This paper attempts to take a critical look at the narrative interview in order to identify the methodological pitfalls and challenges posed by this widely-applied research tool. It analyses the research process in a project involving sixty-four 3rd year students of applied linguistics at a large university in western Poland in the summer term of the academic year 2018/2019. The project included three stages: (1) interviewing a person from another country studying in Poland about their intercultural experiences; (2) transcribing the interviews and (3) presenting the results of their analysis in the form of a written report. On completion of their assignments, the students were asked to share their reflections on all stages of their research in an anonymous survey study. The questionnaire data was juxtaposed with analysis of the student transcripts and reports in order to identify and compare the student and the teacher perspectives on methodological aspects of narrative research. The outcomes of the survey study show that the students, as inexperienced or even first-time researchers, mostly focused on their language proficiency and technical aspects of the interview, while the teacher/researcher pointed primarily to flaws in the formulation of the interview questions and lack of subsequent probing questions, which resulted in superficial responses or even at times deprived the interview of a narrative character. The study also documented the evolution of students as researchers and its results might be applicable for teachers offering courses in academic writing or BA/MA seminars.
Family Language Policy (FLP) is a pioneering yet dynamically thriving interdisciplinary field of study, which successfully integrates language acquisition, multilingual studies, sociolinguistics and ecolinguistics. The present paper reports on the longitudinal case study of a Polish-Japanese family residing in the UK and the development of their family language policy. Through a specific focus on narrative data and observations, obtained in two cycles of research in 2014/15 and 2017, it illustrates the parents’ attitudes towards their minority languages (Polish and Japanese, respectively), the majority language (English) and their child’s multilingualism. Irrespective of the parents’ positive attitudes towards multilingualism and their declared efforts to raise a trilingual child, the original study (E. WąsikiewiczFirlej 2016) showed the dominance of the majority language in the family, and pointed to substantial difficulties in the maintenance of minority languages, which was mostly explicated by the child’s agency in shaping FLP. The results of the first stage of the study (2014/15) have been juxtaposed with the data obtained in 2017 in order to verify the parents’ declared vs. actual language management, as well as the dynamics of FLP over time. The findings have confirmed the assumed dynamic character of the family’s language policy, which is shaped by a range of constantly changing micro and macro factors, contributing to a better understanding of FLP sociolinguistic ecology.
The article presents theoretical considerations pertaining to the use of translation in foreign language teaching and argues for the reinstatement of translation activities in language teaching to contribute to the development of intercultural sensitivity among language users. The authors build upon critical-ecological reflections in language education. They posit that a globalized world requires a departure from the monolingual language teaching paradigm, particularly in multicultural and multilingual contexts such as, for example, a united Europe. The argument touches upon the issues of neoliberal skills training, intercultural education, language pedagogy (glottodidactics), language acquisition and translation theories as well as observations of the practicalities imposed on L2 users by the postmodern reality and market forces. The authors present the incorporation of translation practices into foreign language teaching as a means of enhancing intercultural sensitivity and a way of fighting linguistic and cultural colonization. The ultimate goal – the new “paradigm shift” (Butzkamm and Caldwell, 2009) – is to contribute to social justice via foreign language education.
The existing studies on pragmatic competence of English teachers, e.g., J. Majer and Ł. Salski (2004), E. Krawczyk-Neifar (2004), M. Savič (2016), A. Szczepaniak-Kozak and E. Wąsikiewicz-Firlej (in press), indicate that it is not varied and requires improvement in certain areas. These deficiencies might be interpreted as a result of not only the absence of pragmatic competence (PC) modules in teachertraining education but also a relatively low frequency of English teachers’ contact with native speakers (NS) of English (A. Szczepaniak-Kozak 2010). Nevertheless, we know very little what shape teacher PC takes, including the way it differs from that represented by NSs. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies based on data collected in naturalistic settings (lessons of English). Consequently, this paper attempts to fill in this gap in research by presenting the methodology and conduct of a case study, based on classroom observation of teachers’ pragmatic performance, to investigate whether there are differences in the PC represented by non-native teachers (NNTs) and native teachers (NTs) of English. The findings indicate that NTs do not hold the upper hand in this regard and that a demonstrable linguistic and pragmatic competence, along with appropriate professional training, are better indicators of diverse pragmatic input. On this basis, we propose that some degree of proficiency in pragmatics and its teaching should be a requirement for a certificate or diploma for future foreign language teachers.
Acquisition of pragmatic competence (PC) in a foreign language is a gradual process, which is not trouble-free and effortless even for advanced learners. Since most of the existing research on PC has focused on learners of English, this paper constitutes an attempt to investigate this matter from the perspective of foreign language teachers, with particular attention paid to teachers of English in Poland. Its aim is to investigate whether individual differences influence the acquisition of PC on the basis of data collected during classroom observations and in interviews with teachers. This way the authors endeavor to answer the question whether PC of the teachers depends on their general linguistic ability in English, their educational background and teacher preparation, or the stage of their career development.
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