Language self-immersion: towards a critical theory of autonomous language immersion for a neoliberal digital age

Abstract

Language self-immersion (LS) is the most popular language-learning method online, evidenced by the large body of online non-academic discourse on its theory and best practices. Nonetheless, LS remains largely unexplored within academia, its theory thus yet to be fully articulated. This article addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive theory of LS, as (1) a lifelong learning approach/philosophy and (2) an online phenomenon by contextualising it historically. I conducted a literature review and qualitative critical discourse analysis of scholars, YouTube polyglots, and language-related tech companies' beliefs about LS. Results provide a nuanced understanding of LS as a learning philosophy inherent to the digital age, influenced by neoliberal rationality and problematic language ideologies. Furthermore, this article examines the liberating potential of LS in online spaces and the problematic implications of content-based language self-immersion. Results also underscore the need to explore critically aware approaches to language self-immersion.