2016 RMly Book Chapter How to do research multilingually.docx
Canagarajah Global English.pdf
This is the third seminar of a series of online events jointly organised by The English Language Department at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) & AHRC research project Researching Multilingually at the borders of the body, language, law and the state (RM Borders)
Thinking through the impacts of the globalisation of English(es) – What are the implications for the teaching and learning of languages, and what are the opportunities for working with multiple languages in research projects?
Speakers
Dr Prue Holmes (Durham University)
& Dr Jane Andrews (The University of the West of England UWE)
Date: Monday 8th February, 2016
Time: 11.00 – 13.00 (Gaza) / 09.00 – 11.00 (UK)
Venue: Tiba Conference Hall at IUG
One of the impacts of globalisation on education in some contexts around the world has been to strengthen the role English plays in a) educational processes, e.g., English medium instruction in schools and universities, and b) in research processes. The struggle to encourage language learning at degree level in the UK is well documented (e.g., Watts, 2004) and could be seen as a consequence of the predominance of English in the world; concerns about initiatives such Content & Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) have served to promote English language learning without necessarily having a strong pedagogic rationale (e.g., Bruton, 2013). The impact of English on research processes and practices may be seen at a range of stages such as when undertaking and designing research projects and getting them funded, in the language expectations of project funders and academic supervisors, and in the language priorities assigned to publication and dissemination.
In this seminar we question—and invite a discussion of—the processes and assumptions underpinning global trends in languages education and in research projects by highlighting the opportunities and affordances of a multiple languages approach to undertaking research and education. Drawing on the AHRC-funded project “Researching multilingually at the borders of language, the body, law and the state” we present insights from our own experiences of working multilingually across a large project which involves multiple languages and contexts. We then refer to the emergent findings from our own work within this project which demonstrate the opportunities and complexities of researching multilingually. We explore ways researchers can and do draw on their own multiple language resources as they undertake their research; in doing so we invite discussion of the role of English as a lingua franca in research and (language) education in order to open up an agenda for researching multilingually.
We provide two readings to accompany this seminar which we invite you to read prior to participation in the seminar. Our presentation will have specific points where we invite our audience to engage with the issues and debates. We therefore welcome your participation in and discussion of the ideas we present.
Readings
Canagarajah, S. (2007). Lingua Franca English, multilingual communities and language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 91, 923-939
Holmes, P., Fay, R., Andrews, J., & Attia, M. (2016, in press). How to research multilingually: Possibilities and complexities. In H. Zhu (Ed.) Research methods in intercultural communication (pp. 88-102). London: Wiley.
References
Bruton, A. (2013). CLIL: Some of the reasons why … and why not. System, 31, 587-597.
Watts, C. (2004). Some reasons for the decline in numbers of MFL students at degree level. The Language Learning Journal, 29(1), 59-67.
NOTE for UK / Externals attending via Skype
Please email Iyad (ihasan@iugaza.edu.ps) with your Skype details no later than Sunday 7 February 2016 so that you may be added to the online event.