Applying Agar’s Concept of ‘Languaculture’ to Explain Asian Students’ Experiences in the Australian Tertiary Context

Norris, Lindy; Tsedendamba, Naranchimeg

doi:10.5539/elt.v8n1p205

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 41 publications

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“…After participation in the various communities of practice, the learners can make progress in understanding the target languaculture and practice this new understanding to test its accuracy. When applying the concept developed by Agar to explain the experience of Asian students in an Australian university, Norris and Tsedendamba (2015) developed a model to illustrate Agar's concept of languaculture. In their model, the area between LC1 and LC2 is called the translation arena because this is the place where learning activities take place.…”

Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Small Talk: A Big Challenge for Chinese Graduate Students in Canada

Xu¹

2021

ICERI2021 Proceedings

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This phenomenological inquiry explores the lived experiences of Chinese graduate students in Canada when making small talk with native English speakers. The focus is on the challenges they face, possible causes for these challenges, and potential solutions. The theoretical frameworks consist of a combination of the communicative competence model and the concepts of languaculture and communities of practice.Ten Chinese students in Canadian universities were interviewed to collect data on their experiences making small talk with instructors, classmates, and other members of their local communities and on their progress with social interaction and integration.In addition, eight Canadian instructors and classmates were invited to participate by completing an online questionnaire which asked them to outline their experiences with Chinese students. They were also presented with sample narratives from the interviewees revealing difficult personal interactions and asked to provide commentary and suggest strategies they would use under similar circumstances.Thematic data analysis was used to codify and categorize the information collected. The results indicated the most challenging issues for these Chinese students were related to comprehension, participation, initiative, confidence, social connections, and propriety. There were many direct or indirect causes for these challenges, but most were the result of problems tied to language proficiency, cultural differences, and personal attributes. Suggested solutions include practicing communicative skills, improving English language proficiency, learning social and cultural norms, developing communicative strategies, and becoming active members in communities of practice.This study on small talk was no small project, and it could not have been completed without the help and guidance of many people.My utmost appreciation and gratitude go to my supervisor, Dr. Marie Myers, who guided me, encouraged me, inspired me, and supported me throughout. It was a great honour to have the opportunity to work with her and learn from her. Her passion and professional approach towards research provided me with an up-lifting example of the attitude and demeanor required to be a professional researcher.A big thank you also goes to Dr. Ian Matheson, who served on my thesis committee, for his support, valuable comments, and helpful advice. I also owe my gratitude to my advisor, Dr.Claire Ahn, for her suggestions and support when I first started the MEd program at Queen's and for her help and concern when the course work seemed overwhelming.The courses I took at Queen's were challenging and satisfying, and I am fortunate to have had such great instructors, Dr.

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Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%