I’m Lamprini and my background is in Photography and Moving Image.
I currently teach at CertHE: Preparation for Design, Media and Screen and Level 3 in Design, Media and Screen at Lime Grove as well as being part of the Student Marketing and Recruitment team at LCC.
Adams,T., Ellis, C., Jones, S. (2017) ‘Autoethnography’, The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, 1-11 Available at: doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0011
Babak Dadvand, (2020) ‘Auto-ethnography in education research’. 3 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kx6oTlnaz0 (Accessed: 10 December 2024]
Curtis, B. and Curtis, C. 2011. : Autoethnographic Research – Writing and Reading the Self. In: Social Research: A Practical Introduction. 55 City Road, London: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 263-284 Available at: <https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526435415> [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Harris, R. (2020) The tyranny of transcript [Podcast]. 17 November 2020. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5GPdL9Vo5sBwSMfu2f0eEH (Accessed: 20 December 2024).
Helen Kara (2021) Autoethnography. 26 July. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_gUjzxhVw (Accessed: 10 December 2024).
Helen Kara (2022) Embodied Data Analysis. 29 November 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k79AWH59JpQ (Accessed: 10 December 2024).
Helen Kara (2022) Ethical Principles. 11 October 2022. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d_JtN0xUXc (Accessed: 10 December 2024).
Gaynor, Z. Alevizos, K. (2019) Is that Clear? Effective Communication in a Multilingual World. London: Prepare to Publish Ltd.
Gray, C, & Malins, J 2007, Visualizing Research : A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design, Taylor & Francis Group, Abingdon, Oxon. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. (Accessed: 27 January 2025).
King, D. (2017) ‘Creating and using corpora: A principled approach to identifying key language with art & design’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Issue3, 207-2016. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/71/118(Accessed: 20 January 2024).
Meek, M. (1996) Developing pedagogies in the multilingual classroom : the writings of Josie Levine. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books
Richards, J. and Lockhart, C. (1994) Reflective teaching in second language classrooms. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press
Talisma, I. and Muchenje, F. (2022) ‘Participatory data gathering and co-analysing data with participants using thematic analysis’. University of Manchester. doi: 10.48420/21065971.v1.
Unbabel (2022). How Internet Slang Is Changing Language | Understanding with Unbabel. 26 February 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ_1BXBxLdI Accessed: 10 December 2024).
Williams, K. and Wooliams, M. and Spiro, J. (2012) Reflective Writing. 1st Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Interview Prep:
Questions:
After interview observations:
This was a really interesting interview as it felt more like a conversation which gave me a different perspective. I have to note that the participant’s first language is English.
When I asked the first question the answer was a straightforward ‘Challenging’. The main points were around expectations we have from the students and that the language we use in class might not accessible.
There’s an expectation that students coming to study in HE already know and understand concepts such as independent study and reflective writing. The participant mentioned that we need to consider their learning backgrounds and how they come from educational systems that might not allowed them to explore the creative practice and the process and development of a creative project.
Another interesting point mentioned in the interview is that we have to adapt and rethink the language that we use and avoid phrases and colloquialisms that students from different backgrounds might not understand or even take something literally instead of metaphorical.
The participant mentioned at the end that the way that we teach and the language that we use needs to be flexible and adaptable to individual student. We also need to understand that a lot of the students are leaving the home for the first time, travelling far away from home which will affect their confidence and worry more about what they say and how.
My observation is that language as such as is not the main problem but more the circumstances and environments that put barriers. Students need to have a safe space and a sense of belonging to be able to flourish and feel comfortable to explore with no judgement.
Interview Prep:
Intro:
I will introduce the subject of my project and explain the reasons why I chose the student take part in my research. I will explain that I’m noticed in class students rely on the participant to translate for them and explain what’s happening in the class. I will also clarify that this interview won’t impact the student’s performance in class and there will be no mentions of their name or characteristics. All the responses will be anonymous and I will keep recording and all the relevant documents secured and then destroyed the end of this project.
After interview observations:
The interview went really well, even though I wasn’t properly prepared and I think that I didn’t consider the questions enough; going through the transcript I can now see that they were missed opportunities to find out more about the experience of the participant.
Nevertheless, it was really constructive interview and gave me an insight of the participants perspective and thoughts. The main points came out from the interview, were positive which wasn’t something that I expected.
I’ve noticed while I was teaching in the class how a lot of the students were relying on the participants translations and explanations. I thought that it was something that the participant might have been struggling in class and one of the reasons that I wanted to conduct the interview was to understand how I can support the student better as well as gathering data. I found out that the student does not have a problem being the translator between me and the other students or the other way around.
The participant went on to explain that they are already part of a multilingual family and used to switch from one language to another. They also mention that is something that they enjoy doing because it means that he can help their coursemates but also improve both their English and Chinese as none of them are their first language. They mention how the feel no pressure as they have to pay attention to see what’s happening in the class and what they need to do next.
As partof their social life, they have to use multiple languages to be able to communicate with other people friends or family and sometimes using English as the main language of communication.
My main observation of this interview is how important is to communicate more with the students to be able to understand their experience but also how to support them .
Even though they are happy to help and translate for their coursemates, I still think that that they shouldn’t be in this position so it’s something that I’d like to investigate further.
Interview Prep:
Questions:
Intro:
Explain further what my project is about, the idea and rationale behind it and its aims. Make sure to mention that any data collected will be anonymous and kept in a secure place until the end of the project when it’s going to be deleted.
I will also refer to my own experience in learning another language and how different and difficult was to understand and communicate it in reality due to different accents and colloquialisms; I will also mention how I learned to speak the language and communicate experientially while trying to understand cultural references and difference in phrases and expressions.
After interview observations:
This was a really interesting interview and a good starting point for my research. The participant gave me completely different perspective on how students learn a language but then how they learn how to use it.
The main key take away from the interview was that experiential learning is important to understand language and its use.
Drawing from my own experience of learning English, expressing myself in a foreign language was always really difficult. I couldn’t figure out which words to use but also how to use them and how to put them in a sentence that makes sense. I could understand when I was reading English, I could understand grammar and syntax even though sometimes it was confusing, but expressing my thoughts and perspective it was a big struggle. It wasn’t until I moved to England to study in a foreign language that everything that I learn in the past made sense because I could put it in a perspective through experiential learning.
The questions that I chose to use a part of this interview where open ended and they really allowed to open up the conversation. I was able to dig deeper into the subject but also to understand why students that English is not their first language struggling to communicate but mainly to express themselves.
One of the main points that we talked about in the interview was that students learn a language like they learn maths for example as the interviewee mentions. They will learn vocabulary, grammar and syntax so they can communicate in a really specific way in order to pass the language tests or in this case, IELTS.
The participant mentioned how important is to learn more about phrasal verbs and colloquialisms which makes me thing that learning a language is not only about the how but understanding and learning the culture as well.
They interviewee also mentions that they ask their students to read more but also watch movies or even play games in the language that are learning. They also mention how they change their approach in teaching English to support the students and the learning journey by understanding more about cultural references but also how to use the language day-to-day basis thus making it relevant to them.
Could it be that maybe the language is not the problem when communicating with students but accessibility?
King says that ‘Using corpora offers a relatively quick and efficient way of examining the assumptions made regarding linguistic patterns, the specific phrasings of a specific topic, and aids with identifying key linguistic features of both written and spoken discourses..’ (King, 2017)
There are assumptions that students when they enter HE are already familiar with specific terminology, concepts and technical or academic language. ‘..as educators we cannot assume that students who have attained the requisite English language entry requirements have the necessary breadth and depth of language knowledge to successfully navigate the vast array of texts they will encounter, and be required to produce, at university.’ (King 2017)
The UAL language centre runs a series of talks ‘What do we mean when we talk about language?’ where they discuss about some concepts, ideas and theories around language. In their introductory session, they mentioned some of the theories around language learning and teaching which also includes Corpus Studies where they then mention the BAWE corpus which is 6.5 million word corpus of student writing in English successfully. The analysis of the BAWE corpus open on to a genre family classification which indicates that students writing is different across disciplines and levels of university study. (Nesi & Gardner, 2012) I found this really fascinating and to understand further the idea of corpus.
It feels like reflective writing its a genre of writing with each own language which I really struggle to understand the concept and to use the reflective writing skill. I now find challenging as a teacher to explain reflective writing to the students as a lot of them would not understand what it means due to language barriers or because they are not coming from a learning background that have used this technique. ‘For students who have never experienced reflective practice, it is hard to experience in a personal and analytical way.’ (Williams & Wooliams & Spiro 2012).
In the book ‘Is that Clear? Effective communication in a multilingual world’ (Gaynor & Alevizos 2019) mention that adapting the language according to the person that you try communicate with and by doing something simple as adding pauses and sharing short bit of information will make it easier to communicate with that person. But you should be aware of not slowing down too much or speak too loudly as obviously it’s going to be offensive.
By adapting the language used in the classroom to different circumstances and situations based on the subject and level, the students have the opportunity to feel included and avoid any misunderstandings or confusions by limiting unnecessary language, colloquialisms and idioms. (Gaynor & Alevizos 2019). Adaptability, empathy and understanding is key to remove barriers and create a more accessible and inclusive environment for everyone.
References:
Fitzpatrick, D. (2022) ‘What do we mean when we talk about language? An Introduction’, What do we mean when we talk about language?. Available at: https://languageandresearch.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/10/28/what-do-we-mean-when-we-talk-about-language/ (Accessed: 10 January 2025).
Gaynor, Z. Alevizos, K. (2019) Is that Clear? Effective Communication in a Multilingual World. London: Prepare to Publish Ltd.
King, D. (2017) ‘Creating and using corpora: A principled approach to identifying key language with art & design’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Issue3, 207-2016. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/71/118(Accessed: 20 January 2024).
Meek, M. (1996) Developing pedagogies in the multilingual classroom : the writings of Josie Levine. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books
Nesi, H. and Gardner, S. (2012) ‘Families of genres of assessed writing’ in H. Nesi and S. Gardner (Eds). Genres across the disciplines: Student writing in higher education (pp: 21-56). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. and Lockhart, C. (1994) Reflective teaching in second language classrooms. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press
Williams, K. and Wooliams, M. and Spiro, J. (2012) Reflective Writing. 1st Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
This is the first time that I’m thinking about what kind of different research methods should I be using for a project. At the beginning I struggled to understand which methods would be suitable for my research as I haven’t worked in this specific context before in order to consider the different methods
I’m looking to explore the following research methods:
The main methods that I will be using is document analysis, autoethnography and semi structured interviews. I believe using a variety of methods will help investigate and understand the theme of my project in depth.
In my creative practice, I have always used my own experiences and memories as the foundation of my projects so it made sense to work with autoethnography. The theme of the project is really close to my heart as it stems from my lived experience as a student, a staff member and an academic. ‘…the importance of storytelling and personal narrative, identified the limitations of traditional research practices, and illustrated how a researcher’s perspective informs and facilitates research processes, products, and the creation of culture (Bochner, 2014).’
I haven’t worked with interviews before as a method of research and after listening to ‘The tyranny of the transcript’ (2020) I was intrigued to explore this method for my research. Harris is challenging the idea of the interview transcript as the ‘gold-standard’ of qualitative research insight, going into how the transcript should include how the interviewees reacted to different questions. Then, going even further , that the transcript should even include facial expressions, which I believe it might be crossing to unethical approach as the participants might not be aware that their body language is being recorded as well. Interesting episode!
Refferences:
Harris, R. (2020) The tyranny of transcript [Podcast]. 17 November 2020. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5GPdL9Vo5sBwSMfu2f0eEH (Accessed: 20 December 2024).
Talisma, I. and Muchenje, F. (2022) ‘Participatory data gathering and co-analysing data with participants using thematic analysis’. University of Manchester. doi: 10.48420/21065971.v1.
Helen Kara (2021) Autoethnography. 26 July. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_gUjzxhVw (Accessed: 10 December 2024).
Adams,T., Ellis, C., Jones, S. (2017) ‘Autoethnography’, The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, 1-11 Available at: doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0011
This is was an interesting process as I have never had to use an Ethics Action Plan. I have used consent forms as part of my practice so I was familiar with that part of the process.
There were a lot of things to consider but the main thing was if I could actually use my teaching practice in the courses that I teach as some of the students are under 18. I decided to focus on specific aspects and people and do interviews and questionnaires at the end as well document analysis. At the start of the project I hadn’t consider the auto ethnography research method which makes absolute sense to me as my creative practice is based on that type of research. So after discussions with my tutors I updated my plan to reflect more of the direction that I was taking my project.
I’m currently teaching in the new School of Pre-degree Studies in Level 3 in Design, Media and Screen which is internationally only course.
I also teach on CertHE: Preparation for Design, Media and Studies which has a majority of international students.
The units that I teach is Studio which is more practical, working on developing their ideas, thought process and skills, and I also teach Contextual and Theoretical Studies.
All of the units have different approaches towards creative practice which also includes a lot of reflective writing and contextualising ideas. Even as an academic myself, I have struggled to understand briefs and heavily academic language that has been part of both courses even though their aim is to introduce and prepare students for HE.
Looking at my experience as a student both in UG and PGCert studies, academic language has been challenging. The main challenge I think is to understand colloquialisms and cultural references as I starting building my academic and English vocabulary throughout my studies but also by connecting with people from different backgrounds.
Introduction
This project will focus on language communication in a multilingual classroom specifically in art and design HE environment.
Using my own experiences as a student who studied photography in a higher education environment and who’s first language is not English, I will explore themes around accessibility and inclusivity as well as belonging. My research will mainly consist of references about learning backgrounds, the complications of learning a language and how different is to use it in an academic environment. I will also explore different methods of research such as auto ethnography and semi structured interviews.
The aim of this project is to investigate the barriers of language and communication in a multilingual classroom and find ways to create a more inclusive environment.
