School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications
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ItemUnderstanding the experiences and communication needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities during the COVID-19 pandemic(Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-cultural Communication, 2022)
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ItemEnhancing COVID-19 public health communication for culturally and linguistically diverse communities: An Australian interview study with community representatives(Det Kgl. Bibliotek/Royal Danish Library, 2022-01-25)Background: Public health crises present challenges for providing accessible, timely, and accurate health information to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Aim: The aim of this qualitative project was to explore strategies used by CALD community organizations to improve communication about COVID-19 for their communities; we also aimed to identify gaps and challenges. Methods: We interviewed 16 representatives from Greek, Italian, and Chinese CALD organizations in Melbourne, Australia. The interviews were analyzed thematically. Results: Community leaders played a significant role in engaging their community members with accurate key health information. There were differences between language communities about preferred channels for receiving information. As the pandemic intensified, there was a shift from written communication to more interactive exchanges between authorities and community leaders. Discussion: The findings suggest effective public health communication is enhanced by the mediation and outreach strategies adopted by CALD community organizations; further, stakeholders need to be cognizant of heterogeneity of needs and preferences. This may optimize information dissemination to meet specific needs. Conclusions:The CALD organizations have developed communication strategies involving different kinds of mediation to reach specific sub-groups, especially the most vulnerable. These strategies can inform future public health engagement.
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ItemApproaches to the study of address in pluricentric languages: methodological reflections(Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2021-11-12)Abstract While research on pluricentricity has traditionally focused on phonological, lexical and grammatical variation across national varieties, pluricentric languages also provide a rich laboratory for the exploration of pragmatic variation, and potentially new insights into the complexities of both pragmatics and pluricentricity. Pluricentric pragmatics remains a developing field and determining appropriate methodologies and strategies for data collection remains open to evaluation and assessment. Methodological considerations pertaining to address research in pluricentric languages are made from a range of perspectives, which are typically interconnected and will depend on the intended research focus. In this contribution we present a critical reflection on methodological aspects of pragmatic research, based on our own experiences investigating address in several pluricentric languages (in particular German and English). After a brief overview of the pluricentric languages considered and their address systems we provide an outline of the research projects reviewed. We then discuss in detail issues regarding data types and data collection (in particular questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and various online data) and consider further methodological aspects such as the choice of research framework, context and type of address investigated, quantitative and/or qualitative approaches taken and whether the research focus is on actual use, reported use and/or perceptions. We conclude with some suggestions for further research directions.
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ItemMotivation for learning Chinese in a study abroad context: Vietnamese students in Taiwan(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-03-16)This article examines Vietnamese students’ motivation for learning Mandarin Chinese during their study abroad in Taiwan and their construction of self in relation to this language learning motivation. A combination of several concepts of ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, instrumental motive, integrative motive, linguistic capital, and multiple self-aspects is used as a theoretical lens to gain insights into the students’ Chinese learning motivation. The study employs a qualitative research approach in which semi-structured interviews with English-medium students from five Taiwanese universities were conducted. Findings reveal that the students’ motivation for learning Chinese contributed to portraying their ideal and ought-to Chinese selves, which subsume their different instrumental and integrative motives for language learning. The ideal Chinese self they would like to become possesses Chinese linguistic capital, which would confer on them advantages pertaining to their study, career development and social relations. The students’ ideal Chinese self also incorporates and reinforces their (desired) cultural, economic and social selves. Implications for supporting international students’ motivation for out-of-class language learning and their construction of self at the institutional level are then discussed.
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ItemItalian Language Learning and Student Motivation at Australian Universities(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-06-11)Motivation in learning languages other than English has not being extensively explored. This appears to be particularly true for Italian at university level, for which few studies in the motivational literature can be found. It is particularly relevant then that, in this study, we focus on understanding the reasons why university students in Australia choose to learn Italian, and what motivates them over time once they have begun. In order to answer these questions, we collected qualitative data via two rounds of questionnaires. To facilitate our analysis, a three-level model (i.e. micro, meso, and macro) was adopted, following Gayton and the Douglas Fir Group. The levels were linked to three principal component factors with each one bringing together multiple motivational elements, which changed over time highlighting the dynamic nature of motivation for learners of Italian.
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ItemFostering motivation and creativity through self-publishing as project-based learning in the Italian L2 classroom(WILEY, 2021-09-01)This article presents the results of a mixed-method study that investigated the impact of an innovative project-based learning module, entitled “I am an author,” on students' motivation and creativity, and also examined its positive and negative aspects emerging from students' evaluations. As part of this module, advanced learners of Italian are required to write and self-publish a short, fully illustrated children's story in Italian. The results suggest that while students encountered some problems during the activity, overall the project had a positive impact on their intrinsic motivation—linked to the opportunity to use the language to target a nonacademic audience and to their investment in a personally relevant and world relevant task—and also helped them develop their creative skills. This study adds to scholarship on the effectiveness of experiential learning through a targeted project-based activity and paves the way for future development of and research on the project.
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ItemLanguage Education in Australian Primary Schools: Policy, Practice, Perceptions(Springer International Publishing, 2021)Despite considerable policy attention to language education in schools over several decades, the rate of students who continue studying a language in Australia post any compulsory period has remained low in comparison with other nations. Most language programmes begin during students’ primary school years, and as this is often the first experience of language learning for many monolingual Australian students, it is an important sector for investigation, particularly as most attention is placed on the secondary sector. This chapter provides an illustration and analysis of the state and nature of language education in Australian primary schools from three interconnected perspectives. First, we provide a detailed overview of the policies and programmes that have impacted primary school education in Australia. Next, we discuss the implementation of language teaching and learning at the classroom level, also drawing on research in the field to elicit the main challenges faced by students and teachers in modern classrooms. Finally, we discuss the public perceptions of the role and state of language education in the sector, particularly drawing on our recent studies of the representation of the discipline in the Australian press.
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ItemLanguage education in Australian primary schools: Policy, perceptions, practice(Palgrave Macmillan, 2021-01-18)This edited book focuses on the state of language learning in Anglophone countries and brings together international research from a wide range of educational settings.
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ItemThe role of community language radio for understanding creativity and wellbeing in migrant communities in Australia(International Journal of Wellbeing, 2020-12-16)Community radio—and community language radio specifically—occupies an important place in Australia’s multicultural landscape. Members of many language communities arriving in Australia have been denied important opportunities in their home countries including outlets for self-representation and public creativity in their languages. Within Australia, radio provides an accessible means of creative expression, provides vital social connection for community members of all ages and generations, and supports social cohesion on a wider scale. This article explores how community language radio in Australia can play a critical role in supporting the wellbeing of both individuals and communities by providing an accessible and adaptable outlet for creative expression. This case study examines the practices of presenters from Australia’s largest community language radio station, 3ZZZ, which reports broadcasting in around 70 languages weekly. A sample of 16 presenters from the station completed an online, mixed-methods survey. The results afford discussion of the format and composition of community language programs as a form of cultural and language maintenance, the perceived role of creativity in program design and delivery, the perceived impact of the programs for the community, and the perceived role of the program for individual and community wellbeing. The findings are considered with respect to pertinent theoretical frameworks, exploring the implications concerning creativity, community, and wellbeing. The multifaceted results we present highlight how creative community language radio participation is able to contribute positively to wellbeing in the Australian migrant context.
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ItemRemembering Language Studies in Australian Universities: An Italian Case Study(Springer Nature, 2020-11-01)Language studies in Australian universities have a long and complex history—that differs according to such things as language, institution, national imperative, etc… One essential but often overlooked part of the discipline of languages and cultures in our universities is recording and understanding precisely that history. Recording how and why specific language programs were established, for instance, is important for establishing a permanent record of historical continuity and for understanding the past and the present of language programs in the Australian tertiary sector, as well as their possible interconnections and differences. In this chapter we describe a pilot study exploring the beginnings of Italian language teaching and programs in tertiary institutions in Melbourne—and especially their somewhat inorganic expansion across the city from the late 1950s, into the 1980s and beyond. We are specifically interested in trying to understand how and why Italian language (and Italian Studies more generally) came to be taught in different universities in that city. While we present some of our early findings, including: (a) the effect of institutional type; and (b) the useful assistance of colleagues in other languages, at the same time we also have an interest in mapping out and reflecting on the methodology adopted and the challenges faced. It is hoped that our pilot study might in this way assist and encourage colleagues at other institutions to record the history of language studies in their individual institutions or cities, but who might wonder how to approach the issue in terms of possible data collection and analysis.