Digital Spaces of Engagement: Perspectives on Using Zoom and Virtual Spaces in Online Classrooms

Ishii, David N.; Soltani, Behnam

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-74088-7_1

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…Reflecting on the norms in his new social space (Ishii and Soltani, 2021), the student above realized that he needed to socialize himself in the new practices (e.g., do assignments and prepare surveys) so that he could demonstrate his learning in the new educational space. Students also found they had to negotiate the new norms of their academic social space (Soltani, 2018).…”

Section: Intercultural Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

International students' employability: a language socialization perspective

Soltani,

Tomlinson

2024

Self Cite

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PurposeThis study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students’ everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market.Design/methodology/approachThe study used narrative frames to collect data from 180 international students from China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal at a New Zealand tertiary institution. Narrative frames as a research tool in educational contexts are used to ellicit the experiences of individuals in the form of a story as participants reflect on their experience. The frames use sentence starters to draw responses from participants about their experiences (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008).FindingsThis study argues that, through a socialization process, international students develop identities that fit an ever-changing labour market. This process is catalysed by a higher education landscape that produces career-ready subjects capable of appropriating different social spaces that prepare students and graduates to enter the labour market. Further, it argues that graduate employability should be understood as a complex process through which students and graduates socialise themselves through negotiating the socioacademic spaces by (1) familiarising themselves with the dominant workspace norms, (2) positioning themselves as more career-ready individuals, and (3) imagigining employable selves capable of meeting the needs of the job market.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has limitations. Only one data collection source has been used. It would have been great to use narrative frames along with interviews. In addition, the data would have been stronger if the researcher could have used classroom observations, which could be a future initiative.Practical implicationsThis study could provide practical insights to tertiary institutions about international students’ developing capabilities and identities so they could better prepare themselves for the world of work. Further, this study provides insights about some of the challenges that international students face in tertiary contexts to become career-ready. Hence, educators could employ strategies to better support these learners in their everyday learning spaces. This study also has useful benefits for future and current international students and international graduates regarding what investments they need to make so they can better socialize themselves in their tertiary and workplace practices.Social implicationsThis study has social implications. It helps international students better understand the social, cultural and academic expectations of their host countries. Therefore, they could better socialize themselves into those practices and contribute more effectively to their academic and workplace communities. The study also helps academic and workplace institutions strategize more effectively to address the social and cultural needs of international graduates. The study also contributes to the social and cultural understanding of the teachers that engage with international students on a daily basis by helping them devise activities that better address these students’ and graduates’ needs.Originality/valueThe study adds theoretical and methodological value to the debates around graduate employability. It includes the voices of 180 students and unravels their day-to-day experiences of capability building and employability development from their own perspectives.

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Section: Intercultural Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

International students' employability: a language socialization perspective

Soltani,

Tomlinson

2024

Self Cite

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Implementing feedback literacy practices through self-sssessment and peer feedback

Soltani,

Zhang

2024

ARAL

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This paper draws on language socialization theory and uses narrative frames and interview to investigate an international student’s socialization into feedback literacy practices in an EAP classroom. The analysis of findings shows that using a narrative frame methodology is an effective assessment tool that helps students assess and reflect on their own learning because they help students develop an ability to: (1) learn to judge their own and their peers’ performance and develop evaluative judgment, (2) socialize themselves and be socialized into literacy norms of their academic context, and (3) follow up their own learning trajectories and learning to learn by reflecting on their current and possible future performance in familiar and unfamiliar work and life contexts. The study concludes that socialization into feedback practices becomes significant when the linguistic, literate, and cultural practices of students are recognized as resources and assets in their classroom community.

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Being and becoming an international student: the inter-relation between language socialization and identities

Soltani

Trần

Reza

2022

Educational Linguistics

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This article draws on Lefebvre’s production of space to understand the cultural negotiations and underlying meanings of being and becoming an international student. Rich and multiple data sources including video/audio recordings of classroom interactions, field notes, interviews, diaries, and institutional documents from a Vietnamese student’s participation in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and mainstream courses in a New Zealand university (NZU) were drawn upon. The findings of this study show that the student’s engagement in both the new social space and academic environment of NZU is mediated through negotiations and reflections of her Vietnamese-ness and constant comparison of the host culture with that of Vietnam and how her experience of navigating the social space of New Zealand influences her perceptions of Vietnamese-ness. International students’ socialization is mediated through engagement with materialities of space, mastering the norms of their social space, participating in activities, and reflecting on their own life and learning trajectories.

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Digital Spaces of Engagement: Perspectives on Using Zoom and Virtual Spaces in Online Classrooms

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

International students' employability: a language socialization perspective

International students' employability: a language socialization perspective

Implementing feedback literacy practices through self-sssessment and peer feedback

Being and becoming an international student: the inter-relation between language socialization and identities

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