Affordances and limitations of ‘the digital’ for adult migrants with limited or interrupted formal education

Abstract

Digital technology has become essential for daily life, creating a complex challenge for adult migrants with limited or interrupted formal education who must simultaneously develop digital literacy, additional language, and basic literacy skills. This study examines how different groups of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) engage with digital tools, revealing a critical disconnect between digital access and genuine language acquisition. Through video-recorded classroom observations and interviews, three learner groups were identified: pre-literacy learners who rely heavily on speech-to-text features but struggle to develop independent skills; learners with some fi..