York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

Ilias MichailidisJialing Yuan

Oliver Hambling-Jones Rachel Wicaksono

Faculty of Business and Communication

York St John University Teaching and Learning Conference

30 January 2009

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

Classroom talk in English as a lingua franca: can we raise students’ awareness of their communication strategies, attitudes and linguistic identities?

Melbourne Show 2005 Wikimedia Commons

Our EBL project

English as a Lingua Franca: classroom communication between UK and international students at York St John University

Olympic Torch Relay Beijing 2008 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

background

The myth of English as an international language (EIL)? (Phillipson 1992, Pennycook 2007)

ELF as a variety? (Crystal 1997, Seidlhofer 2004, Jenkins 2000)

ELF as a process of accommodation, an attitude, a range of strategies? (Matsuda 2006, Canagarajah 2007, Lindemann 2002)

EIL, World Englishes and ELF

Downtown Tokyo 2005 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

background

“[multilingual] speakers are able to monitor each other’s language proficiency to determine mutually the appropriate grammar, lexical range and pragmatic conventions that would ensure intelligibility.” (Canagarajah 2007: 925)

Managing rapport through talk across cultures (Spencer-Oatey 2000)

Variety and accommodation

Louvre, Paris 2004 Wikimedia Commons

Our EBL project

method

Trevi Fountain Rome 2004 Wikimedia

Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

House et al (2003) ‘transdisciplinary’ approach

• Thematic analysis – content

• Linguistic analysis – an ELF ‘product’ or ‘process’?

• Interactional Sociolinguistics and Conversation Analysis: co-constructing language user identities, relationships, talking the task (and the university) into being

Data analysis

Formula One Parade, Piccadilly Circus London 2004 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Demo? task

feedback

Equipment

International Citizen Reporters' Forum Seoul 2005 Wikimedia

Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Audacity?

Listening, converting, editing, sharing

The Finnish Embassy in Stockholm 2005 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Why?

How detailed?

Transcribing

Lion Dance Hong Kong 2008 Wikimedia Commons

analysis

S: I think (G: Yea) if you has, if you are on en the extreme end of any of these scales. It means you are only reflective. You can't do anything which involves action.E: Yea, that's that’s the way I am.S: But if you are, like somewhere in the middle, it means you can reflect, (G: Yes.) but when there's a need and you need to take action, or there are tasks that involve action (E: You can handle it.) Yeah, you can do that, too.G: OK. Maybe you mean more refle...S: Reflective as well as active.G: Reflexible. Yeah. OKS: Both.E: Yeah. Which is useful but kind of boring really, isn't it? Hahahahaha.S: No, I, actually when I was trying to solve this questionnaire,

doing whatever the test.

Transcribing - simple

Ocean Park Hong Kong 2007 Wikimedia Commons

analysis

1 S I think [if you yes]2 G [Yea ]3 E [haha]4 S if you are o:n en the extreme end of any of these scales↑. It 5 means you: are: only reflective↑. You can't do anything

which 6 [involves action. ]7 E [Yea, that’s that’s the way I am.]8 S but if you are:: (0.5), like somewhere in the middle, it means 9 you can reflect= 10G yes=11S but when there's a need and you need to take action↑ (.)

or there 12 are tasks that involve [action↑]13 E [you can handle it] audio

Transcribing - detailed

analysis

14 S yo- yea, [you can do that too.]15 G [O:K: maybe (.) you mean (.) more refle- (1.3) ]=16 S [=reflective as well as active. (.) both.]17 G [=reflexible. °yeah°]18 E yeah. (0.4) which is (.) erm useful but (0.7) kind of (1.8)

boring really, () isn't it? ()=19 G =[hehehe] 20 S [no, I (1.5)]=21 E [=hahahaha ]22 S [=actually when I was: trying to solve this: er er

questionnaire] doing wh (.) whatever the test↑

Transcribing - detailed

Presidential Inauguration Washington 2008 Wikimedia

Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Listen and write

Transcribing

Football Match Gambia v. Guinea 2008 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Feedback and questions

Baseball Match Taiwan v. Cuba 2006 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

analysis

Follow-up?

Berlin Film Festival 2007 Wikimedia Commons

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

Themes: a regional variety of English, beliefs about appropriacy in contexts of use (being a family member v. being a teacher), familiarity as the key to intelligibility, non-simplified/basic/core syntax as ‘easier to understand’ in ELF situations.

Linguistic analysis: consistent with ‘meta-talk’ - no omission of ‘the’, though Ling uses /d/ not /ð/; fewer weak forms and more stressed words; some unfamiliar phrases/patterns?

Findings 1/2

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

Microethnography/CA: extended turns (V), repetition of content (V), checking questions (V), summaries (L) and backchannelling (L). Evidence of noticing and (inconsistent?) attempts to accommodate (V).

Overall success. ‘Doing being international’ through interactant-specific accommodation and support? But…..?

Findings 2/2

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

implications• no relationship between competence in ELF and any variety of inherited EL? (Graddol 2006: 87)• spoken communication is demanding and unpredictable – willingness (and opportunities) to practise paying attention and negotiating meaning are key. • time is necessary for ELF users (including Vikki) to notice which parts of their English are ‘core’, or to learn new parts, and to hone their communicative competence in an international situation. Difficult for adults with few opportunities to practise?

Implications for ELF theory?

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

implications• mixed language assessments create exposure to different varieties and a need for interaction providing practice in matching ELF products and processes to situations and interactants.• “… by thinking in terms of raising awareness, directing attention, developing sensitivity, challenging assumptions, etc., CA can …deepen …understanding and develop new competencies.” (Richards 2007: 5-6)• encourage the learning of additional languages

Implications for UK universities?

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

implications

“… people usually develop metacommunicative procedures for altering their communicative codes in order to make sense of each other. When communicative differences become irremedial, it is because there are sound political or economic reasons for their being so.” (McDermott & Gospodinoff 1979: 277)

Critical implications (or, talking the international UK university

into being?)

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

referencesBrown, G. (2008). English - the world's language. 2008 speeches. Available online at: http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14289.asp [last accessed 6/6/08]

Canagarajah, S. (2007). Lingua franca English, multilingual communities, and language acquisition. Modern Language Journal, 91(focus issue), 923- 939.Clark, H. H. (1997). Dogmas of understanding. Discourse Processes, 23, 567-598.Coughlan, S. (2008). Whistleblower warning on degrees. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7358528.stm [last accessed 24/11/08]Crystal, D. (2005). The stories of English. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Gardner, R. (2004). ‘On delaying the answer: question sequences extended after

the answer’. In R. Gardner and J. Wagner (Eds.) Second language conversations. New York: Continuum.Graddol, D. (2006). English next. British Council. Available online at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-english-next.pdf [last accessed 6/6/08].Jenkins, J. (2007), English as a lingua franca: attitude and identity. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

References

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

referencesLindemann, S. (2002). ‘Listening with an attitude: a model of native-speaker comprehension of non-native speakers in the United States’. Language in Society 31(3), 419-441.McDermott, R. P. & Gospodinoff, K. (1979). ‘Social contexts for ethnic borders and school failure.’ In R. Harris & B. Rampton (2003). The language, ethnicity and race reader. London: Routledge.Matsuda, A. (2006). ‘Negotiating ELT assumptions in EIL classrooms’. In J. Edge

(Ed.) (Re)locating TESOL in an age of empire. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.Pennycook, A. (2007). ‘The myth of English as an international language’ in S. Makoni & A. Pennycook (Eds.) Disinventing and reconstituting languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Richards, K. (2007). Introduction. In K. Richards and P. Seedhouse (Eds.) Applying Conversation Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Schegloff, E. A. (1999). Talk and social structure. In A. Jaworski & N. Coupland (Eds.) The discourse reader. London: Routledge.

References

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

referencesSeidlhofer, B. (2004). ‘Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca’. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 24: 200-230.Spencer-Oatey, H. (2000). Culturally speaking: managing rapport through talk across cultures. Continuum.

References

York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

Ilias MichailidisJialing Yuan

Oliver Hambling-Jones Rachel Wicaksono

Faculty of Business and Communication

York St John University Teaching and Learning Conference

30 January 2009