To ensure smooth communication and collaboration, here are some troubleshooting tips to address common issues:
Check Internet Connection: Verify that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. Use a wired connection when possible, as it tends to be more stable than Wi-Fi. If using Wi-Fi, make sure you have a strong signal.
Update the Browser or App: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the web browser. Developers frequently release updates to address bugs and improve performance.
Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause conflicts or issues. Clear the browser cache and cookies before joining the meeting.
Test Audio and Video: Before the meeting, check your microphone and camera to ensure they are working correctly. If you are a speaker, you can click on "Start Practice Session" button test to ensure audio and video devices are functioning.
Close Other Applications: Running multiple applications in the background can consume system resources and lead to performance issues. Close unnecessary apps to free up resources for the Dryfta meeting platform.
Restart Your Device: If you encounter persistent issues, try restarting your computer or mobile device. This can help resolve various software-related problems.
Use Supported Browsers: Ensure you are using a browser supported by the meeting platform. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
Allow Necessary Permissions: Make sure the Dryfta meeting platform has the required permissions to access your microphone, camera, and other necessary features.
Disable VPN or Firewall: Sometimes, VPNs or firewalls can interfere with the connection to the meeting platform. Temporarily disable them and see if the issue persists.
Switch Devices: If possible, try joining the meeting from a different device to see if the problem is specific to one device.
Reduce Bandwidth Usage: In cases of slow or unstable internet connections, ask participants to disable video or share video selectively to reduce bandwidth consumption.
Update Drivers and Software: Ensure your operating system, audio drivers, and video drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues with the Dryfta meeting platform.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, reach out to the platform's support team. They can provide personalized assistance and troubleshoot specific problems.
By following these troubleshooting tips, you can tackle many common problems encountered on Dryfta meeting platform and have a more productive and seamless meeting experience.
20230720T083020230720T1130Europe/Amsterdam[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibilityHybrid Session (onsite/online)AILA 2023 - 20th Anniversary Congress Lyon Editioncellule.congres@ens-lyon.fr
Inclusive and sustainable instructional design for transnational English language learners in higher education: Fostering learners’ intercultural competence and global citizenship
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility08:30 AM - 09:00 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 06:30:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 07:00:00 UTC
Responding to global challenges during the pandemic times, two teacher-researchers designed learning tasks in a way that plurilingual transnational undergraduate learners develop their intercultural awareness and inclusive global citizenship, and advance multiliteracies through asynchronous multimodal practices. This presentation discusses the action research that investigates the effectiveness of newly developed instructional design. Specifically, it showcases multimodality-enhanced and diversity-embraced interactive asynchronous learning tasks, 'my cooking show' and 'plurilingual expression corner' that invited learners to exchange their cultural and linguistic knowledge and participate in collaborative advancement in English language learning and transdisciplinary literacies, drawing upon the concepts of 'super-diversity' and transnational belonging as characteristics of global citizens (Vertovec, 2009), and Cummins' (2009) transformative multiliteracies pedagogy. Through these multimodal interactive activities, learners are able to practice different speech functions and styles, engage with others' contributions, and establish a strong sense of connectedness as a community of English language learning and as global citizens. Based on the data collected through focus group interviews, anonymous surveys, and learning and teaching reflections, the study highlights multimodality-enhanced and diversity-as-asset-oriented instructional design create an inclusive pedagogical space wherein students can deepen their intercultural competence and collaboratively grow as critical global citizens.
The united nations (UN) has been urging educators to create inclusive and equitable educational opportunities for learners through quality education (i.e., sustainable development goals #4, see www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/). Yet, teaching during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic times required educators' swift pivoting of their teaching methods for learners' effective learning and academic success. As a response to these global challenges in education, two teacher-researchers restructured existing course materials and activities for an undergraduate English communication course through a two-year action research project. This presentation discusses the action research that investigates the effectiveness of newly developed instructional design.
The research aims to develop the equity-oriented and diversity-strengthened instructional design and practices that can facilitate students' advancement of critical intercultural competence and promote inclusive global citizenship, drawing upon the theoretical orientations of cosmopolitan citizenship that embraces 'super-diversity' and transnational belonging (Vertovec, 2009) and Cummins' (2009) transformative multiliteracies pedagogy. The presentation showcases multimodality-enhanced and diversity-embraced interactive asynchronous learning tasks, including 'my cooking show' and 'plurilingual expression corner' that invited learners to exchange their prior cultural and linguistic knowledge, and participate in collaborative advancement in English language learning and transdisciplinary literacies. In 'my cooking show', learners were asked to create a video-recorded presentation of a dish that represents their cultural and/or social identity, provide oral narratives about sociocultural and/or historical backgrounds, and share personal memories associated with the dish in addition to multimodal cooking instructions. They were also invited to engage in an asynchronous multimodal interview forum wherein they leave questions and comments. In 'plurilingual expression corner', learners were invited to introduce English idiomatic and colloquial expressions, compare them across languages in terms of similarities and uniqueness of their usages and sociocultural contexts, and create a video of the conversation using the expressions. In both projects, learners were encouraged to make comments on others' contributions in relation to their own cultural and language practice. Through these multimodal interactive activities, learners are able 1) to practice speech patterns, functions and styles in real social contexts; 2) to engage with others' contributions and establish a strong sense of connectedness as a community of English language learning and as global citizens through intercultural reflections on their own and others' unique cultural practices; and 3) to engage with sociocultural and intercultural inquiries through a follow-up online forum.
With affirmative testimonies from student participants through focus group interviews, reflective journals, and anonymous surveys as well as practitioner reflective notes regarding the two projects, the study highlights that multimodality-enhanced and diversity-as-asset-oriented instructional design create an inclusive pedagogical space wherein students can continuously develop their linguistic and cultural knowledge and deepen their intercultural competence to grow as critical global citizens who in turn can contribute to building inclusive and sustainable humanity for all.
References Cummins, J. (2009). Transformative multiliteracies pedagogy: School-based strategies for closing the achievement gap. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 11(2), 38-56 Vertovec, S. (2009). Transnationalism. New York, NY: Routledge.
Presenters Heejin Song Assistant Professor, York UniversityJacqueline Ng Associate Professor , York University
Towards responsible and ethical language testing for immigration policy purposes
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility09:00 AM - 09:30 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 07:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 07:30:00 UTC
While the importance of accounting for the use of language tests as immigration and citizenship policy instruments is by now widely acknowledged, core assumptions underlying fairness and validation frameworks in language testing preclude consideration of the lived experiences of migrants subjected to testing practices, and of the subjectivities and agency these experiences engender (Frost, 2019). Frameworks remain centred on the intentions of test users, with test taker intentions occupying a marginal position, at best; test takers feature primarily as theoretical abstractions rather than as real persons, deconstructed into the components of knowledge and skills that constitute test constructs. As a result, the dynamic ways that test taker agency is produced in an through interactions with testing practices remain hidden from view, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the field to meaningfully engage with the wider societal consequences and ethical implications generated by test uses for immigration and citizenship.
In this paper, I outline the complex ways in which English testing operates within an education-employment-immigration policy nexus in Australia, regulating parallel transitions from tertiary study into employment, and from temporary to permanent status. I draw on migrant experiences of English testing at transition points in their trajectories to highlight the disconnect between how test takers, test users, and language testers come to attribute meanings to testing practices, and the types of conflicting decisions and actions which emerge. Drawing on Foucault (2008), I argue for a view of language testing as a technology of neoliberal governance, operating at a distance and no longer serving to produce docile subjects, as conceptualised in work by McNamara (2012) and earlier work by Shohamy (e.g., 2001), but functioning as part of a broader apparatus to produce active, enterprising individuals. These individuals, as 'desirable' migrants, act to enhance their human capital value, thereby promoting values of competitiveness and adaptability, which align with wider government objectives of promoting economic agility and resilience in the face of global uncertainties. I conclude by calling for a renewed criticality in language testing, which encompasses an interrogation of wider discourses of English as a commodity and an aspect of human capital, and which confronts the roles of our own expertise in reifying potentially obsolete notions of standard English, and producing idealisations of migrant identities, and of language learning and learners, whereby economic value and profit are privileged over more long term, sustainable and meaningful educational and social agendas.
Bibilography: Foucault, M. (2008) The birth of biopolitics. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2008.
Frost, K. (2019). Language testing in immigration policy: Transitioning from fairness to social justice. In C. Roever and G. Wigglesworth (Eds.), Social Perspectives on language testing: Papers in honour of Tim McNamara (pp. 43–54). Peter Lang.
McNamara, T. (2012). Language assessments as Shibboleths: A poststructuralist perspective. Applied Linguistics 33(5), 564–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams052
Shohamy, E. (2001). The power of tests: A critical perspective of the uses of language tests. Singapore: Longman.
Presenters Kellie Frost Senior Lecturer In ESL And Applied Linguistics, University Of Melbourne
Critical Language Awareness: The Heart of a Socially Just Academic Literacy Curriculum:
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility09:30 AM - 10:00 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 07:30:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 08:00:00 UTC
Critical Language Awareness (CLA) Pedagogy is an approach to literacy instruction that engages students in deep explorations of language, identity, power, and privilege. When it comes to academic writing instruction, the goal of a CLA approach is to promote self-reflection, social justice, and rhetorical agency. This presentation offers an accessible and engaging introduction to rationale, overview, and pedagogical examples of English for Academic Purposes curricula centered on Critical Language Awareness (CLA), with a focus on writing instruction. The presenter first discusses how that CLA responds to the current moment, offering insights for teaching in ways that are both pragmatic and progressive when it comes to language difference. She then reviews key principles for CLA Pedagogy, including that this approach a) engages hearts, minds, and bodies; b) links awareness to action; and c) works with tensions around linguistic norms and standards. Finally, she offers 3 case studies of CLA-oriented curricular units that are relevant to both secondary and tertiary levels of instruction, which link CLA to social and emotional learning, computer-mediated communication (e.g., texting), and World Englishes. Participants will receive an annotated bibliography with further reading and resources related to CLA Pedagogy in a variety of contexts.
In recent years, there has been growing attention to social justice issues among academic literacy specialists. Practitioners often get caught in bind by which they are unsure how to be both progressive and pragmatic in their approach to literacy instruction-particularly when it comes to multilingual and multidialectal writers (Shapiro, 2022). Critical Language Awareness, or CLA, offers a productive "both/and" response to this conundrum, by engaging students in critical analysis of language in social contexts while also offering explicit instruction in the norms and conventions of language use in a variety of contexts. I argue that a CLA approach is the most viable means of aligning academic literacy curricula with our commitment to social responsibility. A CLA approach takes seriously students short-term needs-including the need to write confidently with standardized English. This approach also takes seriously our commitments to linguistic and social justice, as well as anti-racism and cultural inclusion. CLA Pedagogy engages students in deep explorations of language, identity, power, and privilege, with the goal of promoting self-reflection, social justice, and rhetorical agency (Shapiro, 2022). This particular approach traces back to the 1980s, when linguists and literacy scholars in the United Kingdom came together to answer the question: What knowledge about language do students-and their teachers-need in order to read and write across social and cultural contexts? (e.g., Clark et al., 1990; Fairclough, 1992/2014; Janks, 2010). Since then, many scholars and practitioners have adapted CLA to their own instructional contexts around the globe, including in East Asia (e.g., Crookes, 2010). Latin America (e.g., Farias, 2005), and South Africa (e.g., Janks, 2010). CLA Pedagogy has also been taken up in instruction of languages other than English-particularly Spanish for heritage speakers (e.g., Holguín Mendoza, 2018). This presentation offers an accessible and engaging introduction to CLA Pedagogy that includes examples of applications used in both secondary and tertiary contexts. I show how I incorporate CLA goals and principles in courses such as "Language and Social Justice," "The English Language in a Global Context," "English Grammar: Concepts and Controversies," and "Narratives in the News Media." I share examples of readings/media, activities, and assignments from these courses, which teach students to attend closely and critically to language, within a social justice framework, offering opportunities for reflection throughout. Clark, R., Fairclough, N., Ivanič, R., & Martin‐Jones, M. (1990). Critical language awareness part I: A critical review of three current approaches to language awareness. Language and Education, 4(4), 249-260. Crookes, G. (2010). The practicality and relevance of second language critical pedagogy. Language teaching, 43(3), 333-348. Fairclough, N. (1992/2014). Critical language awareness. Routledge Farias, M. (2005). Critical language awareness in foreign language learning. Literatura y lingüística, (16), 211-222. Holguín Mendoza, C. (2018). Critical language awareness (CLA) for Spanish heritage language programs: Implementing a complete curriculum. International Multilingual Research Journal, 12(2), 65-79. Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. Routledge Shapiro, S. (2022). Cultivating Critical Language Awareness in the writing classroom. Routledge.
Presenters Shawna Shapiro Associate Professor, Middlebury College
Doing inclusion: A sociolinguistic ethnography of the doing of inclusion in a Norwegian university
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility10:00 AM - 10:30 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 08:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 08:30:00 UTC
This contribution is based on an ongoing sociolinguistic ethnography on the doing of inclusion in Norwegian higher education. Inclusion has been on the educational agenda for many countries in the OECD, gaining currency in political and academic debate over the last five decades (Tomlinson and Basit, 2012). In parallel, demands for social justice such as equality and inclusion in institutions have become embedded in legislation along with institutions around the world signaling their commitment to the UN sustainable development goals. In Norway, higher education institutions have signaled their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion developing a range of bodies, policies, and initiatives, targeting underrepresented groups such as women and individuals with so called immigrant background (OECD, 2009). Yet from a critical sociolinguistic perspective, the processes, challenges and effects of implementing said initiatives in Norwegian universities remains under researched. This is relevant as linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistic scholarship shows how within diversity discourses in higher education, 'culture' appears as enregistered as a way of not talking about race, and racialized minority students are seen as 'being' and 'doing' diversity (e.g. Urciuoli, 2009; 2018). While there is increasing circulating discourses on equality, diversity and inclusion in Europe and generally the global north, research on Spanish educational context also highlights how students with an immigrant background are excluded from education systems that categorize particular ways of speaking and knowing as 'good' and those that do not fit as 'others' (e.g. Martin-Rojo, 2008). With this in mind, in this paper I discuss the preliminary data findings from my fieldwork in an established university in Norway, where I investigate how inclusion is understood, articulated and enacted in the everyday life of the university. The paper draws from observations, interviews and fieldnotes on how social actors doing inclusion work in my chosen university make meaning of inclusion and the work that they do. The paper focus on the communicative practices and linguistic resources my participants employ to make meaning of inclusion. This includes paying attention to the effects the doing inclusion has for individuals and the institution itself in the broader context of universities' commitment to society and social responsibility. This paper, therefore, contributes to discussions concerned with the role language and communicative practices play in the (re)production of social inequality and how social actors and institutions make meaning of social responsibility. References: Tomlinson, S., and Basit (2012). 'Introduction'. In Tomlinson S., and Basit, T. N.(eds) Social Inclusion and Higher Education. Bristol: The Policy Press, pp.1–16. Martin-Rojo, L. (2008) 'Competent vs. Incompetent students: Polarization and social closure in Madrid schools' in Delanty, G., Wodak, R., and Jones, P. (eds.) Identity, Belonging and Migration. Liverpool University Press, pp. 279-300. OECD (2009). Reviews of Tertiary Education: Norway. OECD Publishing. Accessible on: https://www.oecd.org/norway/37457548.pdf Urciuoli, B. (2009) 'Talking/Not Talking about Race: The Enregisterment of Culture in Higher Education Discourses' Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Vol. 19, Issue 1, pp. 21–39. doi: .1111/j.1548-1395.2009.01017.x. Urciuoli, B. (2018). 'The Irony of Diversity Numbers'. Signs and Society. 6. doi: 88-110. 10.1086/694418
“Natives” Wanted: Looking Beyond Native Speakerism as the Catalyst for Employment Discrimination in TESOL
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility10:30 AM - 11:00 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 08:30:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 09:00:00 UTC
Numerous studies have pointed to a "native English speaker" hiring preference within the worldwide TESOL industry (e.g., Bernstein & Woosnam, 2019). With limited empirical backing and/or theoretical exploration, the rationale for this policy has mainly been attributed to native speakerism (Holliday, 2005; 2006). This paper offers a more nuanced explanation for professional discrimination through the introduction of social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). It is argued that Holliday's native speakerism thesis cannot explain all instances of hiring discrimination and a more granular understanding of intergroup conflict is needed if researchers want to effectively tackle issues of inclusion within the profession.
This paper examines how language and identity inform educational practices and hiring policies. It builds on prior research highlighting nuances within the discussion of native speakerism in TESOL (e.g., Houghton, & Rivers, 2013; Lawrence & Nagashima, 2020) and responds to calls for a better understanding of why "native English speakers" are sought within the current professional landscape (Ahn et al., 2021). Native speakerism has become the default rational for language-related discrimination within the mainstream TESOL discourse and central to discussions on identity and status drawn from language-based categorization (Rivers, 2017; 2018). This broad application of native speakerism is critiqued and the rationale for "native speaker only" hiring policies is reframed through the introduction of social identity theory (SIT). The paper begins outlining SIT and its various components. The theory's socio-structural parameters are then put forward. These variables can be applied by researchers to understand and effectively predict when bias will be employed as a status improvement strategy. Specifically, two forms of intergroup bias not directly addressed by native speakerism are introduced: realistic competition and social competition. While the existence of native speakerism is not disputed, claims that it has been largely denied and accounts for hiring discrimination (e.g., Holliday & Aboshiha, 2009) are problematized. This novel approach works within the current climate of "nonnative English speaker" advocacy to provide researchers a social psychological model to interpret professional discrimination as not solely evidence of a consensually accepted status system, but as one in a series of strategies currently being adopted to challenge the legitimacy of the intergroup status hierarchy within TESOL. While the yeoman's work of Holliday (2005) has elevated the discourse on political inequalities embedded within TESOL, if "native speaker only" preferences are explained solely through the prism of native speakerism those on the periphery are presumed complicit in their marginalization (see Kumaravadivelu, 2016). The doctrine of native speakerism critiques a juxtaposition between "native speakers" as independent, original, and creative and "nonnative speakers" as uncritical, passive, and lacking self-esteem (Holliday, 2005, p.19-20). Consequently, native speakerism as the explanation for hiring discrimination risks countering that which it proports to combat by patronizingly suggesting that "nonnative English speakers" have internalized, accepted, and are actively furthering the imperialistic ideology of the English-speaking West. SIT provides a theoretical lens to look beyond native speakerism as the catalyst for hiring discrimination within TESOL. The theory proposes that the need for self-esteem motivates group members to seek favorable intergroup comparisons. When hierarchical group relations are perceived as unstable, impermeable, and illegitimate, those with a strong ingroup identification are likely to resist the intergroup status system suggesting hiring discrimination as not solely a symptom of native speakerism, but (within the context of outer and expanding circle countries) an active form of resistance against the ideology.
Age and Length of residence: supporting inclusiveness for adult migrants registered in a subsidized French for Professional Purposes training
Oral Presentation[SYMP58] OPEN CALL - Social responsibility11:00 AM - 11:30 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/20 09:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/20 09:30:00 UTC
In adult education, there are few studies linking age and language development. Birdsong (2006) showed through the analysis of neurolinguistic data that procedural memory begins to decline very slowly from the age of 20. This implies that the resources used by an adult are different from those of a child but not necessarily deficient (Dabrowska & al., 2020). Birdsong (2018) also indicates that the decline of procedural memory at different rates induces greater variability in language development in adults as they age. This variability is also linked with the decline of other cognitive faculties, each with their own rhythm, which further increases the span of variability for the overall second language development in the adult population (Hartshorne & Germine, 2015). The Age factor also encompasses motivational, identificational attitudinal, and experiential characteristics of the learner (Pfenninger, 2020); as such, Length of residence could be a more accurate measurement to account for the beginning of language development (Munoz & Singleton, 2011). The longer the exposure time to the target language lasts, the greater the progress should be, provided interaction takes place with the target language embodied through its local population (Munoz & Singleton, 2007; Helleman, 2008; Llanes, 2010). To investigate the influence of Age and Length of residence of adult migrants on second language development, we carried out statistical analyses on a group of 75 migrants (Age range: 20-69; Mean = 38; Length of residence spread: 0-9 years; Mean= 2 years) registered for a 448 hour long French for Professional Purpose training. A pre-test identified that they all did not know French at the beginning of the session. A standardized post-test gave a reading of their language development at the end of the training. Results show that older learners had a slight disadvantage compared to younger adults (p=0,005; r=-0,32); there was no significant difference for the factor Length of residence indicating that second language classes are equally beneficial for new and late residents. BIRDSONG, David. (2006). Age and second language acquisition and processing: A selective overview. Language Learning, 56(1), 9–49. BIRDSONG, D. (2018). Plasticity, Variability and Age in Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism. Frontiers in Psychology, 9:81. DABROWSKA, Ewa, BECKER, Laura & MIORELLI, Luca. (2020) Is Adult Second Language Acquisition Defective? Frontiers in Psychology. 11:1839 HARTSHORNE, Joshua & GERMINE, Laura. (2015). When Does Cognitive Functioning Peak? The Asynchronous Rise and Fall of Different Cognitive Abilities Across the Life Span. Psychological Science, 26, 433–443. HELLMAN, Andrea. (2008). The Limits of Eventual Attainment in Adult-Onset Second Language Acquisition. (Doctorate in Education). Boston University, Boston. LLANES, Angels. (2010). Children and adults learning English in a study abroad context. (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis). University of Barcelona, Barcelona. MUÑOZ, Carmen & SINGLETON, David (2011). A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment. Language Teaching, 44, 1–35. PFENNINGER, Simone (2020). The Dynamic Multicausality of Age of First Bilingual Language Exposure: Evidence From a Longitudinal Content and Language Integrated Learning Study With Dense Time Serial Measurements. The Modern Language Journal, 104(3), 662–686.
Presenters Nathalie Gettliffe Associate Profesor, Université De Strasbourg
Heejin Song
Jacqueline Ng
Kellie Frost
Shawna Shapiro
Gabriela Wale Soto
Nathalie Gettliffe
