Learning through instant-messaging chat logs: A tool for adults to address the communication norms in the new workplace

Learning the norms of a firm is challenging. One of the important aspects is to understand how to interact with the integral colleagues online. Based on Wenger’s (1998) Communities of Practice as the theoretical framework, we employed Gee’s (2011) discourse analysis model to investigate how instant messaging chat logs could assist a newcomer in realizing the online communication patterns in her new workplace. Analysis of data indicated that through readdressing the previous conversations archived in the chat logs, she came to understand 1) the norms of casual talk, 2) the patterns of using punctuation, and 3) the dis/advantages of learning through chat logs. We suggest that reading and reasoning of the instant-messaging chat logs are conducive to facilitating the adult learning process during workplace socialization. Copyright © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.