and video
games.
Individual differences
Each participant in this study had a different rela-
tionship with Japanese popular culture and lan-
guage learning. Emily told stories of how she
began watching anime with her best friend in
high school while showing me a photo of her col-
lection of Sailor Moon toys (see Figure 5). This
photo symbolizes her relationship with the friend
with whom she collected anime toys. In contrast
to these happy memories, Emily also told some
stories of her fear of not being understood by
other students in her college dormitory. In her re-
flection paper on the interview conversation,
Emily expressed her uncomfortable feelings:
My friends before I met the anime club people were
just the people who were there—my roommate, and
neighbors on my dorm hall. They were nice enough
most of the time but we didn’t share many interests
at all and they thought I was weird because I liked
anime.
Emily had been looked down upon and ridiculed
by others for being “strange” and “weird” because
she watches “cartoons” and reads a lot of fantasy
novels, including some manga. On the other
hand, Emily often used the words weird and
strange in positive ways when she explained the
content of some anime shows during the inter-
view. Emily also used these words to describe her
anime friends and herself. She suggested that it
was good for “anime friends” to be weird and
even to use the word to describe one another be-
cause they all knew they were weird. Emily used
the word weird several times in her interview.
I mean these people are weird and very accepting
people because they know they are weird and you
216 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
know...you know...and [because] everyone has the in-
terest that people outside of the interest think it’s
weird, you have more of the connection to each other.
Because...they don’t see you as weird for liking that
stuff. (Emily’s written response)
The word weird in this case empowers Emily and
her anime friends. The word weird has different
meanings depending on who uses it to describe
whom. That Emily takes an active role in calling
herself weird implies that she is aware of her
agency, instead of being passive about being
viewed as weird by others. It seems as though
Emily has been searching for some alternatives in
her life and she found one by constructing herself
through social activities within an anime com-
munity.
Ted has a clear vision of how Japanese will
be part of his future. He wants to be a translator
of anime and video games, so he takes Japanese
classes and East Asian literature classes seriously.
To answer my question about whether or not ani-
me influenced his future, Ted explained, “I think
it definitely impacted, I guess, where I think my
career is going. Because I liked anime so much so
I decided to translate to English.”
Sean started playing Japanese video games
when he was in fourth grade, and he decided to
study Japanese to be able to play the original
Japanese games when he was in seventh grade.
Then, when he started watching anime, he real-
ized that there were many shows not imported to
the United States, so he started taking private
Japanese lessons from a Japanese woman.
It’s really funny but in the meanwhile, I really got in-
terested in Japanese itself and I kind of lost interest in
the video games. So it was like that video games were a
stepping stone into the study of Japanese language
and culture, so...but I still get kind of nostalgic when I
think back on it now.... (Sean’s interview transcript)
Sean told me enthusiastically about traditional
and historical Japanese cultural events in which
he participated. In a way, Sean is shape-shifting
his portfolio as a Japanese learner (Gee, 1996).
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Figure 5
E m i l y ’s S a i l o r Mo o n toy co l l e c t i o n
He does not limit himself to being a “Japanese
video game fan” or “anime fan.” Instead, he ac-
tively searches for new interests.
Popular culture and multiple
literacies
In discussing this study, I offer a new perspective
about how anime students engage with a new
language by connecting my findings to the peda-
gogy of multiliteracies (Lankshear & Knobel,
2003; New London Group, 1996), focusing on
contextualized literacy practice, identity, cultural
diversity, and critical dimensions of literacy. The
most significant advantage that anime offers to
JFL students is in the contextual and multiple
meanings of text. Foreign language learning in
the United States often lacks a cultural context.
Therefore, some learners only gain surface knowl-
edge of language and culture and keep “a certain
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
detached attitude” toward the target language and
culture (Manes, 2005, p. 1). Anime students com-
pensate for this situation by becoming members
of the anime community. The findings of this
study include multiple advantages that anime of-
fers to linguistic and cultural aspects of JFL litera-
cy development. Because they are accustomed to
listening to Japanese speech, some anime students
in my classes have excellent pronunciation, and
they have also been exposed to multiple Japanese
social contexts. As a part of the final oral exam,
my JFL students performed minidramas in small
groups. I can sometimes spot “secret” anime stu-
dents in my classroom by listening to their
Japanese speech in these minidramas.
One challenge for JFL teachers is how to
incorporate colloquial speech with class work.
Most JFL textbooks introduce polite speech in
beginning Japanese classes. In Japan, students are
supposed to use polite speech with teachers.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 217
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Naturally, JFL teachers use polite speech in class-
room settings. However, JFL students point out
that none of their Japanese friends talk like that
among themselves. Anime students are used to
hearing different speech styles in Japanese ac-
cording to different situations. In classroom-
based minidrama performances, it is clear that
some anime students are comfortable with differ-
ent speech styles. These anime students also seem
to have less anxiety about studying Japanese.
Japanese is rated among the most difficult lan-
guages to learn for English native speakers. To
have less anxiety helps students enjoy learning
Japanese.
Anime students are very aware of the na-
tional origins of anime. Kubota (2002) ques-
tioned the way culture should be taught in
foreign language classrooms, criticizing the
“static” knowledge of culture taught in language
classrooms and calling for recognition of “the di-
versity and dynamic nature of language and cul-
ture” (p. 26). Taking this into account, I consider
anime students to be active learners who gather
information about Japan from multiple sources
through media. What foreign language teachers
should do is help all students to be active learn-
ers. These anime students actively expand their
knowledge, inspired by anime. For example, one
female anime student refers to herself as boku, a
term commonly used by boys and men, in my
Japanese class. She explains, “I know that some
anime female characters call themselves boku in-
stead of watashi. I think it suits me [because] I
am a tomboy.” I was impressed by what this par-
ticular student brought to my JFL classroom.
Another example of anime students’ multiple
viewpoints is gendered language usage. While
many JFL texts represent fixed use of gendered
languages—for example, males use da while fe-
male use wa for speech endings (Siegal &
Okamoto, 1996)—anime students are aware of
the shifting nature of these gendered languages
depending on social situations. This type of stu-
dent becomes a constant reminder to get away
from teaching “static” knowledge of language and
culture.
218 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
My findings reiterate the importance of the
learner’s identity and community of practice
(Chandler-Olcott & Mahar, 2003a, 2003b). A
problem in many educational settings is that
teachers do not have insider knowledge of anime.
A study of anime fans shows that they recognize
the lack of social legitimacy for anime (Napier,
2001). For example, some anime fans express
their dilemma of enjoying anime and anime-
related activity but being viewed as “weird” by
others, including family members, friends, and
teachers. In Napier’s words, “[b]ecause the object
of their interest is not an American pop culture
icon, they may therefore feel more marginalized
than fans of American cultural products” (p.
244). The three JFL students showed concerns
about how they were perceived by nonfans, but
the anime community’s support enabled Emily
to be empowered by the word weird. This act re-
minded me of the use of the word queer in Queer
Theory: The word is used pejoratively by those
outside the affinity group, but those inside the
group embrace it as a way of identifying with
one another and empowering themselves (Butler,
1993). Emily seems to have been empowering
herself through building relationships with ani-
me fans.
This critical nature is not limited to ani-
me—indeed, many popular culture texts address
it. Themes that are taboo in certain cultures can
be discussed in popular culture as a creative
medium. Anime creates space for new discussion
topics among non-Japanese consumers. This
openness within popular culture is important to
understanding U.S. college students’ interaction
with this medium. In a postmodern society, we
are exposed to a huge amount of information. As
the “American” version of Sailor Moon suggests,
what we see is not necessarily true. An essential
skill to develop is that of questioning what we
see. This needs to be applied to every media, in-
cluding anime. While anime offers advantages in
terms of cultural and linguistic knowledge about
Japan, it is fictional. It is dangerous to take
knowledge of something only from one source.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
We need to encourage students and ourselves to
see things from multiple sources and aspects.
What happens if anime students lose inter-
est in anime? I was once asked, “Don’t you think
students’ interest in popular culture is just a part
of adolescence? They will soon forget about it.” I
answered, “Yes for some students and no for oth-
ers.” I believe that the three participants in this
particular study are good examples of these mul-
tiple positions. All three students began studying
Japanese motivated by their interest in anime and
its subcultures. However, anime played different
roles for each student. For Emily, anime was a
social activity. Thus, Emily stopped studying JFL
after establishing her agency in the anime com-
munity. For Ted, studying JFL and his anime ac-
tivities were connected to his desire to become a
translator. Most likely, Ted will continue to study
JFL unless he changes his mind about a career.
From a Japanese teacher’s view, Sean seems to be
the most successful learner who is flexible enough
to shape-shift his portfolio as he passes through
different stages of life.
Sean is the closest to using anime as part of
his portfolio in Gee’s sense. In the time since the
data collection, Sean received a competitive schol-
arship for study abroad, spent one year as an ex-
change student in Japan, and expanded his
perspectives of that country. Now he has come
back and is searching for a graduate school, hop-
ing to be a Japan expert in areas of history, tradi-
tional and contemporary culture and society,
linguistics, literature, and martial arts.
Whether these students continue studying
Japanese or not, their personal connections with
the target language and culture is a shared attitude
among them. All three participants simply wanted
to explore new worlds. These anime students en-
gaged with the new language and culture in unique
ways to meet their own needs and desires to know
about other people, languages, societies, and the
world. The new version of Japanese enthusiast—
the anime student—provides a new way of think-
ing about how students engage with language and
suggests a more idealistic view of the process.
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
Implications for teachers
I have four suggestions for teachers that follow
directly from the findings of this study and my
ongoing work as a Japanese teacher and anime re-
searcher.
1. Get to know the tools
Knowledge of anime students’ activities can help
teachers think about alternative ways to teach lit-
eracy in a multiliteracies framework. It may also
help teachers appreciate students’ love of popular
culture. The participants in this study cited their
frequent use of the Internet for anime-related ac-
tivities. Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s (2003b)
study also reminded us of “the need to consider
how those tools are specifically used as part of
membership in particular communities of prac-
tice” (p. 381). It goes without saying that the
Internet is becoming a necessary tool for adoles-
cents to gather information and construct their
social identities by participating in online activi-
ties as members of certain affinity groups. As Ted
suggested, some people prefer communicating
with others on the Internet rather than through
face-to-face interaction. We may be able to find
students’ potential literacy skills and their multi-
ple identities by paying attention to their activi-
ties with popular culture texts and the Internet.
2. Appreciate authentic aspects of
other cultures
Appreciating authentic aspects of other cultures
is a better way to see language in context. In the
1960s, Japanese cultural aspects in anime had to
be taken out or modified to appeal to viewers in
the United States. Current anime fans enjoy
watching both types of anime, the new hybrid
type and anime based on authentic Japanese cul-
ture with some twists such as Hikaru no go
(Hikaru’s Go). Instead of changing “other” cul-
tural norms into “American” norms, anime fans
have begun to respect Japanese culture and lan-
guage. Some of the students who liked watching
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 219
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
Hikaru no go formed a Go club and met weekly. It
was a surprise to me that U.S. students took up
the challenging and complicated game. Another
example is from an anime and manga series
called Fruit Basket, from which one of my stu-
dents learned the zodiac in Japanese.
Popular culture texts such as anime are a
hook to draw students’ attention, and teachers
can use them to help students expand their multi-
cultural awareness. I suggest using anime that in-
spires discussions on aspects of Japanese culture
as well as global issues. To discuss war and peace
issues with elementary students, I suggest using
Hotaru no haka (Graveyard of the Fireflies; Studio
Ghibli & Takahata, 1988). For middle school stu-
dents and older, Kaze no tani no Naushika
(Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind; Takahata &
Miyazaki, 1984) will provoke discussions related
to war and environmental issues. In JFL class-
rooms, students can experience Japanese family-
based humor while they listen to kansai-ben
(Kansai dialect) in Houhokekyo Tonari no
Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas; Suzuki,
Ishii, & Takahata, 1999).
K–12 teachers can invite Japanese teachers
or native informants from local colleges and
communities into classrooms in order to provide
knowledge of Japanese language and culture be-
yond popular culture. Every year around March, I
visit a local elementary school and talk about
Japanese culture to second graders as a part of so-
cial studies classes about Japan. If teachers cannot
find any Japanese informants in their area, they
can contact the embassy or consulate of Japan.
For example, the Japan Information Center in the
consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, offers a school-visit
service for educators and students called Japan
Caravan (www.japanatlanta.org/caravan.html).
3. Have a critical discussion
The pedagogy of multiliteracies suggests the im-
portance of developing a critical stance for both
teachers and students. I suggest teachers should
hold critical discussions throughout the school
220 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
year. Critical awareness is one way to encourage
students to be active learners instead of passive
learners. Questioning what they view is the begin-
ning of critical awareness. “Please don’t believe my
stories about Japan without questioning,” I tell my
students. I try to present multiple voices from
Japan. I have at least two native informants visit
my classes and ask their opinions when we talk
about culture. I intentionally select native inform-
ants from different areas of Japan, backgrounds,
majors, age groups, and genders if possible.
Hayao Miyazaki’s well-known anime film,
Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro; Studio
Ghibli & Miyazaki, 1988), introduces many
Japanese cultural aspects and Japanese children’s
perspectives. A few years ago, a JFL teacher posted
a question on a JFL teachers’ listserv asking
whether she should skip one part of the movie
with U.S. elementary students. The part she was
referring to was a scene of two little girls taking a
bath with their father. Because I am familiar with
Japanese hot springs and public baths, I viewed
this particular scene of a parent and small children
taking a bath together as a symbol of a happy
Japanese family. However, this practice differs from
U.S. cultural norms. I think it could be an oppor-
tunity for classroom discussion. Seeing the full film
shows how peaceful and family oriented it is.
Judging different cultural representations accord-
ing to other cultural norms is not the best way to
expand students’ multicultural perspectives.
4. Be aware of the power of popular
culture
Because some students shift their identities in a
particular community, it is dangerous for teachers
to judge popular culture based on their own as-
sumptions. For a long time, popular culture has
been looked down upon in the education field.
Some teachers believe that reading comics is for
children who have not reached the level of read-
ing “real” books (Marsh & Millard, 2000). I once
heard the following comment from a teacher
educator who was my classmate in a graduate
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
course: “Oh, Pokemon. It contains too much
fighting and violence for me.” I responded,
“Really? I thought that show was more about the
importance of friendship and fairness. Have you
watched the show?” She said, “No. I never watch
that kind of stuff.” I am not a big Pokemon fan,
but I sensed a strong bias from this particular
teacher against something about which she knew
little. Sometimes some forms of popular culture,
such as Pokemon cards, are banned in classroom
settings and students might feel that teachers
therefore reject their identities. Teachers can en-
courage students to share their insider knowledge
of a particular form of popular culture and spend
some time learning from students.
Foreign language teachers need to encour-
age students to share their interests in the target
language such as anime, music, and websites. The
two girls in Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s study
(2003a, 2003b) are like these JFL students—they
are aware of agency in their out-of-classroom lit-
eracy practices. Listening to students’ voices is
one way to help students be active learners with-
out taking the joy away from them. Being aware
of students’ multiple identities will help teachers
to rethink their fixed ideas on particular students.
I believe that a JFL teacher’s job is to intro-
duce multiple aspects of Japan. For serious anime
fans like Ted, there is a tendency to believe that
anime is the best thing that Japan offers. I know
four JFL students who were big anime fans, but
who did not talk about anime at all after coming
back from one-year exchange programs. Anime
students’ joy in learning is noteworthy. However,
there is a hidden danger in having limited knowl-
edge of Japan from anime alone. Teachers can
give every student opportunities to widen his or
her perspectives, so that students can explore and
expand their knowledge of Japan.
The potential of popular culture’s power is
not limited to anime. For instance, the current
trend of Hanryu (“Korean style”) in Japan was
sparked by the broadcast of a South Korean TV
drama. Many Japanese people began studying
Korean and visiting South Korea, motivated by this
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
particular drama. This is something government-
level relations could never have foreseen or creat-
ed. It is not possible to predict the effect popular
culture may have on a general audience. These
trends might change the current notion of global-
ization as “Americanization,” such as having
McDonald’s restaurants everywhere or placing
too much emphasis on learning English in non-
English speaking countries. Popular culture en-
ables “other” cultural globalization. Young adults
in the United States learning Japanese motivated
by anime and its subcultures and Japanese audi-
ences of a South Korean TV drama studying
Korean indicate the beginning of an alternative
version of globalization and multiculturalism.
When people have a strong interest in popular
culture originating in other cultures, they have
the potential to develop a critical stance, foreign
language skills, and cultural knowledge. This po-
tential is a special feature of “other” popular cul-
ture, in addition to what popular culture in one’s
own society can offer.
These are some suggestions for both teach-
ers and students to shape-shift, to have current
knowledge of a different society through its pop-
ular culture. I am not suggesting that all teachers
need to be experts in foreign popular culture. Nor
am I suggesting that every anime fan should
study Japanese as a foreign language, or that every
anime student would be a successful JFL learner.
Rather, I am exploring the potential influence
that popular culture, especially popular culture
from “other” societies, can have on developing
multiple literacies. It is important to be aware
that students’ communities of practice can pro-
vide a different kind of learning. By listening,
watching students carefully, and asking questions,
teachers might be able to bridge the generation
gap between themselves and their young stu-
dents. Teachers of adolescents and young adults
need to be aware of students’ out-of-class activi-
ties in order to avoid preparing students for the
future with yesterday’s skills (Lankshear &
Knobel, 2003).
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 221
 “Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture
REFERENCES
Allen, J., & Labbo, L. (2001). Giving it a second thought:
Making culturally engaged teaching culturally engaging.
Language Arts, 79, 40–52.
Allen, J., Fabregas, V., Hankins, K.H., Hull, G., Labbo, L.,
Lawson, H.S., et al. (2002). PhOLKS lore: Learning from
photographs, families, and children. Language Arts, 79,
312–322.
Altheide, D. (1987). Ethnographic content analysis.
Qualitative Sociology, 10, 65–77.
Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter: On the discursive limits
of “sex.” New York: Routledge.
Chandler-Olcott, K., & Mahar, D. (2003a). Adolescents’ ani-
me-inspired “fanfictions”: An exploration of multilitera-
cies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46, 556–566.
Chandler-Olcott, K., & Mahar, D. (2003b). “Tech-savviness”
meets multiliteracies: Exploring adolescent girls’ technol-
ogy-mediated literacy practices. Reading Research
Quarterly, 38, 356–385.
Collins, J., & Blot, R. (2003). Literacy and literacies: Texts,
power, and identity. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Fukunaga, N. (2000, November). “Motivation for success”:
Japanese animation and foreign language learning. Paper
presented at the meeting of the American Council of the
Teaching of Foreign Languages, Washington, DC.
Gee, J.P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in
discourses (2nd ed.). London: Taylor & Francis.
Gee, J.P. (2001). Identity as an analytic lens for research in
education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99–125.
Gee, J.P. (2002). Millennials and Bobos, Blue’s Clues, and
Sesame Street: A story for our times. In D.E. Alvermann
(Ed.), Adolescents and literacies in a digital world (pp.
51–67). New York: Peter Lang.
Gee, J.P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about
learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Glesne, C. (1999). Becoming qualitative researchers: An intro-
duction (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
He, A.W. (2003). Linguistic anthropology and language edu-
cation. In W. Stanton & B. Rymes (Eds.), Linguistic an-
thropology of education (pp. 93–119). Westport, CT:
Praeger.
Kubota, R. (2002). The impact of globalization on language
teaching in Japan. In D. Block & D. Cameron (Eds.),
Globalization and language teaching (pp. 13–28). London:
Routledge.
Lam, W.S.E. (2000). L2 literacy and the design of the self: A
case study of a teenager writing on the Internet. TESOL
Quarterly, 34, 457–482.
222 JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2003). New literacies:
Changing knowledge and classroom learning. Buckingham,
England: Open University Press.
LeCompte, M.D. (2000). Analyzing qualitative data. Theory
Into Practice, 39, 146–154.
Manes, K. (2005). Anime gives U.S. students window on
Japan. Retrieved April 26, 2005, from http://www.yomiuri.
co.jp/newse/20050426wob3.htm
Marsh, J., & Millard, E. (2000). Literacy and popular culture:
Using children’s culture in the classroom. London: Paul
Chapman.
Napier, S.J. (2001). Anime from Akira to Princess
Mononoke: Experiencing contemporary Japanese anima-
tion. New York: Palgrave.
New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies:
Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66,
60–92.
Parker, G. (2004, August 5). Learning Japanese, once about
resumes, is now about cool. The Wall Street Journal, A1,
A2.
Rhodes, N.C., & Branaman, L.E. (1999). Foreign language in-
struction in the United States: A national survey of elemen-
tary and secondary schools. Washington, DC: Center for
Applied Linguistics; McHenry, IL: Delta Systems.
Siegal, M., & Okamoto, S. (1996). Imagined worlds:
Language, gender and socio-cultural “norms” in
Japanese language textbooks. In N. Warner, J. Ahlers, L.
Bilmes, M. Oliver, S. Wertheim, & M. Chen (Eds.),
Gender and belief systems: Proceedings of the Fourth
Berkeley Women and Language Conference (pp. 667–668).
Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Women and Language Group,
University of California.
Studio Ghibli (Producer), & Miyazaki, H. (Writer and
Director). (1988). My neighbor Totoro [Motion Picture].
Japan: Tokuma.
Studio Ghibli (Producer), & Takahata, I. (Writer and
Director). (1988). Graveyard of the fireflies [Motion
Picture]. Japan: Shinchosha.
Suzuki, T. (Producer), Ishii, H. (Writer), & Takahata, I.
(Director). (1999). My neighbors the Yamadas [Motion
Picture]. Japan: Tokuma, Studio Ghibli, Nihon TV,
Hakuhodo, Disney.
Takahata, I. (Producer), & Miyazaki, H. (Writer and
Director). (1984). Nausicaä of the valley of the wind
[Motion Picture]. Japan: Tokuma & Hakuhodo.
Young, J.P., Dillon, D.R., & Moje, E.B. (2002). Shape-shift-
ing portfolios: Millennial youth, literacies, and the game
of life. In D.E. Alvermann (Ed.), Adolescents and literacies
in a digital world (pp. 114–131). New York: Peter Lang.
50:3 NOVEMBER 2006