Charting Cultural Fluency: Leveraging Digital Story Maps for Language Proficiency in ESP Education

Abstract

Cultural cartography as a way to understand the relationship between cultural manifestations and maps involves visual, symbolic and cognitive mechanisms of inquiry referring to the interpretation of territorial landscapes. The introduction of geo-computation techniques has enabled users to approach map-like visualizations of the world under different parameters. The design and interpretation of map symbology is crucial which according to Peirce (1994) is activated by forming a relationship between three distinct elements: signs, interpretants and objects.  In this light, the study aims to explore the usage of digital story maps to enhance students’ cultural and linguistic acquisition in a course of English for engineers in higher education.
To cover the objective, the methodology comprises a two-phased didactic approach developed as a final course project within the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classroom. Divided into two groups, the instruction starts for the experimental and the control groups with a set of learning sessions analysing the theoretical framework underlying the semiotic process of map making and symbol interpretation. The second step for the experimental group involves the analysis and production of digital cartographic storytelling created by learners through collaborative team work, while the control group continues to analyse and then presents their conclusions about pre-existing maps to the rest of the class. The study demonstrates that the introduction of map-creation using a web-based mapping platform provided students with the ability to create geocoded narratives through visual representations, enhanced critical and spatial thinking and fostered the development of cultural and communication skills in a foreign language