Using digital texts vs. paper texts to read together: Insights into engagement and mediation of literacy practices among linguistically diverse students

As schools around the world increasingly use digital text, research is needed to understand the impact different media may have on opportunities for language and literacy development. Using mixed methods to analyze students' collaborative interactions across different media, this study examined how linguistically diverse students engaged with digital and paper books in a cross-age peer-learning literacy program. Findings revealed that the quality of students' engagement differed across media. Students were more likely to engage in meaningful talk, use text features to support comprehension, and attend to text when using paper books. Findings have implications for how educators may reconsider instruction using digital texts in order to support language and literacy development with students learning an additional language.