Reading group session arranged by Miguel Pérez-Milans, 14^th of January 2020, IoE Room 790, 1-2pm.

Research in the social sciences has turned to hope as a space for inquiry in the last few years. As welfare-related spaces of socialisation and institutions in charge of ensuring that basic conditions for life are met find it more and more difficult to operate, struggle becomes a key defining feature that shapes most people’s daily life experiences. At the same time, various forms of commoning emerge as different social groups organise themselves to hope for alternative futures by reclaiming (material and immaterial) spaces colonised by capitalist forms of governance. In the language disciplines, these issues are now beginning to be addressed, with particular focus on related processes and practices as well as on hope as a discursive terrain that deserves further (critical) attention. In this session, we will be focusing on Lear’s (2006) book, Radical Hope. Ethics in the face of cultural devastation (Harvard University Press). This text exposes us to an anthropological argument on the question of hope and radicality. People attending this session are invited to read the book over the winter break and to think of the following questions: What does radical hope mean to the author, and how does this relate to the epistemological place from which he speaks?  Where is the locus of radicality situated in his account? What thoughts and concerns does it trigger in you in connection with the socioeconomic and political conditions in which we work/live today? How do we address these issues as researchers in the language disciplines?

 

An electronic copy of the book can be found in the UCL library.

The session will take place in IoE 790, at 1-2pm, and will be arranged as an open discussion right from the start. All (who read the book) welcome!

 

11^th June 2019, 5.00 – 8.00pm

Room 537, IOE, 20 Bedford Way, London

Building on our existing weekly, lunchtime departmental seminars which offer a platform to all CCM students at different stages of their doctorate, these evening sessions are designed to bring together researchers from different institutions, with the aim of increasing collegiality, as well as stimulating discussion, debate and collaboration, in areas of shared interest.

These sessions move away from the tradition of individual presentations to focus on the alternative format of panel discussion. Chaired by a student discussant, each panel member will present their work in turn, before the floor is opened to the wider audience. There will also be time for networking and socialising during and after the panel event.

https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ccm-seminars/

Organizing Team   Ayse Gur Geden:         PhD Student Emma Brooks:             PhD Student Sara Young:                 Honorary Research Associate Miguel Pérez-Milans:   Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics

 

Programme   Welcome and Refreshments (5:00 – 5:25) Introduction (5:25 – 5.30)   Panel Presentation (5.30 – 7.15) When research meets the multilingual world: methodological implications of language repertoires Convenor:        Louise Rolland Discussant:     Tian Gan (Goldsmiths, University of London) Speakers:        Pernelle Lorette (Birkbeck, University of London) Louise Rolland (Birkbeck, University of London) Hannah King (Birkbeck, University of London)     Refreshments (7:00 – 8:00)

Panel Presentation

When research meets the multilingual world: methodological implications of language repertoires

Convener:        Louise Rolland Discussant:     Tian Gan Speakers:        Pernelle Lorette                         Louise Rolland Hannah King

PANEL SUMMARY

Researchers and research participants are increasingly likely to know more than one language, whether through heritage or migration. This can impact on data collection in complex ways, even when the research is not focusing on multilingualism. Yet the opportunities and challenges of researching across languages are rarely discussed in the research methods literature (exceptions include Holmes, Fay, Andrews, & Attia, 2013; Holmes et al., 2016; Rolland, Dewaele & Costa, in press).

 

A key theoretical consideration from multilingualism research on autobiographical narratives is that “the presentation of events may vary greatly with the language of the telling” (Pavlenko, 2007: 172), since

languages can interact with memory, emotionality and identity. Moreover, there is an ethical dimension to consider, since language can contribute to power asymmetries between researcher and participant. Researchers also have practical concerns such as language fluency and budget constraints. This panel aims to raise awareness of relevant language factors and key decisions which researchers make at each point of their project (design, data collection, analysis and reporting), drawing on the stages of “realization, consideration, and informed and purposeful decision-making” (Holmes et al., 2016: 90).

 

Three case studies will be used to illustrate different scenarios in which a participant’s language repertoire intersects and interacts with that of the researcher. Specifically, we will ask what it is like to research in a language which the researcher does not know (L0), in the researcher’s first language (L1, including when experiencing attrition) or in a foreign language (LX), and in more than one language. Examples will be drawn from both quantitative and qualitative studies, and approaches ranging from psycholinguistic to sociolinguistic. The discussion will also reflect on the implications of the supervision language(s) and examination requirements, and invite other doctoral students to share their experiences.

 

* * * * *

 

 

PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS

Researching in a L0 context: when not knowing a language (L0) offers both advantages and disadvantages

– Pernelle Lorette (Birkbeck, University of London)

Being an insider of the linguistic and/or cultural community one investigates is particularly valued among scholars doing cross-linguistic and/or cross-cultural research, while being an outsider is usually regarded as a disadvantage (e.g. Birman 2005, Hennink 2008). However, I argue that the challenges arising due to the lack of a shared language with one’s participants can be overcome, and that it can even offer some advantages given the particular perspective of the L0 researcher.

Informed by my own experience of conducting quantitative research in the Chinese context without knowing any Chinese, this talk will address drawbacks and opportunities offered by this unusual process. Particular attention will be given to accessing participants, accessing literature, and translating materials and responses. Practical means to overcome these difficulties will be reviewed, including different kinds of collaborations with insiders. The advantages of researching in a L0 context will also be discussed, especially the increased attention to specific aspects which may remain unnoticed or undiscussed by insiders.

Despite the challenges it raises, daring to undertake research in L0 contexts broadens the researcher’s horizon and could contribute to

move beyond the anglo-western centrism that currently dominates research practice.

 

Conducting a bilingual interview: data collection as multilingual interaction

– Louise Rolland (Birkbeck, University of London)

Conducting interviews with multilinguals entails decisions about the interview language(s). Studies focusing on specific language identities (Koven, 2007) may be prescriptive, however generally linguists recommend giving multilingual participants a choice (Prior, 2016) or interviewing them in their first language (Catalano, 2016), for ethical and methodological reasons. This is particularly significant with vulnerable participants (Rolland, Dewaele & Costa, in press), and the chosen medium has implications for data collection and analysis (Pavlenko, 2005).

This paper will present decisions faced by a bilingual French-English researcher in an interview investigating a French participant’s experience of having psychotherapy in French in the UK. Topics will include: preparing a bilingual interview guide, acknowledging the researcher’s own language insecurities, negotiating the interview language(s) in interaction, factoring language practices into the data analysis and presenting bilingual data.

Challenges included determining which language to interview in when the interviewee deferred to the researcher (Madoc-Jones & Parry, 2012) and overcoming the researcher’s concerns about working in her attrited, non-academic language (Grosjean, 2001).

We will discuss how such issues can be mitigated with appropriate planning and supervision. Further interview extracts will illustrate the functions of code-switching in bilingual interviews, ranging from emotion regulation to interview management.

 

Researching in an LX: challenges and implications for working beyond your ‘mother tongue’

– Hannah King (Birkbeck, University of London)

The researching multilingually framework (Holmes et al., 2016) provides an important, but basic starting point for researcher awareness-building, considering three case studies that cover complex multilingual datasets, multilingual access and consent, and shared fluency between researcher and researchee. Yet, no consideration is given to researchers working in their LX and there is little discussion about multi-dialectal groups. Similarly, Liamputtong (2008) suggests that sharing a language or culture is best when researching across cultures, but fails to consider a situation where language is shared, but culture is not, a common occurrence for an LX researcher. Interestingly, other work (Ganassin and Phipps cited in Holmes et al, 2013, p. 294) even argues for the possibility of research in a neutral language to “provide an opportunity for neutralising the inbuilt power imbalance within research relationships.”

This paper considers LX researcher challenges and benefits based on an interactional, sociolinguistic study of a group of London-based, international and multilingual Spanish

speakers. The participants include L1 speakers from Spain and Latin America as well as LX speakers from across the globe, while the researcher herself speaks LX Spanish. Considerations include challenges at pre-data, data collection, and post-data stages and the implications for the researcher, participants, and resulting research.

 

 

PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES

 

Tian Gan – Discussant

Tian Gan is a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is interested in exploring the meaning-making process of supervision meetings using English as a Lingua Franca (i.e. the use of English among speakers of different first languages; ELF hereafter). Having previously conducted a dissertation project on Master’s supervision meetings (University of Edinburgh, UK), she is now researching the construction of understanding during PhD supervision meetings using ELF in universities across the UK, focusing particularly on the use of pragmatic strategies. She has published book reviews in the Journal of English as a Lingua Franca and the Journal of English Language Teaching. In addition, she is a contributor to the ELF section of The Year’s Work in English Studies.

 

 

Hannah King – Presenter

Hannah is a PhD student in the department of Applied Linguistics and Communication at Birkbeck, University of London. Her doctoral research explores the conversational practices and identities of an international group of Spanish speakers in London, including participants from Latin America, Spain, and learners of Spanish (LX users) from around the world. Her work takes a sociolinguistic, interactional approach which is ethnographically informed. The inductive, qualitative design prioritizes the topics that emerge from conversational data and acknowledges the importance of studying everyday talk, further exploring the emic perspective through interviews with key participants. Hannah has contributed to the Birkbeck community by acting as a committee member of the Birkbeck College Applied Linguistics Society (BCALS) for the past two years.

 

Pernelle Lorette – Presenter

Pernelle Lorette is doing her PhD at the Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication at Birkbeck, University of London. Her mainly quantitative PhD research project is based on data collected via an online survey embedded with original audio and audiovisual stimuli. It focuses on individual differences in emotion perception by first language (L1) speakers, second language (LX) speakers and nonspeakers (L0) of Mandarin. It examines the role of Mandarin status (L1 versus LX versus L0), modality of communication, proficiency, socialisation and cultural background in

the perception of the arguably universal dimensions of ‘valence’ (pleasantness) and ‘arousal’ (emotional activation) and of arguably culture-specific emotion categories. Beside emotion perception, she has been involved in research projects on affective factors of language acquisition and phonetic convergence.

After completing her BA in Dutch and German languages and cultures at Université de Namur (Belgium) and her MA in Linguistics at Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands), she graduated as a contemporary dancer from Nova College Haarlem (Netherlands). She now combines her career as a researcher with her activity as a dance teacher, performer and choreographer.

 

Louise Rolland – Convener & Presenter 

Louise Rolland is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Birkbeck (University of London). Her interdisciplinary thesis investigates multilingual clients’ experiences and language practices in psychotherapy, using mixed methods. Through an internet survey of 109 multilingual adults and follow-on interviews with five participants, her study explores how multilingual clients negotiate language choices, and the perceived impact on both client self-expression and empathy in the therapeutic relationship.

She previously researched perceptions of the role of the interpreter in psychotherapy for her MA in Applied Linguistics (Birkbeck). Her research interests centre on multilingualism and its impact on emotional expression and identity, with a particular emphasis on

social justice and mental health, and associated research methods. Her work is published in the International Journal of Multilingualism and in the Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Applied Linguistics (in press). Among her conference contributions, she recently participated in a Round Table discussion on ‘The Complexities Involved in Doing Research in more than One Language’ (Communication in the Multilingual City, 2018). In addition to her academic activities, she plays an active role on the committee of the Birkbeck College Applied Linguistics Society (BCALS).

 

Doctoral Workshop with Anna De Fina, Professor of Italian Language and Linguistics 

(Georgetown University)

 

Using Narrative as a Research Methodology 

 

CCM Doctoral Seminars

Room 709a Monday 3^rdJune, 10am-2pm

Dear PhD students,

 

We are very happy to announce that Professor Anna De Fina, of Georgetown University, will be joining a departmental workshop for PhD students on Monday 3^rdJune 2019. Professor De Fina, an expert in narrative analysis, will open the workshop before moving on to facilitate discussions on the readings detailed below (please also find them attached). In the second part, Ibrahim Alkhateeb, a doctoral student who is employing a narrative lens, will share data from his research for discussion.

The workshop is open to 25 doctoral students from CCM.

 

Should you be interested in participating in this event, we would like to invite you to submit a 150 word abstract synthesising your research project and explaining your interest in the topic of this workshop. The deadline for the submission of your abstract is 27^thMay 2019.

Details of the activities are provided below.

Programme 

Part I (10:00 – 11:15)

– Opening Remarks. 

– Reading/discussion groups.

 

De Fina, A. Who tells which story and why? Micro and macro contexts in the narrative. Text & Talk, 28: 3 (2008), 421-442

De Fina, A. What is your dream? Fashioning the migrant self. Language & Communication, 59(2018), 42-52

 

Coffee break (11:15 – 11:30) 

Part II (11:30 -12:45) 30 mins + 45 min discussion

– The Narratives of Anglophone Male Muslim Converts in Saudi Arabia

Ibrahim Alkhateeb, UCL Institute of Education

Abstract

Conversion to another faith has been widely investigated in social sciences, especially in the fields of sociology (Galonnier, 2015; Moosavi, 2015), psychology (Lindgren, 2004; Kose, 1996; Peek, 2005) and religious studies (Hermansen, 2014; Nieuwkerk, 2014; Roald, 2012). However, in linguistics and language studies, it has not been the focus. In my work, I am investigating how the identities of Anglophone male expatriate converts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are enacted in their narratives. More precisely, I am trying to answer the following research questions: How are these male converts’ experiences performatively enacted within the context of life story research interviews in the KSA? What are the commonalities that performatively emerge in their stories? What does this reveal about the complexity of male Islamic converts’ experiences in the KSA and intersectionality, particularly with regard to the indexing of salient aspects of identity that are invoked by these converts?

I understand identity in a Butlerian sense, where identity is understood to be performatively enacted by repeating, conforming and sometimes subverting of concealed forms of the self in discourse (Butler, 1990). I found that by adopting narrative research and looking at how they position and align themselves with their story worlds in their narrative, I will be able to understand how their identities are performatively enacted. In the workshop I will share some of my interview data and illustrate how I am going to analyze them using Baynham (2011, 2015) and De Fina (2003). 

 

The presentation will focus on how the researcher has chosen to use, define and apply a narrative lens to his work; pieces of data will be shared with participants.

Discussion time will aim to: a) address issues arising from the presentation; and b) link with discussions from Part I of the workshop. 

Lunch time (12:45 – 13:30) 

 

Part III (13:30-14:00)

– Plenary & Anna de Fina’s Concluding Remarks

 

Should you have any questions regarding the workshop, please don’t hesitate to contact us per email: ccmstudentseminars@gmail.com

Please find slides from I. AlKhateeb’s presentation below

 

Institute of Education CCM Doctoral Seminar Series

11th June 2019

17.00-20.00

Room 537, IOE Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL

 

Call for Papers: deadline 21^st May

 

Following the huge success of our recent event, the Department of Culture, Communication and Media, UCL Institute of Education, would like to invite PhD students and colleagues from partner universities to a second doctoral seminar to be held at the IoE in June.

 

Building on our existing weekly, lunchtime departmental seminars, the two doctoral events are part of a Researcher-Led Initiative that has been funded by UCL Doctoral Skills Development Programme. The seminars have been designed to bring together researchers from different institutions, with the aim of increasing collegiality, as well as stimulating discussion, debate and collaboration, in areas of shared interest.

 

As such, the sessions move away from the tradition of individual presentations, to focus on the alternative format of panel discussion. Chaired by a student convener, each panel is expected to have 3 paper contributions (15-20 minutes each, combined time not to exceed 60 minutes), before the floor is opened to the wider audience for an additional 30 minutes. The seminars will also incorporate time for networking and socialising during and after the panel event.

 

For the second and last of these seminars, we invite panel proposals from doctoral and MRes students, working in any area of socio- and applied linguistics. Submissions should include:

 

1. panel title;
2. name of the panel convener;
3. a short rationale for the panel as a whole (max 300 words);
4. abstracts for each of the individual papers in the expected order of delivery (max 200 words each);
5. name of the discussant;
6. bios of the proposer and speakers in separate page (200 words each max).

Preference will be given to panel proposals which consist of members of different institutions. All proposals should be submitted to the organisers at ccmstudentseminars@gmail.com

 

The deadline for proposals is 21st May 2019. Accepted proposals will be notified by 27th May 2019.

 

For more information on the seminars, please contact the organisers, Ayse Gur Geden, Sara Young or Emma Brooks.

There is no fee for attending the seminars, but we ask you to reserve your place via Eventbrite, so that we are able to cater appropriately for the event. Food, coffee and refreshments will be served.

 

 

Dear all,

The next CCM seminar presented via Skype by Luz Gutierrez Menendez will take place on 30th of April from 1-2pm. Please find her abstract below.

 

The Role Of Silence In A Fast-Paced Society

The study about ‘silence’ could seem daunting or even confusing, pondering about the need to reflect on it. Nevertheless, the present study has collected very different meanings of silence from the very beginning of our times to the nowadays. Using a first grounded theory method which allowed the analysis of a radio programme, different meanings of silence were identified. Secondly, interviews to experts in media explored silence in a day to day environment. In all, the interpretative phenomenological research has generated a systematic taxonomy of silence in order to bring clarity to the word silence and ultimately, present resources – in arts, media, education, health, wellbeing – so humanity is able to apply it in their multiple fields.

This seminar will analyse the role of silence in a fast-paced society. To think, reflect or meditate are activities that require certain time from our busy lives. It seems almost impossible to stop our daily routine, for just five minutes, and ponder what we are actually doing, how and indeed why. In this presentation, silence is giving a moment, a voice in order to explain some of its uses and meanings, reaching different fields of action, where silence is far from ‘nothing’. It is a weapon that knowing how to use it in our favour – educators, psychologists, doctors, producers – could bring incredible benefits.