Situated trajectories of learning in vocational training interactions

This paper investigates smaller-scale transitions that are part of the longer-term processes of subjective transformation and adaptation to new professional competencies for learners in the field of vocational education. On the conceptual level, it proposes to view transitions as intermediate states in situated trajectories of learning. The notion of trajectory aims to capture that (a) learning occurs through situated and highly contextualized micro activities and (b) that these activities occur within historical sequences of events, which come to form over time dynamic trajectories. The ingredients constitutive of a trajectory of learning are first defined. The notions presented are next applied to the empirical analysis of one sequence of learning, in which we show the transitions undergone by one object of knowledge as it is being taught to different apprentices in a workshop. On the theoretical plane, the paper thus proposes to view transitions as microdynamics of change. On the methodological plane, it contributes to identifying possible empirical sources and methodological frames to study micro-transitional phenomen

« Click here if you want to know who I am » : Deixis in personal homepages

Personal Homepages (HPs) belong to an emerging genre. Confronted with a kind of text which is still rather undefined, whose form and content are not fixed and to which they haven't had exposure before, authors of HPs tend to take as their model other personal HPs, thus ultimately participating in the conventionalization of a genre. By examining the system of deictic elements that can be found in personal HPs, I study these emerging patterns and show rules of function and stylistic characteristics of these texts. This ultimately leads to a tentative definition of the genre of personal HPs

The Linguistic Dynamics of Support

Few studies have examined the relationships that develop in situ between support professionals and those they support in vocational retraining situations. To address this gap in the literature, this paper examines the way in which support plays out in a real interactive situation. First, some generic aspects of support situations will be outlined (including the open and unpredictable character of the dialogue, goal orientations, and the asymmetry of roles). Second, the anticipatory nature of support situations, which are forward-looking and focused on decisions concerning future actions, will be underlined and analytical categories put forward. Finally, a real support situation will be analyzed using these categories. The context in which the analysis takes place is a vocational training community organization that incorporates social economic values and has a dual mission to integrate and train the low-skilled, long-term unemployed. In terms of methodology, the analytical tools are drawn from the field of interactional sociolinguistics and mediated discourse analysis. A close analysis of support interactions identifies some salient aspects of social support activities and reflects a number of dilemmas and controversies associated with the profession

Skiing, Cheese Fondue and Swiss Watches: Analogical Discourse in Vocational Training Interactions

When trainers or teachers in the field of initial vocational education explain abstract notions, refer to technical objects or emphasize the specificities of technical skills, they often call forth concepts and practices different from those that are directly salient in the training situations in which they engage. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the empirical realities associated with such phenomena by promoting a discursive and interactional approach of what we propose to term "analogical discourse”. Considering that analogies are performed and shared trough language and speech, we propose that concepts and methodological tools borrowed from the field of linguistics can be profitably applied to the analysis of analogical discourse. Not only can they reveal the dynamic and collective nature of analogies as they are performed, disseminated and sometimes negotiated amongst participants, but they can also help reflect about the complexities of vocational learning as it takes place in specific material, practical and socio-cultural environments. From that standpoint, the paper proposes to see analogies not only as related to conceptual development and cognitive dimensions of learning, but as a substantial contribution to the social, cultural and relational dimensions of i

“Ohne Glutamat/Without MSG”: Shelf label design in a Thai supermarket

Ethnic businesses are physical manifestations of the mobility of humans and goods around the globe. At the same time they constitute spaces for multilingual practices. One such practice is the design of shelf labels: typically small, rectangular pieces of paper attached to the edge of a product display featuring the price and the product’s name. This paper intends to shed light on the use of German and Thai on handwritten shelf labels in a small immigrant-owned convenience store in rural Germany. The data are a set of photographs of shelf labels and the products they are tagged to, ethnographic observations and fieldnotes, as well as anecdotes and statements by the owner of the store. The use of Scollon and Scollon’s (2003) analytical framework of geosemiotics reveals that in producing the inscriptions on the labels the owner draws on her knowledge of various semiotic systems strategically. The production of shelf labels can be seen as a complex activity that demands of the producer to possess the competencies to navigate an array of social discourses in order to cater to her clientele in the most relevant way