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Tim LEWIS, KAN Qian & Ursula STICKLER The Open University

Third cultures for third spaces: an emergent model of interculturality in a Chinese-English e-tandem exchange. Tim LEWIS, KAN Qian & Ursula STICKLER The Open University. Outline. Third spaces (Bhabha 1994 and Kramsch 1993) Third places (Oldenburg 1989 and Soukup 2006)

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Tim LEWIS, KAN Qian & Ursula STICKLER The Open University

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  1. Third cultures for third spaces: an emergent model of interculturality in a Chinese-English e-tandem exchange Tim LEWIS, KAN Qian & Ursula STICKLER The Open University

  2. Outline • Third spaces (Bhabha 1994 and Kramsch 1993) • Third places (Oldenburg 1989 and Soukup 2006) • Chinese-English eTandem project • Findings • Discussion 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  3. Bhabha (1994) • Semiotic space (enunciation vs proposition) • Statements about culture are `positioned’ and should be greeted with ambivalence • Cultural change - dialectical reorganisation • `Third space’ – `the void of misgiving’ `the assimilation of contraries’ • Interstitial and hybrid 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  4. Kramsch (1993) • Personal. A state of mind • Learner at the intersection of multiple social roles and individual choices • Context, framing, perspective • Learners articulate new experiences from within old ones • Critical and counter-hegemonic 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  5. Third places – Oldenburg 1989 (I) Oldenburg’s great good places: • Neutral ground • Levelling & inclusive settings • Conversation is the main activity • Accessible and accommodating. • Third places are given character by their regulars • Low profile in physical setup • Playful mood • Providing psychological comfort and support 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  6. Third places (Soukup 2006) (II) Four ways in which virtual environments are like great good places: • Immersive, `time slips away’ • Conversational tone is often `jocular, energetic and spirited’. • Neutral ground for informal or spontaneous social interaction. • Virtual environments also have their regulars. 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  7. eTandem In our project (Chinese – English Tandem learning): • Email • Skype Two institutions: • Department of Languages, The Open University (OU), UK • School of Distance Learning and Continuing Education, Beijing Jiaotong University (BJU) 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  8. Participants Total: 10 pairs • 10 OU students Age：48 – 76 Level of Chinese：beginners after one year learning • 10 postgraduates and staff from BJU Age： 23 – 45 Level of English: post beginners to intermediate 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  9. Project timetable & weekly topics 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference • Week 0 (1st Nov 2011): preparation week • Week 1 (5th Nov) – Week 6 (17th Dec): language activities Week 1: Getting to know each other Week 2: Family and friends Week 3: Food Week 4: Weekend Week 5: Comparisons Week 6: Travel • After 19th Dec – Feb 2012: follow-up questionnaires

  10. Weekly guidelines: Example 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  11. Data collection and analysis • Copies of emails • Skype recordings • English students’ forum • Post-questionnaires • Follow-up emails 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  12. Findings: • Hybridity • Critical and counter-hegemonic learning • Levelling • Accessibility • Informality • Clear contextual setting and the primacy of conversation 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  13. Hybridity • Merging of cultures “We have Chinese new year, just like Christmas in your country ,we eat dumplings with family, and Chinese new year is the most important festival in china ,family members will come back home wherever they are . … I look forward to see my family, I miss them very much. We don’t have a Christmas Break in China, but young people, like university students, will have it. You can see Christmas tree and Santa Claus in storefront showcase; I look forward to receive an apple at Christmas Eve.” [Excerpt from email, Pair 1, BJU1] • Teacher-learner roles BJU2: When you find out something you can say 发现 or 找出 OU2: Yes I’ve got that, thank you very much! …let me type something - BJU2: Shades of meaning I used [the] Chinese for [al]most 30 years but I never think about why we say it like this or like that. But when you ask me, I have to think about it.(Skype BJU2) [Two excerpts from transcript of Skype recording Nov 2011] 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  14. Critical and counter-hegemonic learning OU3: The films I like – Beijing Bicycle – do you know that? BJU3: I haven’t seen this movie but I have heard of it. OU3: Yeah? This one I didn’t like it too much BJU3: Hahaha, it’s a very famous film in China. OU3: Yeah, but it was too much, too much! BJU3: It – have a lot of metaphors about the government so people like this film. But for foreigners, they don’t know the .... OU3: Ah, there are a lot of politics in it? [Skype] 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  15. Levelling OU2 BJU2 Female 28 years old University computer officer Learning English for 11 years • Male • 76 years old • Retired, used to be a land surveyor (Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) • Learning Chinese for 11 months So pleased to have met an elderly person full of knowledge like you. I’m so touched at your age, you are still learning. Such an inspiration. (Email) Please concentrate on your work, don’t’ worry about me … I’m retired… (Skype) After I retired, I continued to study and able to choose a wider range of subjects (Email)

  16. Accessibility (1) using webcam and other online tools Two excerpts from Skype recording: pair 3 OU3: I have a fire – I’ll show you. —— did you see? This is an electric fire. BJU3: Electric fire – yeah, I thought the – the fire with the wood • OU3: Yes, yes. Is it dark? • BJU3: Yes, yes, I can show you the outside. Ok, it’s dark. • OU3: Uh. • BJU3: Do you – do you see? • OU3: Yes, thank you, yes. I show you outside here – now it is the morning and it’s uh – 9:42. Or, it’s nearly a quarter to 10 – and it’s light. 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  17. Accessibility (2) - reflection on webcam use “<OU2> suggested that using the webcam might help your relationship… I think <OU2> is right about trying establishing rapport through visual means. This awareness of the other as a real person can help to overcome anxiety about finding the right words.” [Forum discussion, OU3] 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  18. Informality

  19. Clear contextual setting and the primacy of conversation Weekly topics Week 1: Getting to know each other Week 2: Family and friends Week 3: Food Week 4: Weekend Week 5: Comparisons Week 6: Travel Weekly guidelines 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

  20. OU3: I have very warm slippers. BJU3: Yeah. OU3: See? BJU3: Wow! Hahaha. (Skype) Discussion “These [project description and weekly worksheet] were all quite clear and useful in setting one's own goals.”(questionnaire) • A highly structured space allows informality to happen • Meeting in the unknown “Third Space” iscause for anxiety and excitement • Constant switching of roles allows risk-taking and falling back on the familiar It’s very exciting being part of something like this but rather terrifying too. (Email) OU2 : “Now you said to me ‘I don’t good at it’ and it’s better to say ‘I’m not very good at cooking’, yeah, or you say ‘I don’t cook’.” (Skype)

  21. Thank you! 谢谢！ • Tim LEWIS tim.lewis@open.ac.uk • KAN Qian qian.kan@open.ac.uk • Ursula STICKLER ursula.stickler@open.ac.uk 12-14 Feb 2014 León Conference

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