The Multilingual University: The Impact of Linguistic Diversity in Higher Education in English-dominant and English Medium Instructional Settings
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Culture, Communication and Media
Abstract
In recent decades, higher education (HE) has expanded rapidly as universities have responded to operating in a globalised world. This is illustrated in UNESCO reports that show that the number of students in post 16 education worldwide rose fivefold to 150.6 million between 1970 and 2007 (UNESCO 2009); this trend looks set to continue. One major impact of the expansion of HE in English-dominant (ED) settings and in universities offering English medium instruction (EMI) elsewhere has been an increase in the cultural and linguistic diversity of the staff and student population. There are two key groups contributing to this increased linguistic and cultural diversity. One is composed of mobile students and faculty; these are international students, academic and research staff attracted to work and study in ED settings or in universities offering EMI. Many are bi/ multilingual users of English with high levels of proficiency in at least two languages: their mother tongue and English. The other is composed of widening participation students, that is groups of home students who have traditionally been underrepresented in HE in ED settings but who have been encouraged to enter the sector through government policies. In the UK, for example, this has resulted in increasing numbers of bi/ multilingual university students from working class migrant communities. Most are bi/ multilingual in that they routinely experience their lives in the heritage language(s) of their families and English. Generally speaking, these students have received little formal schooling in their heritage language(s) and normally have much higher proficiency in English than their heritage language(s). This situation is mirrored to a greater or lesser extent in other ED settings, such as the United States. These factors mean that there are now many more bi/multilingual users of English in the sector than was previously the case. On some university programmes in the UK, for example, it has become common for bi/multilingual users of English to outnumber their monolingual English-speaking counterparts. A parallel issue impacting on linguistic diversity in the sector is the revitalisation agenda for 'indigenous' languages in ED settings, that is minority languages that have been traditionally associated with particular geographical regions, such as Welsh in Wales, Gaelic in Scotland, Maori in New Zealand, and various 'aboriginal' or 'native' languages in Australia, the US and Canada.
Research to date indicates that universities in ED settings have been slow to acknowledge the bi/multilingualism in their midst, to value the linguistic diversity of their bi/multilingual staff and student population, or to regard this diversity as a resource. Instead, the dominant institutional approach to linguistic diversity has been to treat it as a problem that needs solving. This deficit model characterises bi/multilingual users of English as in need of English language remediation and ignores or stigmatises bi/multilingual language resources. As EMI programmes and institutions proliferate in the non-Anglophone world, there is a danger that these Anglo-centric attitudes to linguistic diversity will be reproduced in EMI contexts.
This seminar series aims to develop a research agenda for examining the impact of linguistic diversity in HE in ED and EMI settings and to illuminate the idea of the 'multilingual university' in these contexts. It intends to establish a forum for examining bi/multilingualism in the HE sector and produce resources on this topic that will inform HE policies that create the conditions for linguistic diversity, in particular HE agendas on internationalisation, widening participation and language revitalisation. This will enable the sector to treat the linguistic diversity embodied in its bi/ multilingual staff and student population as a resource for enriching the sector and for promoting a vibrant and fair society.
Research to date indicates that universities in ED settings have been slow to acknowledge the bi/multilingualism in their midst, to value the linguistic diversity of their bi/multilingual staff and student population, or to regard this diversity as a resource. Instead, the dominant institutional approach to linguistic diversity has been to treat it as a problem that needs solving. This deficit model characterises bi/multilingual users of English as in need of English language remediation and ignores or stigmatises bi/multilingual language resources. As EMI programmes and institutions proliferate in the non-Anglophone world, there is a danger that these Anglo-centric attitudes to linguistic diversity will be reproduced in EMI contexts.
This seminar series aims to develop a research agenda for examining the impact of linguistic diversity in HE in ED and EMI settings and to illuminate the idea of the 'multilingual university' in these contexts. It intends to establish a forum for examining bi/multilingualism in the HE sector and produce resources on this topic that will inform HE policies that create the conditions for linguistic diversity, in particular HE agendas on internationalisation, widening participation and language revitalisation. This will enable the sector to treat the linguistic diversity embodied in its bi/ multilingual staff and student population as a resource for enriching the sector and for promoting a vibrant and fair society.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this seminar series?
There will be two main types of beneficiary: academic and research staff and user groups. The academic and research staff encompass i) those engaged in research on bi/multilingualism in educational contexts, contexts of migration or language revitalisation, and those specifically involved in research on bi/multilingualism in HE contexts in ED and EMI settings ii) those working on issues of cultural diversity in HE from disciplinary perspectives such as the sociology of education and higher education studies, including academic colleagues who have not yet focused on the linguistic diversity that accompanies cultural diversity in the sector.
The user group encompasses two main sets of professional staff and policy makers: the first focuses on those concerned with the planning, delivery and support of English language, academic skills and writing programmes and other support services for members of the HE population in ED and EMI settings who use English as a second, foreign or additional language; the second focuses on those concerned with the planning, delivery and support of HE programmes in ED settings for the education and training of bi/multilingual professionals working with indigenous and community language users in the Anglophone world. The former includes English language tutors, academic support tutors, a range of professional staff involved in internationalisation activities or in access and widening participation in both the HE and FE sectors. The latter includes professional developers involved in the education and training of professionals for whom bi/ multilingual use of community or minority languages in ED settings is essential for professional development, such as translators and interpreters, teachers of minority and community languages, journalists, media workers, health and social care workers serving linguistic minority communities.
How will they benefit?
Academic and research staff will benefit from the opportunity for inter-sector engagement on the phenomenon of bi/multilingualism in ED and EMI settings. In particular, dialogue between scholars with expertise of bi/multilingual education in compulsory and complementary schooling, language revitalisation initiatives or bi/multilingual learners in contexts of migration will help to advance thinking and theorising of the 'multilingual university' as an emergent concept in ED and EMI settings. Bringing these scholars together with those who focus on cultural diversity in HE will enable greater understanding to emerge regarding the interrelationship between linguistic and cultural diversity in the HE sector. This group will also benefit from the experiential knowledge of practitioners and professional staff on dealing with linguistic diversity of a diverse range of students and faculty in HE.
The academic and research staff will benefit from the generation of research collaborations for academics and researchers at different stages of their careers. The seminar series is designed to build capacity for research and scholarship on bi/multilingualism in HE in ED and EMI settings, which is an under researched area, and to provide an evidence base for informing HE policy and practice. We will plan for international impacts in the form of continued international research networking and collaborative research into the impact of linguistic diversity in ED and EMI settings informed by the theoretical frameworks developed in the seminar series.
The user groups will benefit from a sustained opportunity to clarify thinking on bi/multilingual learners and faculty in the sector and to critique the dominant approach to linguistic diversity in ED and EMI settings. Members of the user groups will also benefit from having the opportunity to express their ideas on ways of meeting the seminar objectives and will be encouraged to participate in the website and the creation of links to practitioner resources.
There will be two main types of beneficiary: academic and research staff and user groups. The academic and research staff encompass i) those engaged in research on bi/multilingualism in educational contexts, contexts of migration or language revitalisation, and those specifically involved in research on bi/multilingualism in HE contexts in ED and EMI settings ii) those working on issues of cultural diversity in HE from disciplinary perspectives such as the sociology of education and higher education studies, including academic colleagues who have not yet focused on the linguistic diversity that accompanies cultural diversity in the sector.
The user group encompasses two main sets of professional staff and policy makers: the first focuses on those concerned with the planning, delivery and support of English language, academic skills and writing programmes and other support services for members of the HE population in ED and EMI settings who use English as a second, foreign or additional language; the second focuses on those concerned with the planning, delivery and support of HE programmes in ED settings for the education and training of bi/multilingual professionals working with indigenous and community language users in the Anglophone world. The former includes English language tutors, academic support tutors, a range of professional staff involved in internationalisation activities or in access and widening participation in both the HE and FE sectors. The latter includes professional developers involved in the education and training of professionals for whom bi/ multilingual use of community or minority languages in ED settings is essential for professional development, such as translators and interpreters, teachers of minority and community languages, journalists, media workers, health and social care workers serving linguistic minority communities.
How will they benefit?
Academic and research staff will benefit from the opportunity for inter-sector engagement on the phenomenon of bi/multilingualism in ED and EMI settings. In particular, dialogue between scholars with expertise of bi/multilingual education in compulsory and complementary schooling, language revitalisation initiatives or bi/multilingual learners in contexts of migration will help to advance thinking and theorising of the 'multilingual university' as an emergent concept in ED and EMI settings. Bringing these scholars together with those who focus on cultural diversity in HE will enable greater understanding to emerge regarding the interrelationship between linguistic and cultural diversity in the HE sector. This group will also benefit from the experiential knowledge of practitioners and professional staff on dealing with linguistic diversity of a diverse range of students and faculty in HE.
The academic and research staff will benefit from the generation of research collaborations for academics and researchers at different stages of their careers. The seminar series is designed to build capacity for research and scholarship on bi/multilingualism in HE in ED and EMI settings, which is an under researched area, and to provide an evidence base for informing HE policy and practice. We will plan for international impacts in the form of continued international research networking and collaborative research into the impact of linguistic diversity in ED and EMI settings informed by the theoretical frameworks developed in the seminar series.
The user groups will benefit from a sustained opportunity to clarify thinking on bi/multilingual learners and faculty in the sector and to critique the dominant approach to linguistic diversity in ED and EMI settings. Members of the user groups will also benefit from having the opportunity to express their ideas on ways of meeting the seminar objectives and will be encouraged to participate in the website and the creation of links to practitioner resources.
Publications
Andrews J
(2019)
Valuing a translingual mindset in researcher education in Anglophone higher education: supervision perspectives
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
Lin A
(2020)
From deficit-based teaching to asset-based teaching in higher education in BANA countries: cutting through 'either-or' binaries with a heteroglossic plurilingual lens
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
Lyons A
(2019)
The discursive construction of mobile chronotopes in mobile-phone messaging
in Language in Society
Marshall S
(2019)
Understanding plurilingualism and developing pedagogy: teaching in linguistically diverse classes across the disciplines at a Canadian university
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
Odeniyi V
(2019)
Valuing the multilingual repertoires of students from African migrant communities at a London university
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
Preece S
(2019)
Postgraduate students as plurilingual social actors in UK higher education
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
Preece S
(2019)
Elite bilingual identities in higher education in the Anglophone world: the stratification of linguistic diversity and reproduction of socio-economic inequalities in the multilingual student population
in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
Preece S
(2018)
Identity work in the academic writing classroom: Where gender meets social class
in Journal of English for Academic Purposes
Preece, S.
(2016)
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Identity
Van Viegen S
(2019)
Plurilingual pedagogies at the post-secondary level: possibilities for intentional engagement with students' diverse linguistic repertoires
in Language, Culture and Curriculum
| Title | Network Assembly II |
| Description | ... |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | ... |
| URL | https://youtu.be/DzTTTC4lsuo |
| Description | The Multilingual University seminar series made a number of findings. Firstly, the seminars established that there are a growing number of staff (including academics, researchers and administrators) and students in universities in the anglophone world who are bi- or multilingual. These staff and students are bringing an array of languages, as well as different varieties of English, into the sector. The seminar series explored three key drivers that have contributed to the increase in linguistic diversity in the sector. The first of these is the internationalisation of higher education. Internationalisation has encouraged international mobility among academics, researchers and students. The direction of travel is largely from non English speaking countries to universities in the anglophone world, with large numbers of international students seeking to enter more prestigious institutions. The seminar series found that some courses in UK universities are now primarily composed of international students who are bilingual users of English. (2) Widening participation. Higher education initiatives to comply with UK government policies on increasing access to higher education for under represented groups in the UK population has resulted in a rise in the numbers of students from Black and minority ethnic communities as well as those from working class backgrounds. The seminar series found that WP students from BME communities are likely to be English-dominant bi and multilingual individuals (using English and the languages of minority communities in the UK, such as Urdu). When social class is taken into account, WP students from working class backgrounds are likely to be more familiar with non standard varieties of English. A similar picture emerges from universities in other countries in anglophone settings who have pursued widening participation agendas although with country and regional variations. Unlike international students, WP students are likely to be clustered in less prestigious universities. (3) Language revitalisation. The seminar series found that universities in Wales and Scotland were playing a key role in the revitalisation of Welsh (in Wales) and Gaelic (in Scotland). Universities in these settings have devised institutional language policies that foster bilingual education (Welsh-English or Gaelic-English) for their own institutions, initiatives such as programmes offering bilingual medium of instruction, dedicated space in the university for students and staff to immerse themselves in Welsh or Gaelic, bilingual signage, websites and written materials etc. The seminar series also found that universities in Wales and Scotland were leading teacher education programmes that aim to enable schoolteachers to deliver bilingual education in Welsh and Scottish schools. The seminar series found that bi- and multilingualism is being fostered in universities outside the anglophone world by the growth of programmes and courses in which English is used as a medium of instruction. In some cases, English is creating a bilingual situation (e.g. in Italian higher education in which Italian was previously the main or only medium of instruction). In others countries (e.g. regions of Spain such as Catalonia), English is entering an already bilingual setting (i.e. Catalan-Spanish) and creating trilingual approaches to teaching and learning (English-Catalan-Spanish). The spread of English as a medium of instruction in universities outside anglophone countries has been pushed by the internationalisation of higher education and the need for universities in Europe (and beyond) to compete for international students and staff. It is clear that universities perceive English to be key in attracting international students although evidence emerged during the seminar series to indicate that other major languages, such as Spanish, were also attractive to international students. Thus international students may well apply to universities in Spain because they wish to study in Spanish, not in English. The seminar series found that the sector had not kept pace with the increasing linguistic diversity in their midst. In universities in English-dominant countries, there is little acknowledgement of bi- or multilingualism among the staff and student population. When linguistic diversity comes up, it is generally treated as a problem. There is little understanding at institutional level of how the linguistic diversity of bi and multilingual staff and students could be of benefit for core university activities: teaching, learning and research. In English as a medium of instruction settings in universities outside the anglophone world, the pace of change is often outstripping the institutional support available for academics to make the switch into using English (instead of their dominant language) for the purposes of teaching and learning and for administrators to be able to deliver professional services in English to international students. This is posing a series of challenges for staff in these settings. However, set against the challenges, the seminar series also found evidence of a considerable amount of bottom up activity in which staff and students were engaged in finding ways of treating linguistic diversity as a resource for teaching, learning and research. The series established that there was an emerging body of research related to the development of plurilingual approaches to education in higher education, the value of linguistic diversity to bi- and multilingual students for their studies and for developing social networks, and the important role of bi and multilingual researchers for research teams and for the development of knowledge from research activities. |
| Exploitation Route | To view linguistic diversity and bi- and multilingualism positively and as an asset for individual and societal well being and development. To develop plurilingual approaches to teaching, learning and research in higher education. To inform programmes of professional development for lecturers in higher education so that they are able to more effectively support learning and the academic development of international students. To inform institutional policies and practices that seek to recruit and retain students from widening participation backgrounds. To support the maintenance of community languages of linguistic minority communities in the UK and other anglophone settings. To lead the revitalisation of minoritised languages in English dominant countries. To foster positive attitudes to those who speak other languages who live, work and/ or study in the UK. To harness the creative energies and synergies that flow from linguistic and cultural diversity for knowledge building and for addressing problems that require intercultural collaboration. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | https://multilingualuniversity.wordpress.com |
| Description | This seminar series set out to explore the impact of linguistic diversity on higher education in Anglophone settings and in English-medium instructional settings elsewhere with a view to developing understanding of the phenomenon of bi and multilingualism in higher education, critiquing the idea of linguistic diversity as a problem for the sector and conceptualising universities as sites of multilingualism in which linguistic diversity is approached as an asset. Three key agendas that have contributed to the diversification of the university population were the focus of attention: • Internationalisation: In particular, the impact of the mobility of staff and students across borders (cultural, national, social) on linguistic diversity in universities in the Anglophone world and in EMI settings elsewhere; how linguistic and cultural diversity of the student cohort was impacting on the planning, design and delivery of the curriculum, and the impact of the spread of English in under and postgraduate English-Medium Instructional programmes on bi and multilingualism in the non Anglophone world and on the staff and student population. • Language revitalisation: In particular, the role of higher education in promoting and maintaining minoritised languages (e.g. Welsh, Gaelic) in English-dominant settings with a focus on the planning, design and delivery of curriculum for teacher education programmes for minority languages and the impact of these on the perceptions of bi and multilingualism among school teachers and the types of bi/ multilingual practices produced in the school system. • Widening participation: In particular, the types of linguistic repertoires and linguistic practices of linguistic minority students from non traditional backgrounds, the impact of these on their identities as university students and how the linguistic diversity of non traditional students is accounted for on language and study skills programmes designed to improve student retention and in subject curriculum. The most significant achievements of the seminar series were: • Identifying the widespread nature of linguistic diversity in three key areas of university activity: research; education (teaching, learning and assessment) and governance/ administration • Facilitating a space for the discussion about linguistic diversity in the higher education sector that fostered counter narratives to language as problem and examined the impact of context on the manifestation, experience and practice of linguistic diversity in the sector • Identifying an emerging body of research into linguistic diversity in the sector and the development of practices among members of the university population in which linguistic diversity and bi/ multilingualism is treated as the norm, a resource and an asset for institutional and societal good • Establishing a network of interested parties and a research agenda The grant objectives were met. The seminar series demonstrated ways in which linguistic diversity is widespread in the sector and across key areas of university activity. An important finding was the impact of context on how HEIs perceived the linguistic diversity in their midst, how linguistic diversity was manifested and practised in the institution and the variable levels of institutional support for promoting bi and multilingualism. Another finding was the range of activity (in terms of research and practice) in response to linguistic diversity, highlighting an emerging body of research in which linguistic diversity was approached from the perspective of resource rather than problem. The seminar series also successfully established a network that brought together academics in applied and sociolinguistics, TESOL and language teaching, (language) teacher education with academics in a range of other subject areas, senior managers and policy makers, doctoral students, researchers, and user groups (including language and skills teachers, Royal Literary Fund fellows, under and postgraduate students, international and domestic students, professional and administrative staff); the seminar series website is currently being re-developed as a permanent resource for the TMU (The Multilingual University) network. The series also facilitated the development of a research agenda among members of the project team and other interested parties and stakeholders and partnerships for future work. This has included a visiting research fellow posting for the PI (UCL Institute of Education) to Simon Fraser University, Canada to collaborate on ongoing research into plurilingual approaches to pedagogy in higher education in English-dominant settings. A special issue of Language, Culture and Curriculum is planned to disseminate findings. The award of a UCL ChangeMakers' project led by the PI for a collaborative project with MA students into the use of linguistic diversity as a resource for learning. Findings have been disseminated in a co-authored chapter with student project members (to be published by UCL Press) on the relationship between research and teaching in higher education; a poster presentation at UCL's Teaching and Learning Conference; journal articles are also planned. The involvement of the Birmingham co-investigators in a 5-day residential course, funded by AHRC (ES/M00175X/1), whose focus was the pedagogic potential, and ideological challenges of translanguaging in multilingual contexts in South African universities. The involvement of the Strathclyde co-investigator in a report on transformative pedagogies for Gaelic revitalisation and the maintenance of Gaelic-English bilingualism in Scotland for SOILLSE (the national research network for the maintenance and revitalisation of Gaelic language and culture). Future work includes research into ways in which HEIs in the English-dominant world and in EMI settings are reflecting, rather than leading and shaping, cultural norms regarding linguistic diversity and the value of English in the globalised world and ways in which HEIs (re)produce elite bilingualism as well as further research documenting bi and multilingual practice in university activities. Current and future research will be used to illustrate how HEIS can model good practice as sites of multilingualism and to encourage HEIS in English-dominant settings to take a lead on promoting bi and multilingualism as important to societal good and as a cultural value in the Anglophone world. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |
| Description | UCL ChangeMakers |
| Amount | £500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2015 |
| End | 07/2016 |
| Description | Visiting Research Scholar |
| Organisation | Simon Fraser University |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Visiting scholarship (with funded accommodation and travel) for 4 weeks to provide expertise and intellectual input with research project into plurilingual pedagogy in HE |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in designing research project and collecting data. |
| Impact | Open talk at CELLTR Invited roundtable at SFU |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Discussant ISB11 (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professor Li Wei (TLANG) Invited discussant at Discussant, New Speakers Network Colloquium, 11th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB11). 11-15th June 2017, University of Limerick. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://isb11dotcom.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Invited Keynote (Zhu Hua) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited keynote speaker. Translanguaging space and embodied teaching/learning: Lessons from a multilingual Karate club in London. Keynote speech in conference on the theme of The Evolution of Language Teaching: Towards Plurilingualism and Translanguaging. UAB (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona), Spain. April, 2017. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://grupsderecerca.uab.cat/greip/en/node/574 |
| Description | Invited keynote speaker Nanjing (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Language and Future Academic Conference and the 4th Emerging Scholars' Workshop, 26-27 August, 2017, Southeast University, Nanjing China |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.seu.edu.cn/english/_t4/2017/1219/c237a205543/page.psp |
| Description | Invited keynote speaker UCL (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Translanguaging: Implications for Innovation in Policy and Practice. Learning and Work Institute Annual conference on English, Maths and ESOL, 9th November 2017, UCL Institute of Education |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www2.learningandwork.org.uk/EnglishMathsESOL17 |
| Description | Invited keynote, Belfast (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker, Professor Li Wei (TLANG). Translating Karate: A Translanguaging perspective on learning. 15th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA2017), 16-21 July 2017, Belfast, Northern Ireland. 15th International Pragmatics Conference The 15th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA2017) will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 16-21 July 2017. Venue: Belfast Waterfront Center, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://ipra.uantwerpen.be/main.aspx?c=.CONFERENCE15&n=1510 |
| Description | Invited speaker - NALDIC (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professor Li Wei keynote speaker. Translanguaging and Co-Learning: Beyond empowering the EAL learner. NALDIC 25th Anniversary Conference, November 18th 2017, King's College London |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://naldic.org.uk/professional-learning-cpd/annual-conference/naldic-25-2017/ |
| Description | Invited symposium AILA 2017 - Li Wei |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Li Wei Post-Multilingualism, Translanguaging and Linguistic Superdiversity: Perspectives from China/Chinese (with Zhu Hua), Invited Symposium on language and superdiversity, AILA2017 International Association of Applied Linguistics conference, July 23rd - 28th 2017, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.aila2017.com.br/index.php/en/ |
| Description | Keynote Speaker AAAL (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited Keynote speaker - Li Wei Rethinking Language in Translanguaging: Implications for Learning, Use, and Policy. American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, 18-21 March 2017, Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.aaal.org/?page=17AbstractRethinking |
| Description | Keynote speaker - Lausanne (Li Wei) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited keynote speaker, Professor Li Wei (TLANG). Post-Multilingualism, the Mobility Turn and the Importance of the Moment. Approaches to migration, language and identity: an international conference, 4-6 May 2017, University of Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://wp.unil.ch/amli2017/ |
| Description | Series of seminars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | 5 seminars have been held on the main themes of the seminar series. These have been hosted in the institutions of the collaborating partners and the principle investigator. Around 40-50 participants attended each seminar. The seminars sparked lively debate between academics, policy makers and practitioners, increased interest in the seminar themes and how to go about addressing these in practice and policy terms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | https://multilingualuniversity.wordpress.com |
| Description | Tlang Project Blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | AHRC funded Tlang project blog, which is regularly updated and disseminated to a wide academic and non-academic audience, raising awareness of and promoting the research both nationally and internationally. It also provides a platform for important debates. We launched the blog in 2014 and our 'views' have grown from 524 in 2014 to 2267 in 2015. We have visitors from 21 countries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | https://tlangblog.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Tlang Project E-seminar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The title of the seminar was: Metrolingualism, Translation, Translanguaging The e-seminar set out to engage an international collection of different participants including students, professional practitioners (teachers, educators, lecturers) and researchers in themes emerging from the project including 'commonplace diversity', 'conviviality' and cosmopolitanism. The e-seminar recruited 83 new members or 11% of the total membership The group Linguistic Ethnography Forum reported it as a 'major recruiting tool, with wide interest'. The starting point for discussion was the first chapter of a book 'Metrolingualism: Language in the City' by Alastair Pennycook and Emi Otsuji, published by Routledge in 2015. The text, made available courtesy of the publisher, was distributed to all list members on the 13th April. In their chapter, Pennycook and Otsuji introduce the term metrolingualism to describe everyday language practices in relation to urban space. As a result of long ethnographic work in Sydney and Tokyo, they demonstrate the everydayness of multilingual practices in a city. In doing so, Pennycook and Otsuji, focused on workers in a produce market, which corresponds to one of the Tlang project sites - the Birmingham Bullring Indoor Market. Following the two texts - the book chapter and the response - the e-seminar opened for general discussion on the 20th April. In total, 19 members made their contributions. Participants in discussion were asked not to exceed 1000 words. The contributors came from all over the world, including Australia, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The themes addressed by the participants included the issues of transcription, the changing nature of spaces where linguistic practices take place, as well as the question of diversity. Following Creese and Blackledge, a number of people also expressed the view that the focus on the city might be limiting. Others also pointed out the importance of gesture. Another point of discussion was viewing languages as social constructs, which has implications for our understanding of multilingualism. Alastair Pennycook and Emi Otsuji also joined in the discussion at some point, reacting to some of the remarks a number of participants had, especially with regards to making the city the foci of analysis. After a lively discussion the e-seminar closed on the 1st May. It was a great opportunity for people from around the globe to exchange views on some of the most current research in the area and make some valid contributions. Given the wide audience of the Linguistic Ethnography Forum, the e-seminar managed to create an interest in some of the concepts explored by the Translation and Tralnslanguaging project and gave it a great visibility internationally. The contributions can also be still accessed on the mailing list archive as a great resource. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.lingethnog.org/2015/04/10/2015-e-seminar-metrolingualism-translation-translanguaging-led-... |
| Description | Tlang Project Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | AHRC funded Translanguaging Project website promoting the research activities and objectives of the project and its team. Visitors have access to all project outputs in the form of working papers, films, poems, digitally recorded presentations of visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/tlang/index.aspx |