Watch Dr. Yasko Kanno's interview on the state of ELL In education in the U.S.
TESOL Language and Linguistics Speakers Series
Spring 2011 Series Calendar
Watch this presentation: Video of Dr.
James E. Purpura
Fall 2010 Series Calendar
Thursday, September 30, 3:30 Alter Hall 744
Dr. Hansun Zhang Waring, Teachers College, Columbia University
Title: Promoting Self-discovery in the Language Classroom
Abstract: A routine instructional practice in the language classroom is promoting self-discovery (e.g., Something is wrong here. Can you figure out what?). This push for self-repair is considered an important learning activity which may be inhibited or retarded by other-repair (Lier, 1988; Ohta, 2000). In this talk, I begin to unravel some of the complexities involved in promoting self-discovery. By using the high-powered lens of conversation analysis (CA), I show classroom life as it is lived, where teachers manage complex and often competing demands on a moment-by-moment basis. A detailed look into 30 hours of audio and video-recorded adult ESL lessons reveals two ways in which promoting self-discovery may become problematic in its implementation. I argue that ESL instructors need to be sensitized to the delicate balance between promoting self-discovery and providing interactionally contingent help.
Bio: Hansun Zhang Waring is Lecturer in Linguistics and Education at Teachers College Columbia University, where she teaches Conversation Analysis, Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics, Pedagogical English Grammar, and the Speaking Practicum. Dr. Waring is broadly interested in language and social interaction. She has been investigating second language instructional practices and learning opportunities for the past few years. Her work has appeared in major discourse journals such as Research on Language and Social Interaction, Journal of Pragmatics, Discourse Studies, Text and Talk, and Journal of Sociolinguistics as well as major applied linguistics journals such as Applied Linguistics, The Modern Language Journal, and Language Learning. She is co-author of the new book Conversation Analysis and Second Language Pedagogy (Routledge, 2010).
e-mail: hz30@columbia.edu
Watch this presentation: Video of Dr. Hansun Zhang Waring
Tuesday, October 5, 3:30 Alter Hall 746
Sebastian Muth, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität Greifswald (Germany)
Title: The Linguistic Landscapes of Urban Moldova – Perspectives from a Divided Country
Abstract: The aim of this presentation is to examine the use of languages in the former Soviet republic and now an independent country of Moldova. Language is a divisive issue in Moldova, where there is only one official language, Moldovan/Romanian, and in a break-away republic of Transnistria, where there are three official languages, Moldovan/Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian. I will examine how these languages are used in the cityscape of the Moldovan capital Chisinau and in two municipalities in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria – its Russian-speaking capital Tiraspol and Dubasari which has an ethnic-Moldovan majority. The analysis shows that the linguistic landscape of Chisinau is very diverse and alongside Moldovan/Romanian, English and especially Russian are used frequently. The functional domains differ though. Whereas the national language is part of almost all shop signs and advertising in general, it is usually used in conjunction with Russian. Informal displays of written language such as graffiti or small placards are mostly written in Russian alone, while English is normally used in conjunction with Moldovan. Signs that include English were mostly aimed at young Moldovans from higher social strata. Other minority languages in Moldova such as Gagauz and Ukrainian were almost never visible on written displays of language in the city. In Tiraspol and Dubasari, on the other hand, the number of public signs and other displays of written language are marginal, manifesting the separate status of the region. To conclude, a claim that English is in the process of replacing Russian as a lingua franca in Moldova cannot be upheld, as both English and Russian are used on public signs in Chisinau. But whereas Russian fulfills almost entirely the same functions as Moldovan/Romanian does, English appears to have mostly symbolic functions, signaling modernity, western orientation or is aimed at the odd traveler.
Bio: Sebastian Muth is a doctoral student in English/American Studies and Political Science at Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany. He has studied Political Science and Philology at St.Petersburg State University (Russia) and Abo Akademy (Finland). His current research is on linguistic landscapes of post-Soviet countries, Moldova and Lithuania. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Humanities Department at Widener University, Chester, Pennsylvania.
Wednesday, October 27, 3:30 pm Alter Hall 746
Dr. David Hanauer, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Title: Poetry writing as a research method: Exploring the experience of studying abroad
Abstract: This workshop has a double aim: to explicate the ways in which poetry writing can be used as a research method working with advanced second language learners; and to exemplify this approach through the presentation of poetic data exploring and characterizing the study abroad experience. Recent developments in research methodology have investigated ways in which literary forms can be used for the purposes of research (Knowles & Cole, 2007; Leavy, 2009; Sinner, Leggo, Irwin, Gouzouasis and Grauer, 2006). Against this backdrop, Hanauer (2010) developed an approach that integrates poetry inquiry with qualitative research and offers a systematic way of using poetry as a research method with advanced second language learners. In this lecture, this approach will be described and recent research presented. The study presented draws upon a poetic inquiry of the study abroad experience. Specifically poetry writing as a research method was used to investigate the question: How is the study abroad experience characterized through poetic data written by second language study abroad students? The data was drawn from a corpus of 844 poems written by second language study abroad students over a period of 6 years. The poetic data revealed five themes which characterize this experience: the emotional experience of language; the emotional experience of classroom experiences; experiencing American students; negotiating American culture; & homesickness. Together these five themes present a specific phenomenological description of the study abroad experience. Ramifications of this investigation on the ways in which poetic inquiry can be used in applied linguistic research will be discussed.
Watch this presentation: Video of Dr. David Ian Hanauer
Thursday, October 28, 3:30 pm Alter Hall 746
Dr. David Hanauer, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Title: Diversifying the Concept of Scientific Writing: The Heroic Quest for a Bipolar Bacteriophage Virus as Male Science
Abstract: The aim of this presentation is to diversify through a specific case study the characterization of writing in the sciences. Scientific literacy is frequently conceptualized as a scientific argument that ties claims, warrants and evidence together in a tight logical construct (Kuhn, 1993; Yore, Bisanz & Hand, 2003). This results from the over-emphasis on the research article as the primary form of science writing (Bazerman 1988; Swales, 1990). Feminist science educators, such as Hildebrand (1998) have challenged this description of science and argued for “blended genres” (p. 347) – writing that integrates genres across disciplines and challenges or at least explicates male dominance. The current paper presents a case study of one student’s laboratory notebook that exemplifies Hildebrand’s construct of hybrid science writing. The laboratory notebook was part of a much larger study conducted over a two year period of 51 laboratory notebooks of students in a microbiological scientific inquiry program. The methodology for all notebooks utilized ethnographic observation and photography, interviews with laboratory researchers, and comprehensive multimodal coding of all notebook entry types. This notebook blended literary discourse in the form of the heroic narrative with the description of the microbiological process of isolating viruses. This produced a personalized genre of science and options for diversifying the description of scientific literacy. This form of writing aligns with feminist thought on widening access to science through changes to written forms.
Bio:
David Ian Hanauer’s research employs arts-based, theoretical, qualitative and quantitative methods and focuses on the connections among authentic literacies and social functions in first and second languages. As a literacy researcher, he has investigated academic literacy across disciplines, scientific discourse, poetic discourse, and linguistic landscapes. His research has addressed the genre specific aspects of poetry reading and writing in L1 and L2, assessment in the sciences, the processes of scientific inquiry, scientific writing in L1 and L2, graffiti research and the cognitive aspects of literary education. Dr. Hanauer is the author of five books including Scientific Discourse: Multiliteracy in the Classroom and Poetry as Research: Exploring Second Language Poetry Writing (Benjamins, 2010). His articles have been published in Science and a wide range of applied linguistics and educational journals. Dr. Hanauer is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Grant for 2003-2005 for the study of science-literacy connections in the elementary school classroom, three Howard Hughes Medical Institute grants from 2005-2011 for work on scientific inquiry, representation and assessment in the field of microbiology, and a 2009 grant from the US Department of Education for the enhancement of science reading collections in the Pittsburgh School District. Dr. Hanauer is Professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Assessment Coordinator and educational researcher in the PHIRE (Phage Hunting Integrating Research and Education) Program in the Hatfull Laboratory, Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hanauer is Associate Editor of the journal Linguistics and Education and co-editor of the Language Studies, Science and Engineering book series with John Benjamins.
e-mail: hanauer@iup.edu
Thursday, November 11, 3:30, Alter Hall 746
Dr. Iveta Silova, Lehigh University
Title: The Politics of Ethnic Integration in Latvia: Bilingual Education Reform in the Context of European Union Enlargement
Abstract: Focusing on the political nature of education and language policy making in the post-Soviet context, this presentation questions whether, how and to what extent the bilingual education reform under way in Latvia has contributed to social integration among different ethnolinguistic groups. The presentation will trace the emergence and institutionalization of bilingual education reform in the context of European Union enlargement. Based on press analysis, document review, and in-depth interviews with major education stakeholders in Latvia, it reveals that there exists a growing disjunction between ‘policy-talk’, ‘policy action’ and ‘policy implementation’, resulting in the legitimization of education spaces that once were and continue to be functional, hierarchical and divisive.
Bio: Iveta Silova is a Frank Hook Assistant Professor of Comparative and International Education in the College of Education, Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA. Her research and publications cover a range of issues critical to understanding post-socialist education transformation processes, including professional development of teachers and teacher educators, gender equity trends in Eastern/Central Europe and Central Asia, minority/multicultural education policies in the former Soviet Union, as well as the scope, nature, and implications of private tutoring in a cross-national perspective. Her last three books include How NGOs React: Globalization and Education Reform in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia (Kumarian Press, 2008; with Gita Steiner-Khamsi), Education in a Hidden Marketplace: Monitoring of Private Tutoring (Open Society Institute, 2006; with Mark Bray and Virginija Budiene), and From Sites of Occupation to Symbols of Multiculturalism: Re-conceptualizing Minority Education in Post-Soviet Latvia (Information Age Publishing, 2006).?She is the editor of European Education: Issues and Studies (a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published by M.E. Sharpe).
Watch this presentation: Video of Dr. Iveta Silova
Wednesday, December 1, 3:30, Lecture Hall, Paley Library
Andrew Lam
Title: East Eats West: The unexpected Consequences of Asian Immigration to America
Abstract: From cuisine and martial arts to sex and self-esteem, East Eats West shines new light on the bridges and crossroads where two hemispheres meld into one worldwide "immigrant nation." In this new nation, with its amalgamation of divergent ideas, tastes, and styles, today's bold fusion becomes tomorrow's classic. But while the space between East and West continues to shrink in this age of globalization, some cultural gaps remain. Andrew Lam, the award-winning author of Perfume Dreams, continues to explore the Vietnamese diaspora, this time concentrating not only on how the East and West have changed but how they are changing each other. And he'll talk about what it is like to thrive in the West with one foot still in the East.
Bio: Andrew is a writer and an editor with the Pacific News Service, a short story writer, and, has been, for 8 years, a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He co-founded New America Media, an association of over 2000 ethnic media organizations in America. His essays have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the New York Times, The LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Baltimore Sun, The Atlanta Journal, and the Chicago Tribune. He has also written essays for magazines like Mother Jones, The Nation, San Francisco Focus, Proult Journal, In Context, Utne Magazine, California Magazine and many others. His short stories are also anthologized widely and taught in many Universities and colleges. His short stories appeared in many literary journals, including Manoa Journal, Crab Orchard Review, Nimrod International, Michigan Quarterly West, Zyzzyva, Transfer Magazine, Alsop Review, Terrain, and others. Lam’s awards include the Society of Professional Journalist “Outstanding Young Journalist Award” (1993) and “Best Commentator” in 2004, The Media Alliance Meritorious awards (1994), The World Affairs Council's Excellence in International Journalism Award (1992), the Rockefeller Fellowship in UCLA (1992), and the Asian American Journalist Association National Award (1993; 1995). He was honored and profiled on KQED television in May 1996 during Asian American heritage month. Lam was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University during the academic year 2001-02, studying journalism. He lectured widely at many universities and institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, UCLA, USF, UC Berkeley, University of Hawaii, William and Mary, Hong Kong, and Loyola university, and so on. Lam, who was born in Vietnam and came to the US in 1975 when he was 11 years old, has a Master in Fine Arts from San Francisco State University in creative writing, and a BA degree in biochemistry from UC Berkeley. He was featured in the documentary “My Journey Home,” which aired on PBS nationwide on April 7, 2004, where a film crew followed him back to his homeland Vietnam. His book, Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora has recently won the Pen American “Beyond the Margins” Award in 2006, and short-listed for “Asian American Literature Award.” His next book of essays, "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres" has come out this Fall. Lam's first short story collection, “Birds of Paradise” is due out in 2011 - he hopes. He’s now working on a novel.
Watch this presentation: Video of Andrew Lam
Archive -- Spring 2010 Series Calendar
Archive -- Fall 2009 Series Calendar
Archive -- Spring 2009 Series Calendar
