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2006-2007 Events
Language in Action: Conversation Analytic Perspectives on Grammar, Interaction, and Langauge Learning
Junko Mori, Department of Eas Asian Languages and Literature
4:00-5:00pm, Tuesday, April 24
254 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Avenue
Abstract
Since the publication of the seminal paper by Firth and Wagner (1997), the last decade has seen a growing attention to the methodological framework of conversation analysis (CA) in the study of second language use and acquisition (e.g., Gardner and Wagner, 2004; Markee, 2000, 2004; Richards and Seedhouse, 2005; Schegloff, et al, 2002; Seedhouse, 2004). These CA informed studies have presented detailed analysis of interactions involving second language speakers and renewed our appreciation of the contexts and identities that are constructed by the participants’ interactional practices in a moment-by-moment fashion. While CA has been acknowledged as a powerful tool to explicate learning opportunities locally constituted in interaction, however, it still remains controversial as to whether or not CA is a suitable methodology for documenting language acquisition. This debate raises the fundamental questions concerning the conceptualization of “the object of learning” and “the learning process”. To borrow Larsen-Freeman’s (2004) words, is the object of learning “a priori target rules and structures being assimilated by the individual mind” or “evolving bond between the individual and others—becoming a member of a community”? In other words, should learning be discussed in terms of “having or gaining some knowledge” or in terms of “doing or becoming able to do something with the language”?
This presentation addresses these questions by reviewing 1) the fundamental principles of CA as a sociological methodology and its view of “competence” 2) the intersection of CA and discourse-functional and cognitive linguistics that promotes use-based grammar; and 3) the CA-informed studies of second language conversation published in the last decade vis-à-vis the first two items in this list. Through this process, the presenter aims to identify future agenda as well as limitations in the application of CA to the study of second language learning.
Junko Mori is Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she teaches Japanese language and applied linguistics. She is the author of Negotiating Agreement and Disagreement in Japanese: Connective Expressions and Turn Construction (1999, John Benjamins) and the recipient of the 2003 ACTFL/MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in Foreign Language Education. Her publications have appeared in various edited volumes as well as journals such as Applied Linguistics, Journal of Pragmatics, Modern Language Journal, Research on Language and Social Interaction, among others. She is currently editing a book titled Japanese Applied Linguistics: Discourse and Social Approaches (forthcoming, Continuum) with Amy S. Ohta. Her research interests center on the application of the methodological framework of ‘conversation analysis’ to the study of talk-in-interaction involving first and second language speakers of Japanese.
Language Institute 2006-07 lecture series: National Standards and
Instructional Strategies for Foreign Language Teaching
Linguists, Lobbyists, Policy Makers, and Folks:
Ways of Thinking «the Common National Language» in the U.S.
Jorge Porcel, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
4:00 pm, Thursday, April 12
254 Van Hise Hall
Jorge Porcel received his PhD in 2002 from the University of Pittsburgh. In his dissertation, he focused on how Miami-Cubans of first and second generation use tense, modality and aspect contrasts within the Spanish Verb System. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Fall of 2002. His principal areas of research interest and teaching are General Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, and Language Ideologies, Policies and Politics, in relation to the status of Spanish in the U.S. He has published articles in these topics in academic journals such as: «The exhaustion of a scientific paradigm in modern linguistics» in Revista Española de Lingüística; «The Paradox of Spanish among Miami Cubans» in Journal of Sociolinguistic; «Temporal distance versus modality: in indicative future of the Spanish verb» in Lingüística Española Actual.
Abstract
For the past twenty-five years, language policy issues have become matter of public debate and confrontation in the U.S. At the Federal level, two lobbyist groups have delineated two basic positions, both backed by nationwide popular support. Summarily, the dispute focuses on whether or not the «status» of English should be stated in the corpus of the U.S. law, given the resulting consequences that might derive from such an action.
The issue reached a crucial point last year, when in May the U.S. Senate approved two different amendments declaring English «national language» (Sen. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma) or «common and unifying language» (Sen. Salazar, Democrat of Colorado).
In the face of such an event, it is important to reveal and discuss the assumptions that have been used to «naturalize», «rationalize», and make commonsensically plausible the need of a «nationwide common, unifying language».
Libraries in a Nutshell: An Overview of Research Methods, Resources, and Services
4:00-5:00 pm
Thursday, November 9
294 Van Hise Hall
Rebecca Payne, UW-Madison Academic Librarian, will demonstrate
effective ways of using research tools such as journal databases,
highlight pertinent resources for research on second language
acquisition, applied linguistics, language education and culture,
and briefly review NEW library services that can help you gather
information and find research assistance.
Staying on Task in Oral Proficiency Interviews
Gabriele Kasper, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
3:30 pm, Thursday, October 26, 2006
Room 254 Van Hise Hall
Articulating a FL sequence through content: A look at the Culture
Standards
Heidi Byrnes, Georgetown University
4:00 p.m., Thursday, October 19, 2006
254 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive
Writing the Doctoral Dissertation in SLA
Robin Worth, Beloit College, University of Wisconsin-Madison
4:00-5:00 pm
Thursday, October 12
254 Van Hise Hall
I this presentation, the process of writing the dissertation for the PhD in SLA at UW will be discussed. Starting with a broad overview of the entire post-prelims process, the talk will focus on the dissertation from proposal stage to organizing data, structuring the thesis and drafting chapters, from editing and revising to defending and depositing. Practical, political, and strategic advice as well as personal survival tips will be discussed. Suggestions regarding organization, resources, time management, "owning your work," writing strategies, and maintaining momentum along with one's sanity will inform a visually-enhanced presentation representing one person's personal experiences, lessons learned, and positive outcomes. Although this presentation is particularly geared to writing the dissertation in SLA, anyone is welcome to attend.
Beyond Linguistic Imperialism: Learner Resistance in the University Foreign
Language Classroom
Robin Worth, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Beloit College
4:00 pm, Thursday, September 28, 2006
254 Van Hise Hall
Second Language Socialization as Sociocultural Theory: Insights and Issues
Patricia A. Duff, University of British Columbia
4:00 pm, Friday, September 22, 2006
Room 1418 Van Hise Hall
**SLA Reception immediately following the lecture**
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