What is an issue that has emerged for you in terms of developments and new directions for digital literature?

One of the elements specific to digital literature that has been cited as an advantage is the inclusion of auditory AND visual linguistic input; more specifically, the capacity to hear/repeat both full sentences and individual words. This has mostly been in the context of engaging pre-literate students (Roskos et. al., 2014; Hoel and Jernes, 2023). This could also be assumed as true for learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL) – but research has also suggested that these features have a hand in providing this ‘readership’ with access to previously underrepresented voices and cultural capital (Mustafa and Lestari, 2023). In both cases, the multimodal input also allows for equal access to language and cultural/social subtext for diverse learners. That said, balancing the visual and auditory linguistic input with the other factors present in the text (animations, navigation tools, etc.) will likely emerge as being key in determining the degree of effectiveness it has. How this is implemented, measured, and compared with other textual media in terms of achieving learning outcomes and engagement is a direction for consideration in future research.

Hoel, T., & Jernes, M. (2023). Quality in children’s digital picture books: seven key strands for educational reflections for shared dialogue-based reading in early childhood settings. Early Years, 44(3–4), 480–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2172552

Mustifa, A., & Lestari, L. A . (2023). Literary criticism in the digital age: Addressing the problems and opportunities of digital literature in EFL pedagogy.  English Review: Journal of English Education, 11(1), 263-274. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v11i1.7137

Roskos, K., Burstein, K., Shang, Y., & Gray, E. (2014). Young Children’s Engagement With E-Books at School: Does Device Matter? SAGE Open, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013517244