LANGUAGE IN THE AGE OF ALGORITHMS: BETWEEN SOCIAL PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEDIATION

Abstract

The expansion of digital technologies repositions language as an object of algorithmic mediation, altering the conditions of production, circulation, and reception of utterances in educational and social contexts. This study analyzes, through a systematic bibliographic review with a qualitative approach, the relationships between language, social practice, and technological mediation in the age of algorithms, with emphasis on the impacts on language teaching and computational thinking. The research identifies that algorithms do not operate as neutral communication instruments, but as active agents in the configuration of contemporary linguistic practices, interfering in literacy processes, educational internationalization, and programming learning. The results indicate that the integration between language and technology demands pedagogical approaches that articulate computational thinking with situated discursive practices, recognizing the role of digital platforms in the reconfiguration of linguistic identities. The bilingual and transnational dimensions of language use are also examined, revealing that algorithmic mediation intensifies existing inequalities in access to linguistic and educational resources. The study concludes that understanding this technological mediation requires an interdisciplinary perspective connecting applied linguistics, education, and technology studies, and that future research should prioritize empirical investigations in specific institutional contexts, particularly in Brazilian public schools and universities, where the tensions between global linguistic demands and local educational realities are most pronounced.