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A multilingual and multimodal exchange project between Japanese and Taiwanese university students. I-Chung KE (Yuan Ze Univ., Taiwan) ichungke@saturn.yzu.edu.tw. Toshihiko SUZUKI (Waseda Univ., Japan) toshisuz@outlook.com. Purpose of this presentation.
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A multilingual and multimodal exchange project between Japanese and Taiwanese university students I-Chung KE (Yuan Ze Univ., Taiwan) ichungke@saturn.yzu.edu.tw Toshihiko SUZUKI (Waseda Univ., Japan) toshisuz@outlook.com
Purpose of this presentation • Share a multilingual and multimodal exchange project that mostly involves using online interface to communicate. • Discuss some research methodological issues in using the data collected from the project.
Multilingual exchange project Both of us are English teachers • YZU , TaiwanWaseda Uni., Japan • English as a lingua franca (ELF) • Japanese/Mandarin as a foreign language • Using English, Japanese, and Mandarin
Multimodal project • Online exchange using three media: • [A] asynchronous BBS • [B] LiveOn real-time chatting: Voice, text, and screen (Software developed by Waseda U. distance learning center)
LiveOn real-time chatting • 6-week Live chatting, 50 mins per week • 2-3 students from each side as a group
Multimodal project • Online exchange using three media: • [A] asynchronous BBS • [B] LiveOn real-time chatting: Voice, text, and screen (Developed by Waseda U. distance learning center) • [C] Video Conference in class • Mutual Face-to-Face visits in January/July
History of our exchange project • Exchange based on BBS (from 2009) • Add-on in language courses/ voluntary • Exchange based on LiveOn (from 2011) • Part of language practice/mandatory • Exchange based on Video Conference (2011~) • Part of language practice/mandatory • Face-to-face exchange (2010~) • Voluntary/ $$ • Elective course devoted to exchange (2013~)
Pedagogical purpose of the project • Develop a sustainable curriculum model for foreign language teaching in the East Asia context • Students develop (discursive) competence in L2/L3 use through multilingual (ELF) multimodal exchange communication
Multi-modality / Multi-literacy • Communicate with more than one interface simultaneously • More complicated, but could be more effective than mono-modal communication (face to face, telephone, email) • Common in ELF communication in current digitalized world
Multilingualism • English as a lingua franca (globalization) • Regional language (regionalization) • Second foreign language (competitive advantage) • Beyond the boundary of ‘language’ => Translingualism: Communication as the ultimate goal
Data preparation • Interaction data: Videos, images, voices, and texts • For research on actual interactions • Transcribe voices and synchronize with images and text-typing data =>meticulous! • Elicited data: questionnaires and interviews • For research on self/peer perceptions • Multilingual questionnaires; interviews in students’ L1 & translation into English
Issues • Writing systems in transcribing voice data • Boundaries between different languages and modalities • Research topics investigated so far
Headache for transcribers & code-mixing/switching research! Written systems • Multilingual speech data transcription • The same sound could be represented by several writing systems. <Voice mode> • E.g. Sakura /さくら/桜, sushi/すし/寿司 • The same Mandarin character/Kanji has different meaning in Mandarin and Japanese. <Text mode> • E.g. 今(today in M, now in J)、結構(structure in Mandarin, fine/good in Japanese)
Categorizing languages for what purposes? • Why differentiating modalities? • Transcription = data analysis?! =>Creates language and modality categories from data • Translingual & transmodal interpretation of holistic data? Boundaries between different languages and modalities Quantitative analysis Multilingual researchers/ assistants needed!
Research topics investigated so far Multilingual ELF interactions may transcend the NS-NNS boundary, liberating language learners/users. • Pedagogical topics: how to teach/learn multilingual competence in multimodal contexts; curriculum and materials • Communication strategies • Learner/user attitude, ideology, identity • Language use in such contexts, for example, discourse markers and speech acts
Look forward to connecting with teachers around the world to develop our students’ linguistic and modal competence!